Global Minds Podcast

A stable network, good value for money and future-oriented services form a mix that allows you to stand out from the competition, says Melinda Szabó, CEO and board member of T-Mobile Czech Republic and Slovak Telekom, in a new episode of the Global Minds podcast

How does a Czech manager rise to lead an international team? What kind of challenging projects are carried out under her leadership? And what advice does she have for less experienced colleagues on dealing with bosses? The guest on the next episode of the Global Minds podcast series, which profiles influential business expats, is Markéta Cechman, Executive Director of the Shared Services & Operations division at ČSOB.

When I've heard the offer, my reaction was 100% excitement, says Anna Kouchkovsky, board member, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Komerční banka in the new episode and also new season of the Global Minds podcast, which focuses on international leaders working and living in the Czech Republic.Anna Kouchkovsky has had a very interesting career path and professional specialisation, thanks to which we will learn in this episode about the links between capital markets and the field of risk in banking.

Leading European reinsurer VIG Re has announced its new three-year strategy, VIGRe28, outlining its priorities and direction for the coming period. Tobias Sonndorfer, CEO and Chairman of the company, appeared on the Global Minds podcast to explain. „In our business it´s all about consistency. We want to be a predictable, consistent reinsurer. That´s why we launched the strategy at the beginning of 2026 to enable our existing and possible new clients to get acquainted with it,” he says in the podcast which features top international executives influencing business in the Czech Republic.

An American woman who runs a school in Czechia, teaching according to British educational standards. It sounds like a mix that is bound to have its spicy moments. And this impression is not misleading. "When the first classes from our preschool were about to leave and start elementary school, I heard from parents that it would be best if I started an elementary school. So we opened an elementary school. And now we believe we will also open a middle school and a high school," says Lana Gergisak in the Global Minds podcast, which features inspiring leaders with an international reach.

The latest episode of the Global Minds podcast this year is unusual compared to previous ones. This time, the guest is not a foreign manager influencing domestic business, but a Czech who built his career abroad from scratch."I started cleaning apartments, then accommodating guests. People who rented apartments repeatedly began to ask me what it would entail if they wanted to buy something in Spain. So, I started to find out," says Tomáš Kaplan, who has built a strong position as a real estate agent on the Costa del Sol.

Moving abroad for work involves a number of responsibilities that require a lot of energy. That's why it's important to be properly prepared, says Doğu Kir, Vice President of Consumer Business Unit at Vodafone Czechia. "Anyone thinking about a career abroad must be truly passionate about their work," he says in the Global Minds podcast, which features senior foreign managers shaping business in Czechia.

Instead of taking their initial profits to tax havens, Czech entrepreneurs have consistently reinvested them and created strong international companies and Financial groups headquartered in Prague, says Rob Irving, co-head of Dentons' Corporate and M&A practice in Europe„A big reason for me to be here today is to continue to facilitate that creation of value by Czech entrepreneurs with global businesses,“ he says in the Global Minds podcast, which features prominent foreign managers speaking about business in the Czech Republic. He was accompanied to the studio by Petr Zákoucký, the senior M&A partner in Dentons' Prague office.

Rapid growth and an international environment. These are the main aspects that contribute to the highly dynamic nature of the Prague office of the reinsurance company VIG Re.„Because we are efficiently organized, everyone can really have a huge impact on his work in every position,“ says Hong-Wha Ling, Chief People Officer at VIG Re in the Global Minds podcast, which features prominent foreign executives speaking about business in the Czech Republic.

Today, it is already normal for heads of HR departments to sit on management boards or company boards of directors. This was not always the case, and experienced manager Ganna Pidgorna from UNIQA, responsible for human resources, brand, and sustainability, clearly welcomes this shift. “If this is not the case in companies, topics such as people, development, innovation, or new skills are not sufficiently represented,” she says in the Global Minds podcast, which features significant foreign personalities influencing business in the Czech Republic.

She may have worked in the Turkish banking sector as well as in diplomacy. But thanks to her courageous attitude in life, Nemika Menevse is currently leading a domestic fin-tech enterprise.„I never thought of being a CEO of a Czech company. But life brings you lots of interesting things,“ says Twisto CEO in the Global Minds podcast, which features prominent expats speaking about business in the Czech Republic.

The world is changing rapidly, and with these changes comes an acceleration of new risks. Whether these risks are related to the consequences of natural catastrophes, geopolitical developments or digitalisation, it is a topic not only for insurers.„Both insurer and reinsurer have to deal with new threats. Basically, what we do is deal with the big societal issues and try to absorb and cushion the negative impacts,“ says Tobias Sonndorfer, CEO of reinsurer VIG Re, in the Global Minds podcast, which features prominent foreign personalities speaking on business in the Czech Republic. 

There is an increasing number of entrepreneurs and investors in the Czech Republic who are looking for foreign expansion. For this they need first-rate legal advice, more often than not covering English law as well as local law. That will be the focus of Logan Wright, an English-law qualified partner at Dentons, with almost 30 years advising clients on debt finance and restructuring. The main guest of the pilot episode of the new Global Minds podcast series, which features prominent foreign personalities speaking on business in the Czech Republic, was accompanied to the studio by Jiří Tomola, a partner in Dentons' Prague office who specialises in restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy and is one of two leading partners for banking and finance.