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Tomáš, Senior Engagement Manager, 1994-1999
Currently CEO of PPF Group
“McKinsey is a great place to work, especially considering what you do, whom you do it with, and how you get rewarded. Deep down, I think I will never entirely leave McKinsey because my apprenticeship in Prague so strongly shaped me and made me who I am today.”
Tomáš spent five years at McKinsey, starting as an associate in New York and finishing as a senior engagement manager in Prague. On his more than a dozen projects he concentrated on strategy, risk management, and distribution channels in the financial sector, focusing on Central and Eastern Europe. Tomáš left McKinsey to become the CEO of CSS, the largest nonbanking provider of payment cards in the Czech Republic. Thereafter, he was a board member at Komerční banka before joining VÚB, the second-largest bank in Slovakia, as CEO. Today he is CEO of PPF Group, one of the most prestigious companies in the region. Tomáš holds an M.B.A. in finance from Columbia and a B.A. in accounting and finance from New York University's Stern School of Business.
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Jiří, Senior Engagement Manager, 1993-2000
Currently Financial Market and Retail Distribution Director of Česká spořitelna
“I learned a lot while at McKinsey. Professionally, I had a chance to work alongside the top experts serving the leading banks of Europe. The mission of the firm and its people have forever influenced me as a person and a manager. For me this mission translates into doing everything I can to promote good corporate governance and honest business practices. I don't want to make a single compromise in this regard, so that I can feel proud when looking back on my professional achievements. McKinsey taught me how important it is to organize your work and not get trapped in the 20-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week routine. Anybody at McKinsey can work like that. The art is to do outstanding work for your clients and for the firm but still have time for what is most important: family. That also means skiing and mountain biking with the kids and a lot of other fun stuff. This is the balance I strive for.”
Jiří came to the Prague office in 1995 as an associate after spending three years in the Frankfurt office. Given his passion for banking, Jiří focused on strategy, corporate finance, sales and distribution, and IT issues at major European financial institutions. In the summer of 2000, Jiří followed Tomáš’s path and joined Komerční banka as a board member and CIO. In 2002, he left KB for another major Czech financial institution, Česká pojišťovna, where he was CIO. Today he is a director at Česká spořitelna. Jiří has a master's in computer science and business management from the Prague University of Agriculture and another master's in economics from Soros-founded Central European University.
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Milan, Business Analyst, 1999-2002
Currently Sales and Distribution Analyst with Plzeňský Prazdroj
“I can’t really think of a better place than McKinsey to start your career, especially if you are fresh out of school, keen on business and management, but not yet certain which industry and topics you want to specialize in. On my engagements, I had an opportunity to look deeply at a number of different industries and functional areas, while at the same time addressing companies’ critical problems and maintaining a top-management perspective. Equally valuable was the continuous feedback I received from my teammates, helping me to develop my personality and skills, be they analytics, communication, or people management. In my current position I draw on this experience every day. On top of that, I took with me a large network of friends and former colleagues, whom I can always ask for help.”
Milan spent just over three years at McKinsey as a business analyst, gaining experience in banking, insurance, telecommunications, and consumer goods in topics ranging from operational effectiveness and core process redesign to building new business units and revenue management strategy.
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Pavel, Associate, 1998-2002
Currently Deputy Minister of Health of the Czech Republic
“My original profession was medicine. At a certain point in my career, I chose management consulting as it enabled me to pursue my two main, seemingly unrelated areas of professional interest: health care and management. But in the end I found much more at McKinsey than just an opportunity to work on management issues in the health care industry. I was constantly surrounded by outstanding people, experienced their amazing diversity of cultural and academic backgrounds, and enjoyed working in an incredibly open and honest atmosphere. And that’s something that will stay with me throughout my professional career.”
Pavel was a lecturer in public health at Charles University in Prague before he joined McKinsey as an associate in 1998. In the four years that he worked for the firm, he focused on health care and financial institutions, serving clients in Eastern and Western Europe. Pavel left the firm in 2002 to join VZP, the largest health care insurer in the Czech Republic, where he worked as an adviser on special issues to the CEO. He now serves the Czech government as deputy minister of health. Pavel holds a medical degree from Charles University in Prague and has a master’s in health care policy and management from Harvard.
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Klára, Partner, 1996–2007
Currently a Member of the Executive Committee of Generali PPF Holding
“I joined McKinsey because I wanted to work with people who would be challenging yet fun in a place where my work had plenty of variety and [I had] opportunities to grow and acquire responsibility. McKinsey satisfied these goals. It is an outstanding firm sincerely focused on client service and trust in people. They say McKinsey is a place you can never truly leave. This holds especially true of partners, and I will always be a McKinsey person.”
Klára spent more than a decade at McKinsey, where she was the Prague office’s leading expert on banking and insurance, serving clients throughout Europe, including Russia, Turkey, and Greece, on issues related to strategy, sales stimulation, organization redesign, and privatization. A core member of the firm’s Corporate Finance Practice, she was elected partner in 2004. In 2007, Klára accepted a top-management position at General PPF Holding, a company responsible for insurance companies in 12 Central and Eastern European countries. She holds an M.A. in business administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and an M.B.A. from the U.S. Business School in Prague, Rochester Institute of Technology.
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