Conference
Future-Proof Leadership

Jan Jonker is Professor Emeritus of Sustainable and Circular Business at Radboud University in Nijmegen (NL). He was appointed to this teaching position for life in 2015. He is known as an activist professor who wants to stimulate social change through a practical approach. He does this from an organizational perspective translated into business models. For him, the core of transition is learning to organize differently around changing forms of collective value creation. He has 35 books and more than 250 publications to his credit. He is currently working on his 36th book on transition and value creation.

She graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of West Bohemia and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. She joined ČEZ, a. s. in 2003 as a sales officer in purchasing. She gradually rose to the position of Director of the Administration Division, which includes human resources, property and vehicle management for the ČEZ Group, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2011. She also holds the position of Chief Sustainability Officer and is responsible for managing the ESG agenda at the ČEZ Group. Since November 2023, she has been a member of the Presidium of the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development. In 2012, she first appeared on the list of 25 women in Czech business, in which she has regularly occupied the top positions since then. She also regularly appears on the list of the 50 most influential women in the Czech Republic announced by Forbes magazine. She is actively involved in mentoring and coaching, and is one of the prominent promoters of diversity and equal pay in the Czech Republic.

Kateřina Barbier is an experienced manager with rich international experience and a deep understanding of the diversity of markets and the development of human potential. In her role, she focuses on innovation and supports sustainable business, reflecting her belief that true sustainability begins with concrete actions and active education of those around her. She has been with HP since 2005 – with a one-year break when she led the French multinational Legrand in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Less than a year ago, she took over the management of HP for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

Alessandro Pasquale took over the management of Mattoni 1873 in 2007. Under his leadership, the company became the number one in the Central European region. Mattoni 1873 operates 11 factories in 8 countries in Central and Southern Europe, bottling local spring and natural mineral waters and producing global beverage brands. Mr. Pasquale has a long-standing passion for the sustainability of the entire European beverage industry. As the newly elected President of NMWE (Natural Mineral Waters Europe), he promotes the principles of the circular economy both at the level of individual countries and within the EU.

Katarína has been working for Tesco since 2000, when she became a purchasing coordinator. After working in various positions, she took on the role of Sales Director for Tesco – Kipa in Turkey and became a member of the board. After returning home, she became HR Director for Central Europe and a member of the Exec team. As Product Director for Central Europe, she played a key role in building partnerships with suppliers, which enabled Tesco to deliver healthy, affordable and sustainable products to customers. She currently holds the position of General Manager for the Czech Republic.

Martin Hausenblas is a patriot from Ústí nad Labem, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, former municipal politician, visionary and innovator. In 2000, he founded the company ADLER Czech, today Malfini, a manufacturer and exporter of advertising textiles, which since 2010 has focused on the sustainability of the entire process, including waste minimization. He is the founder of Liftago, which aims to help develop autonomous vehicles and reduce emissions from urban transport. Martin’s vision is the Czech Republic as a transport, energy and data crossroads of Europe – which is why he also co-founded the Puls Institute and supports the construction of high-speed lines.