Speakers

Jaroslav Lexa is an eternal optimist who has never lost faith in the fact that it is possible to shop in Slovakia in a funny, interesting and at the same time economical and in accordance with the law. He writes contracts, objections, articles, books and has blogged in the past. As a public procurement trainer, he can explain to people where common sense is found in the law. He is a recognised expert in public procurement, promoting the application of innovative practices in this area, including social and environmental aspects. He is also a co-founder of the Slovak APUeN. After 6.5 years at the Office for Public Procurement as Director of Methodology and Deputy Chairman of the Office for Public Procurement, he returned a few days ago to the team of buyers and trainers at APUEN AKADÉMIA s.r.o.

As a procurement specialist with more than twenty years of experience in multinational companies such as Ikea, Innogy, Makro and Amazon, Miloš has held strategic leadership positions and gained procurement experience in all its complexity. He is a major promoter of e-procurement and other modern tools for efficient procurement, as well as maximum transparency in the tender process. He currently applies his experience as Procurement and Operations Manager at ESET.

Tom leads the procurement team in the Asahi Brewery Group, aiming to make a lasting contribution to the strategic development of Asahi Europe & International in terms of savings, innovation, risk management, and environmental sustainability through advanced category management, and close relationships with suppliers and internal customers.

Where chaos rules and there are no rules, order and systemization must one day prevail, otherwise we’d get nowhere. Michal Kristiňák, a lawyer with a wealth of professional experience in procurement and logistics, knows this as well as anybody. In recent years, he has overseen the development of procurement and legal teams at energy and gastronomy concerns, such as the Medusa Group, where digitisation and centralization of procurement contributed to significant savings. Currently, he works as Procurement Manager at Amazon Fulfilment Slovakia.

The newly appointed Vice Chairman of the Public Procurement Office (ÚVO), who has extensive experience in public procurement and process management. Previously, he served as Director General at the Ministry of Transport, where he was responsible for implementing knowledge and processes concerning subordinate organizations within the ministry's jurisdiction. At the Ministry of Health, he carried out conceptual, coordination, and control activities at the level of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic in the field of public procurement. He coordinated and methodically supervised procurement processes in relation to organizations under the Ministry of Health, assessed and monitored public procurement processes in the healthcare sector, and issued expert opinions. He was involved in the development of the FLASHBONE system, which was utilized by the Ministry of Health for purchasing ventilators during the critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the State Material Reserves Administration for the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE). As a lecturer and trainer, he regularly participates in various training sessions on public procurement and holds a certification in the technical preparation and administration of e-auctions and tendering.

He started in public procurement as part of his internship while studying law and this field immediately appealed to him, largely thanks to his great colleagues at the South Moravian Regional Authority, who taught him a great deal and who he is currently honoured to lead. He sees public procurement as an opportunity to contribute to the development of the environment which we inhabit from day to day, so he tries to approach it responsibly and with common sense, but at the same time so that the award process is not only the same merry-go-round of formalities, but it is able to satisfy our goals and priorities.

Since entering the field of international procurement and logistics in 1994, Jan has developed deep expertise in the industry and feels completely at home in it. He has led procurement teams at companies such as Unipetrol, KUKA, and BLANCO, and currently works as a Commodity / Category Manager for Siemens Energy. In addition to his core role, he is involved in projects focused on process management, process mapping and analysis, and process improvement. He also works as a trainer, translator, and educator in the field of personal development. Outside of his professional activities, he has enjoyed baseball since childhood and is passionate about discovering and connecting cultures. In his free time, he enjoys creative pursuits in music and graphic design and loves immersing himself in the pages of a good book.

Over the last 12 years, Zdeněk has known the world of purchasing from various angles, from the buyer, through the sourcing manager to the purchasing solutions consultant. Currently in the position of Head of Business Development for purchasing solutions at SAP, he helps customers find optimal ways of digital transformation in purchasing, finance and logistics. Zdeněk is also working on strategic projects associated with new solutions. In the spirit of "versatility is the key to the buyer's success", In his free time, he devotes himself to studying foreign languages, beekeeping and martial arts.

Rasto co-founded Cequence, a Slovak solution that uses the latest technologies (machine learning, artificial intelligence, NLP) and integrates ChatGPT from Open Ai for modern contract management. He brings to the Cequence team 15 years of experience in leadership positions within contract management, process engineering, and digital innovation in procurement. He has negotiated contract terms for multinational companies in purchases worth more than 50 million Euros. His interest in technology has applied to continuous process improvement in procurement, contract management, team efficiency, and internal company collaboration. Today, his ideas and vision for smart contract management have translated into the Cequence solution, which helps clients save thousands of hours of work every day. When he's not thinking about the future of contract creation and negotiation, he's interested in street art and alternative art forms, planning his next trip to an exciting destination, or evaluating the quality of a local beer.

Jaromír Šponar is a recognized Microsoft MVP, deeply involved in crafting Microsoft partnership strategies at Konica Minolta. With a focus beyond just achievements, his expertise lies in enhancing partnership ecosystems and exploring the innovative frontiers of Microsoft AI to foster business growth. Jaromír is known for sharing actionable insights and fostering collaboration within the tech community. As a speaker, he is passionate about empowering attendees with the knowledge to leverage AI technologies effectively

You'll definitely recognize him by the title professor, but Vladimir Baar is no dry academic. On the contrary, with a backpack on his back, he has traversed half the world from Russia, through Cambodia, Vietnam, the USA, all the way to exotic New Zealand, and beyond... Everywhere he sought inspiration for his scholarly articles, which you can find in prestigious journals such as Geografické rozhledy, Politické vedy, Folia Geographica, Tiltai-Bridges-Brücken, Annual of Language & Politics, and Politics of Identity, where he also serves on editorial boards. This culturally and politically adept traveler has long served as the rector of Ostrava University and continues to do what he loves there - opening young minds to the knowledge and connections of the Eastern world. When he's not on the road or sharing his pearls of wisdom with students, you'll find him either behind the microphone of Czech Radio, in front of the camera of Czech Television, or wielding a hoe in the garden. And all of this with the support of his wife and three sons. So, if you're looking for someone to broaden your horizons and show you how to live life to the fullest, Vladimir Baar is your man.

Adam is a globally recognized negotiator with a unique combination of academic credentials, elite negotiation skills, and field experience from some of the world’s most demanding negotiations involving human lives. After a successful academic career at universities in the United States, Singapore, and Australia—where he gained recognition primarily as an expert in terrorist negotiation—Adam transitioned into practice, devoting the next decade to negotiating for the lives of hostages held by terrorist organizations, criminal groups, pirate gangs, and state actors across the globe. Previously, Adam also served as the lead negotiation expert for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) in New York. As an instructor, he regularly lectures for negotiation, counter-terrorism, intelligence, and diplomatic units worldwide—having taught in more than 65 countries to date. Among the specialized training programs Adam has personally completed are the FBI’s National Negotiation Course in Quantico, Scotland Yard’s Negotiation Course in Hendon, the UN’s Hostage Negotiation Training in Nairobi, and a Police Covert Negotiation Techniques Course in Manchester. He currently works as an instructor in negotiation and elite communication skills, as well as an advisor in complex and high-stakes negotiations within the private sector—often operating in regions and contexts where Western business standards and norms are not typically observed.

From his position as Head of Global Commodity Management at the multinational concern Siemens Energy, he oversees the strategic development and implementation of sourcing processes. His responsibilities include production plants for industrial steam turbines, industrial generators and gas engines worldwide. He is a respected expert in the field of centralized procurement and project management in the implementation of new procurement tools and procedures. He has also utilised his experience in other procurement teams, such as the RWE energy group.

Jan is a legal expert specialising in healthcare, mainly in the area of payments and issues surrounding healthcare funding. He is active in the field of public procurement and its e-enabling and the use of eAuctions in the process of evaluating suppliers’ bids. He also deals with legal issues and in the context of providing advice to legislators he has managed to design and enforce a "small user amendment" to the law on public procurement.

Kateřina Koláčková is dedicated to her mission, which is to provide highly active support to contracting authorities and to simplify and accelerate public procurement 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She certainly has ways to inspire others in public procurement, whether through her experience implementing various contracts across sectors or different forms of evaluating bids. Since 2004, she has been actively involved in public procurement from the perspective of contracting authorities. As a result, she has implemented tenders in the tens of billions.

Since 2004, Petra has been involved in procurement in international concerns. She has held various positions in procurement. She is intensively involved in the streamlining of procurement processes using modern IT technologies and the development of procurement competencies in the areas of strategic procurement. She also works as a mentor in Business & Professional Woman CR z.s. She held the position of Procurement Director at innogy Česká republika a.s., GasNet, s.r.o., and now she is Country Head of Procurement CZ/SK/GE/AT at Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s.

At eBF it would be hard to miss an expert who has carried out corporate purchases worth more than €3.5 billion. Jacek Jarmuszczak, who has 17 years of experience in supply chain management, is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after speakers in global procurement. Previously, he held the positions of Strategic Buyer in the Philips Group and Global Category Manager in the Carlsberg Group and Danfoss Group. Then Vice President at Nextbuy. Now he works in his own venture as a founder of OperaPro Procurement Consultancy and you can see him on Okiem Kupca - YT channel.

Peter is the Group Head of Project Procurement in MOL Group. He has extensive experience within strategic procurement as Senior Category Manager for MRO. Prior transformation he led local Procurement in Slovnaft. He graduated executive double MBA SEED/Corvinus and one year CIPS practitioner course. Besides DNT program, he lectures in MOL Group Internal Academy and University in Komárno. He likes to enjoy life fully in his spare time.

Martin has been involved in public procurement issues almost all his professional life, from his position as a clerk at the Public Procurement Section of the Public Procurement Office, a student and teacher at Mendel University in Brno, where he lectured and actively published professional articles on this topic, and currently as the head of the Public Procurement Department at the Brno University of Technology. He regularly participates in conferences, seminars, and workshops on public procurement issues and publishes in professional journals. He advocates and promotes an open, less conservative, less formalistic, rational, and innovative approach to public procurement. The contracting authority's energy should not be focused only on the procedural side of the procurement, which does not play a vital role in the 'search for quality.' Instead, the main focus is developing the BVA/m4E method as an effective and versatile tool for selecting a quality supplier. Since 2021, Martin has been a member of the Public Procurement Appeals Committee of the Office for the Protection of Competition.

Helena is an experienced military and sports psychologist specializing in resilience psychology, crisis management, and team cohesion. She served for many years as Head of the Operational Psychology Department of the Czech Armed Forces. Over more than two decades in the military, Helena was deployed on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and spent years training specialists in crisis preparation programs and S.E.R.E. courses (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape). She provides psychological training to special units preparing for deployment in high-risk environments abroad. Helena works with individuals in crisis, supports families of hostages during international abductions, and assists released hostages in reintegrating into everyday life after their return. At the international level, she also collaborates with clients from the private sector on preparation for crisis and conflict zones. She prepares soldiers, diplomats, journalists, humanitarian workers, and technical experts for deployment, stay, and reintegration from high-risk and war-affected regions—working closely with their families and loved ones as part of that process. In her private practice, Helena also works with elite athletes, senior executives, and other clients seeking a profound personal or professional reset. Her expertise extends to team development and personal growth, including the dynamics of interpersonal relationships within couples, families, and workgroups.

Marcela is the CEO and co-founder of the consulting company APUEN AKADÉMIA s.r.o. and Vice President of APUeN SK, an OZ founded to promote the electronicisation of procurement. In her professional practice, she is mainly engaged in advisory and consulting activities for contractors and public procurers. In addition, she contributes to the development of legislation and application practice in public procurement. She also cooperates with non-profit organisations such as Transparency International Slovakia, the Stop Corruption Foundation, and slovensko.digital. She is passionate about public procurement and she gives many inspiring lectures in this area, she participates at international conferences and streams on her youtube channel. She is a member of the Procurement Board, a collective of inspirational buyers and procurement professionals.

Michal Garaj was offered a job in public procurement on his way to Spain, from where he headed for the audition for the Slovak Public Procurement Office (PPO). He succeeded in the audition and began to address objections in review procedures. Later he was recruited to the Council of the PPO, where he helped with second level decision-making. After six and a half years he was "transferred" to the team of the Mayor of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo. He has headed the Public Procurement Department, where he strives to get the highest added value possible.

Marcin has more than 20 years’ experience in various purchasing functions. 17 years in Royal Philips/Philips Lighting/Signify – a company undergoing severe restructurings and technological revolutions over all those years. He has been purchasing manager in Thule Poland since January 2020. He enjoys sharing knowledge and observations from his ongoing procurement journey as well as learning from others during procurement conferences and forums.

Martin has extensive experience in supply chain management, procurement, strategic and operational purchasing, logistics, replenishment, planning, forecasting, S&OP, distribution systems management, and general operations in retail, wholesale, distribution, manufacturing, and co-production.

Ondrej is a counsel at HAVEL & PARTNERS and focuses on advising the public sector, commercial relations, and contract law. In addition, Ondrej advises on complex ICT, innovation, transport, energy, insurance, and infrastructure construction projects. Ondrej also focuses on passenger rail and road transport regulation and often supports foreign clients in implementing their projects in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, he is the author of many professional articles, co-author of the MMR methodologies in the field of VR, and an active participant in professional groups and conferences.

Dáša currently serves as the Director General of the Public Procurement Section at the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic. In the past, she managed public procurement and purchases at Slovak ministries of finance, interior, and culture. There are few commodities, situations, and problems she hasn't encountered. It follows that her expertise must be quite substantial. And indeed, it is. In addition to training, lecturing, publishing, and advising, she has been involved in public procurement since 2006. She is a fan of digitization, but she argues that human potential and relationships are irreplaceable. She adheres to the principle of common sense and tries to convince her surroundings and the professional (and non-professional) public that it is possible to succeed in public procurement.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava. After ten years in the field of commercial and civil law, he transitioned into the dynamic environment of public procurement. Through his work in governmental institutions as well as in private consulting firms, he has gained extensive knowledge of public procurement from the proud perspectives of major contracting authorities to the humble viewpoints of the smallest ones. Currently, he serves as the Director of Methodology and Regional Centers at the Public Procurement Office in Bratislava.

He graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. He gained work experience as a business and project manager in energy and construction. Since 2014, he has worked at NAFTA, where he held the position of Senior Procurement Specialist, participating in the comprehensive electronicization of procurement processes. He currently serves as the Chief Operating and Procurement Officer at Penta Hospitals Slovakia, overseeing procurement and operations for a network of 16 hospitals and 14 clinics in Slovakia.

Director of the Public Procurement Department II at the Office for the Protection of Competition. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Charles University, he worked for almost ten years at the Prague 2 Municipal Office, where he was involved in public procurement; in 2012 he moved to the other side of the imaginary barricade and has been supervising the procedures of contracting authorities ever since. He participated in the formulation of the thirteenth part of the currently effective Public Procurement Act regulating supplier protection, i.e., objections and supervision of compliance with the Act by the Office for the Protection of Competition. In addition to its undeniable complexity, he believes that public procurement is also characterized by its dynamism and the diversity of the problems addressed, which require a comprehensive approach to solving them. He regularly lectures and publishes on topics of public procurement. He is a member of the expert group of the Ministry for Regional Development on the Public Procurement Act.

Michal has 20 years of experience in procurement across various international companies with a clear focus on optimizing purchasing activities. His career also includes a professional assignment in FMCG sales aimed at understanding the entire supply chain – from customers to production and back – in order to focus on delivering added value to the end user. In recent years, he has been focusing not only on procurement process optimization, problem solving, simplification, digitalization, sustainability, and risk management, but also on leadership and supporting the development of colleagues through mentoring and coaching. He is currently working as a Global Procurement Manager for indirect materials and services for manufacturing sites at Novartis, where he leads seven teams worldwide and leverages his broad experience in diversity and empathetic leadership.

Agata Szymczak can be briefly described as a Procurement Specialist focusing on procurement at the global Amazon company. Together with her colleagues from Amazon, she will present at the eBF, among other things, basic business principles that are transferable to any industry. It's all about customer obsession, passion for innovation, commitment to operational excellence and long-term thinking.

He has been working as a director of Kühne + Nagel, spol. s r.o. for 6 years, but he joined the logistics industry in 1991. Having already been present at the founding of the Czech branch, he feels extremely connected to the company. He appreciates the humanity and openness in communication and is glad that together with his colleagues he can offer complex logistics solutions that reflect the requirements of digitalization and sustainability even in today's changing world.

She has over 20 years of experience in IT management, consulting, and digital transformation. She co-founded two non-profit organizations—Česko.Digital and Byro—focused on developing the government’s digital capabilities, supporting leaders, and fostering cultural transformation within organizations. Former Director of the IT, Analysis, and Public Investment Section at the Ministry of Regional Development, where she manages strategic digital transformation projects with investments exceeding CZK 1 billion. She studied IT and management at the Czech Technical University in Prague and is currently studying Hussite theology at Charles University.

It may come as a bit of a surprise that the domain of Zdeněk Pytlíček, who has worked his way up from a buyer to a strategist, is all procurement activities that do not involve "buying". At GasNet, he is currently focusing on digitization, automation and robotization of procurement processes, implementation, and development of procurement systems, reporting and analysis, and procurement legislation. An example? In 2017, the first robotic procurement process was launched and now more than 92% of procurement transactions are carried out by machines, without the intervention of buyers.

Leoš Vrzalík has been tasked with introducing the principles of sustainability into the central purchasing of the Asahi CE. In his position of Sustainability Procurement Lead he focuses mainly on packaging, carbon footprint and raw material supplies. Prior to this, he worked for 17 years in managerial positions at Skanska. The fact that he has linked his professional life with the principles of sustainability is well illustrated by the fact that he was also the Chairman of the Board of the Czech Green Building Council.

Alena is the Head of Procurement and Public Tenders at Nové Město na Moravě Hospital. She has rich experience in a wide range of public tenders and finance from EU funds. Her specialisation is in investment tenders, particularly for medical technology and construction work using eAuctions as the medium for evaluating bids.

Procurement Officer, Commodity Purchaser and Procurement Manager: these are all positions that have been held by Hana Sušková during her career. She is currently the Procurement Director at AL INVEST Břidličná. She gained her experience in leading teams, implementing new systems, electronic procurement processes, and negotiating with industrial suppliers in companies such as Škoda Vagonka, OKD, OKK Coking Plants and Tatra Defence Vehicle.

Michael Romancov is a political geographer at the Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. He specializes in political geography, geopolitics, and Russia. He is the author of Maritime Blindness and the creator of the podcast Romancov and Co., which he produces in collaboration with the international desk of Deník N.

Experienced procurement manager with over 15 years of practice in various procurement roles, with expertise in services, manufacturing, and commercial sectors. Currently, he works at Penta Hospitals International as the Chief Procurement Officer, overseeing purchases for 44 hospitals, a network of clinics, and Alzheimer's homes in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland. He focuses on developing the strategic role of procurement, maximizing procurement synergies, and digitizing procurement processes.

Jonaid Myzyri is an expert in public procurement and its legislative development in Albania. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tirana, where he was awarded a Gold Medal, and since 2025 he has continued there as a PhD candidate, focusing on the use of Artificial Intelligence in public procurement. Since July 2020, he has served as Chairman of the Public Procurement Commission of Albania (PPC). Prior to this role, he served as Head of Procurement at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania, and earlier as an Inspector at the PPC. In his role, he led a major digitalization reform of the public procurement review system, including the introduction of electronic appeals (e-appeals) and standards promoting transparency and openness. This initiative received international recognition, including from SIGMA-OECD, and in 2022 the E-Appeals system was selected among the 15 best GovTech projects worldwide. Jonaid Myzyri also contributed to the 2024 amendments to Albania’s Public Procurement Law, which introduced the integration of Artificial Intelligence into the national procurement system, and he is regarded as one of the key figures advancing this agenda in Albania and the wider region.

Martin holds a law degree from Charles University in Prague and a postgraduate LLM in Corporate Law from Masaryk University in Brno in cooperation with Nottingham Trent University. He has been involved with public procurement for more than ten years, beginning in 2005 when he became Head of the Procurement Department at RAVEN Consulting (today Erste Grantika Advisory). In 2009, he became Manager of the Department of Project Implementation at the same company. In 2011 he joined Masaryk University as Head of the Public Procurement Department. Currently, he and his colleagues carry out central purchasing for the university using dynamic purchasing systems and framework contracts. He also manages public procurement co-financed from EU operational programmes, coordinates the use of digital solutions for public procurement, provides methodological support to university administration centres and monitors the contracting of public tenders. He also occasionally lectures.

Marek is an experienced professional in the field of purchasing for manufacturing companies and distribution. As Solarity's Director of Purchasing, he manages the global procurement of photovoltaic products for the company's offices in Europe, Ukraine, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America. He spends several weeks each year in China where he builds strong relationships with the world's largest manufacturers. He leads a team of strategic and operational buyers, product management and logistics to ensure their work is efficient, fast and reliable, including the use of AI and data analytics. He is constantly working on his development and strives to improve in all areas of life. He enjoys spending his free time with his family, sports and traveling.

After finishing law school and three years of practice in a law firm, Martina started working in public procurement, where she worked as the head of the Procurement Department at Czech Radio. During her time in this role, she introduced eAuctions and promoted digitalization. For the last two years she has been the Executive Director of the Association for Public Procurement. She has organized educational events, developed new partnerships, "set in motion" a project of working groups in selected areas of public procurement and publishes in the journal "Public Procurement in Practice". She has also been involved in legislative initiatives to facilitate public procurement. She is currently working at the Ministry of Regional Development as Head of the Implementation Unit of the Public Investment System Support Programme.

Marketing specialist, consultant and head of the PROEBIZ project, Milan Kaplan has frequently shared his experience at conferences in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. In the 1990s he founded NAR which specialized in marketing for industrial concerns. Subsequently, he began to develop and put into practice eBusiness technologies, such as using eAuctions for supplier selection and the digitisation of the procurement process. The PROEBIZ project is now the most widespread eAuction platform and a source of know-how throughout Central Europe.

We will undoubtedly be convinced that our neighbours in Poland also know about procurement, consulting and sourcing by Mateusz Borowiecki. A truly wide-ranging expert with more than fifteen years’ experience in international projects, including IT projects; he has introduced clients to the procurement systems of a variety of providers. He regularly speaks at procurement conferences, publishes papers on corporate procurement and is a lecturer in postgraduate studies in procurement at Kozminski University in Warsaw and at WSB in Wroclaw.

A working knowledge of procurement categories and cost analysis are, according to Peter Čambál, important procedures and tools in procurement, in which has been working for over twelve years. Since 2015 he has been Manager of Tenders at Slovenské Elektrárne, where he is directly involved in the transformation of procurement from tactical to strategic. He is considered to a pioneer of applying Design to Cost (DTC) methodology at SE. In addition to his home turf of Slovakia, he has also worked in Russia, at Enel Russia from 2013 to 2015 as DTC Manager.

Urszula is an experienced procurement professional with over 23 years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management and supplier relationship management in global companies (Sarantis, Berry Global, Avon, Diageo, Philips). She has experience managing multiple categories of direct and indirect spend, leading cross-functional and international teams, and creating value through strategic initiatives in complex matrix organizations. Her career path has given her experience in strategic sourcing, creating category strategies, negotiating contracts and pricing, optimizing costs and initiating innovative projects with suppliers. She is passionate about the strategic dimension of the purchasing process and collaborating with internal and external partners to achieve strategic objectives. She is recognized for her energy, enthusiasm and excellent communication skills and places a high value on relationship building. She enjoys sharing knowledge and learning new things. With years of experience, she appreciates the human dimension of processes and organizations - after all, business is about collaboration between people.

Terezie ranks among the absolute top television presenters in the Czech Republic. On CNN Prima News, she hosts the prestigious Sunday political talk show Partie Terezie Tománkové, which regularly features guests such as the Presidents of the Czech and Slovak Republics, Prime Ministers, and leaders of parliamentary parties. She has been one of the leading faces of TV Prima since 2000, when she began her career in national news as a reporter and parliamentary correspondent. Over the following years, she advanced to become the anchor of Prima’s main evening news broadcast, a position she held for twelve years until 2018. Her deep professional experience and thorough understanding of politics led her, in 2014, to take over as host of Partie—one of TV Prima’s longest-running and most respected programs, on air continuously since 1998.

Matt served for 17 years as a negotiator and coordinator of the police negotiation team in Manchester. He was a member of the UK Government’s Crisis Group (COBR), responsible for handling international and terrorist kidnappings involving British citizens abroad, and a permanent member of the National Police Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit (HCNU) in London. He also held the position of Director of the UK National Police Negotiator Course and served as lead instructor for international negotiation training programs for special forces in Canada, Kenya, Turkey, Japan, Oman, and the Philippines. Matt is a member of the International Negotiators Working Group (INWG) and an external instructor for the United Nations, where he has trained staff of the Department of Safety and Security in hostage negotiation. Among the specialized training programs Matt has personally completed are the FBI’s National Negotiation Course in Quantico, Scotland Yard’s Negotiation Course in Hendon, the UK National Terrorist Negotiation Course in London, and an MI6 Covert Operations Course. He holds a Master’s degree in Criminology from Leicester University and a PhD from Manchester Metropolitan University, where his doctoral research focused on negotiations during terrorist incidents involving active shooters.

Jan Najvárek is the co-founder of the technology group ARTIN, which he established in 1998 together with Tomáš Ondráček. For more than 25 years, he has operated at the intersection of IT, business, and innovation, collaborating with major corporations and technology leaders. He graduated in Automation from VUT in Brno and earned a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and neural networks. He has worked as an external consultant for multinational companies, including T-Mobile and Hewlett-Packard, contributing to the delivery of large-scale software solutions. He also gained international experience as a senior developer for the Canadian insurance company Manulife. He is also a co-founder of technology spin-offs focused on autonomous driving and AI (e.g., Roboauto, Aiviro, Coworkers.ai), transferring research into real-world applications.

Nikola has been focusing on negotiation and understanding how people react in conflict situations since 2020. She completed a semester of negotiation studies at Harvard Law School as part of the Program on Negotiation and further expanded her education through training with HERMIONE Crisis & Rescue Negotiators and by completing advanced training courses at Vyjednávame.cz under the guidance of Adam Dolník and Helena Sováková. As an instructor, she created a special negotiation course focused on women.
Her experience in an international environment plays a significant role in her work. For fifteen years, she worked as a ski instructor in Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, where she spent a long time working with both adults and teenagers. It was precisely her work with teenagers in challenging and emotionally charged situations that significantly shaped her approach to communication, setting boundaries, and conflict resolution. Her professional journey also included a year spent on a cultural scholarship in Indonesia, which expanded her experience with cross-cultural communication and negotiation.

Ewa is an expert in business communication and etiquette who has been helping entrepreneurs and companies build a professional image, improve relationships, and boost business results through the principles of savoir-vivre for over 17 years. She collaborates with leading institutions and companies and combines practical experience with teaching as an academic lecturer at universities in Warsaw and Szczecin. She is a certified trainer and speaker with Brian Tracy International, a graduate of the European Academy of Diplomacy, and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Polish Businesswomen Awards. She is among the most prominent LinkedIn influencers in Poland (TOP 30 profiles, TOP 3 leaders 2023, TOP 20 B2B Influencers 2025). She has written the interactive book “Kulturalnie w Social Media,” which offers a modern perspective on etiquette in the online environment.

Head of the Public Procurement Department at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic and a lawyer with over 15 years of experience in the public and nonprofit sectors. He helps organizations manage public procurement in a clear, efficient, and non-bureaucratic manner—from preparing tender procedures to their successful implementation. He has long advocated for a transparent, accountable, and sustainable approach that has a real impact on the functioning of public institutions. He is responsible for team management, international collaboration, and participation in expert groups at the EU level, where he bridges the gap between legislation and practice and seeks solutions that make sense in the day-to-day operations of procurement.

He is the long-serving mayor of Partizánske and chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia. In public administration, he advocates a modern, efficient, and open approach based on transparency, tangible results, and active communication with citizens. He is known for his emphasis on urban development and his view of local government as a service to the people, rather than merely an administrative structure. Within ZMOS, he represents the interests of local governments at the national level and actively participates in shaping the legislative and strategic environment of public administration.

A system designer who brings fresh perspectives on sustainability and helps companies and organizations turn it into a tangible opportunity. She draws inspiration from nature and translates it into concrete solutions for business and society. She advises organizations on how to embed sustainability into their strategies and actively promotes systemic change through advocacy. She introduced the concept of the circular economy to the Czech Republic in 2015 and founded the Institute of Circular Economy; she is now developing the concept of Bohemian Agreements as a tool for finding common solutions and building long-term partnerships. She connects people, projects, and organizations and builds functional networks that have a real impact. She shares her experience through lectures, workshops, and other educational activities. She believes that the key to the future lies in collaboration between people and organizations on projects that bring about positive change.

He has been working in procurement and logistics management for the past 25 years, most of that time in the energy sector in Košice, Zagreb, and Bratislava. He currently works at Západoslovenská distribučná a.s. (part of the E.ON Group). In addition to procurement, he has long been involved in real estate and transport management. One of his favorite projects is the administrative building of today's Energetika Slovensko in Košice.

Branislav Šarmír is coming to Ostrava with news from brotherly Slovakia, with whom we understand each other very well linguistically and philosophically. During his professional career, he has worked in large companies such as EuroTel, UPC, VUB, and IBM Slovakia since 1996. In addition, however, he has traded management positions in marketing, sales, and customer service for public and corporate procurement, which is his current "job" at obstaráme, s.r.o.

Romana Martincová is a seasoned HR manager, coach and therapist who specializes in the development of companies, teams and individuals. She gained her extensive experience in companies such as Red Bull and L'Oréal, where she worked in human resources management, building effective teams and strategic HR. In addition, she worked in external HR consulting and ran a recruitment agency. In her practice, Elevate Me helps organizations create an environment that fosters growth, engagement and long-term performance. She focuses on leadership, talent management and corporate culture development. At the same time, she works with individuals to help them overcome personal and professional challenges, manage stress, and find work-life balance. As a yoga teacher, she also integrates yoga philosophy into her work, fostering deeper self-development and resilience in her clients.

Milan Babica has been a professional in the field of public procurement for more than 10 years. In 2012, he was involved in establishing the central procurement function at Czech Railways, which he continues to develop. Since 2023, he has served as Director of Central Procurement. Prior to that, he was responsible for expanding the central procurement function, strengthening the team, completing the digitalization of procurement processes, and further developing category management. In addition to these activities, he is entrusted with managing group-wide procurement for the ČD Group. He also ensured procurement for the ČD Bus division, where he serves as a member of the Supervisory Board.

Ivana is a purchasing manager at Veolia Group, where she is responsible for purchasing process consulting and digitalization projects. In the past, she was in charge of materials and operational purchasing and has experience in customer centre management.

Adéla Havlová is an attorney specializing in public investment law and public procurement. She currently serves as Of Counsel at the law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS, where she built and led a dedicated public sector team of 40 lawyers until 2023, when she stepped down as partner. Under her leadership, the team won the “Law Firm of the Year” award in the field of public procurement four times. She is actively involved in the leadership of the Czech Public Procurement Association (AVZ) and is a member of the expert group for public procurement legislation. She has long been engaged in the development of best practices and innovations in public procurement, including topics such as digitalization, circular economy, modern purchasing practices and systems, quality assessment, and more. From 2014 to 2023, she served as a member of the appellate commission of the Czech Competition Authority. She actively draws on know-how from other EU member states, particularly Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Slovakia. She regularly lectures and publishes in professional journals.

A law graduate and passionate angler, he has spent years working in the field of public procurement. Initially, he supervised the legality of procurement procedures at the Public Procurement Office, and later joined the ranks of the contracting authorities. Since 2023, he has been working at the National Bank of Slovakia as Director of the Economic Services Department, which also includes the Central Procurement Unit. He sees international expert forums on public procurement as unique opportunities for gaining inspiration, sharing experience, and exchanging best practices. In the past, he has participated in various professional conferences and workshops on public procurement, attended by representatives of the European Commission and the OECD.

Long-time manager of the PROEBIZ project. Consultant and innovator in digitalizing corporate and public procurement systems with more than 20 years of experience in the field. He strives to spread computerization in procurement processes not only in the private but also in the public sector. Currently, he is the Executive Director of PROEBIZ Group.

Martin has been working at Česká televize since 2012 and is the head of the central purchasing department. He is responsible for all purchases, with the exception of program rights and services directly related to the production of program content for broadcasting and distribution via the internet. At Česká televize, he has promoted the insourcing of services related to public procurement and the gradual introduction of sustainable purchasing elements. Within public procurement, he strives to consider all relevant life cycle costs, seeks balanced and long-term cooperation with suppliers, and within evaluation criteria, aims to assess quality wherever it makes sense. He values courage and initiative in colleagues, and dislikes unnecessary formalism and excuses. His interests include classic cars, tramping (bushcraft) combined with high gastronomy over an open fire, long-distance hiking, and an unnamed agent of Her Majesty.

Jan is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at Masaryk University. He began to gain experience in procurement law between 2009 and 2012 in the position of a secretary of the chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition's decommissioning commissions. After two years of practice as a lawyer and lecturer at OTIDEA, he spent eight years at the Prague Public Transit Company, followed by a year as director of the legal department at Prague Transport Company, where he managed public procurement of legal services using BVA procedures. They were the first in the Czech Republic to assess only qualityvwith a fixed price in this segment. Currently, he works at Tender Society and KGS legal law firm. Throughout his career, he has gone through all three main branches of procurement practice - supervisory, advisory, and contracting. In his current activities, he specializes in providing external legal services to public and sectoral procurers in all areas of procurement and investment. He further shares his experience through training sessions and seminars for the public, as well as through publishing activities.

Barbora holds the position of Regional Category Manager in the areas of Capex & Engineering at Asahi. She has experience in purchasing from both local and global perspectives, focusing on both manufacturing and non-manufacturing expenditures, global category strategies, and market strategy development, including their implementation in the regions of Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Australia. She is also knowledgeable in sourcing within multicultural environments, taking into account the needs of various stakeholders. At the eBF, she will primarily speak about key indicators of team performance.

An experienced procurement manager, trainer and consultant; Karel Otýs is all of these things. He left his senior management procurement position in 2011 to establish his own consulting and training practice. He is enthusiastic about teaching, connecting, advising, sharing, discussing, motivating, training and coaching not only buyers and procurement managers, but also their internal clients and occasionally suppliers. He’s able to find novel solutions with an emphasis on efficiency and simplicity, but also has the ability to break down a complex problem into simple, understandable molecules.

Tomáš works as the Head of Procurement at GasNet. He has extensive experience in managerial positions in procurement, facility management, and large fleet management, which he gained in companies such as RWE/innogy, Czech Airlines, Marks & Spencer, and GasNet. He specializes in process optimization and lean management. He is a father of four and spends his free time with his family, traveling, learning, and engaging in sports.

Piotr has 20 years of experience and has effectively managed the spending of billions of euros on global markets, including petrochemical commodities. He has worked with suppliers from the US, across Europe, China, and as far as Australia. He is passionate about building long-term strategies, negotiations, and, in recent years, topics related to ESG and improving procurement efficiency through the use of AI. He holds a PhD and lectures at Nicolaus Copernicus University, specializing in research on strategic procurement management.

Jakub Trnobranský began his career in procurement in 2018. At Tesco, he steadily progressed from the position of Tactical Buyer for waste and consumables, through the Head Office category, to his current role as Lead Buying Manager for the property category across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Procurement is a true passion for him, and he enjoys meeting people who share the same enthusiasm.

Tomáš has been involved in procurement since the beginning of his professional career. For the last 15 years, he has worked in the telecommunications industry. He has spent a significant part of his career with České Radiokomunikace a.s. as a procurement and PMO manager, where he was involved in projects related to the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting, the digitalization of radio broadcasting, as well as the construction of data centers and the development of IoT. Since 2019, he has been the Executive Director of Central Procurement and PMO at Letiště Praha a. s. He is, therefore, fully responsible for implementing all tenders and RFPs, as well as for the performance of strategic projects related to the operation and development of the airport.

Olga has been active in the field of public procurement since 2011. Throughout her professional career, she has worked both on the side of oversight authorities (MMR and ÚOHS) and on the side of the contracting authority. In recent years, she has been trying to transfer her experience into innovative approaches and implementation of efficient processes in public procurement. Since 2024, she has been leading the central procurement department.

Jana works as the Central Procurement Manager at Prague Airport, where she is responsible for the strategic leadership of procurement processes and for managing and professionalizing procurement teams. Throughout her career, Jana has focused on the legal oversight of various types of procurement procedures, including concessions, negotiated procedures, design contests, defence and security contracts, and the implementation of dynamic purchasing systems and qualification systems. Her contracting authority experience is further enriched by her work on the supplier side, where she served as Legal Director in a technology company. In addition, Jana has extensive experience in procurement audits and in training contracting authorities, which she carried out during her time at the State Environmental Fund.

He currently leads the supply chain management team responsible for operational purchasing, warehousing, and internal logistics at SLOVNAFT and its subsidiaries. He has gained diverse experience in various procurement roles, and his career began in IT, giving him an analytical approach to process optimization. He believes in continuous repetition and improvement of processes to achieve more efficient and agile solutions. He loves Excel almost as much as he loves his daughter.

Advisory services for both contracting authorities and suppliers have become a part of her professional life during her many years of legal practice, where she focused on various areas of law. She currently leads a team of skilled lawyers and economists at the National Bank of Slovakia, where, in the central procurement department, she focuses on the practical implementation of solutions and the efficiency of procurement processes. She believes that even through a formalized procurement process, it is possible to purchase effectively, simply, and with high quality.

Martina Kolafová is an automation specialist at GasNet and a member of the competence center for low-code/no-code tools. She focuses on SAP Build Process Automation and Power Platform – from solution development and user training to governance design and the advancement of digital skills within the company.

Buyer by vocation, procurement promoter by passion. For 18 years he has been managing departments that spend companies’ money. He built and developed procurement departments in industries related to mining and railways, and for the last 8 years in the energy sector at TAURON Ciepło. Creator of a podcast and YouTube channel related to procurement - #OkiemKupca. Trainer of buyers and managers who is fascinated by working with people. He is able to build, remodel and motivate a purchasing team so that it becomes competently mature and independent. On LinkedIn, showing the human face of a buyer, he created - #PiątekBrzmiDobrze - the only community on this platform focused around passion for music.

Martin co-founded Cequence, a Slovak solution that uses the latest technologies (machine learning, artificial intelligence, NLP) and integrates Open Ai's ChatGPT for modern contract management. To the Cequence team, he brings international experience from the start-up environment. He has worked through various roles in Business Development, Customer Success, and Digital Transformation. He became interested in innovative solutions that moved his industry forward by leaps and bounds while studying at universities in Denmark and Sweden. Then, he came to Cequence from the US, where he helped public institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area with the digital transformation towards citizens. Today, his ideas and vision for corporate solutions, built on the best of modern digital design, translate into Cequence solutions that help save clients thousands of hours of work every day. In his spare time, you can find him tackling the paths on his bike, cooking a delicious meal, or shredding hiking boots in the mountains.

Jan is a part of the Purchasing and Public Procurement Department at the General Directorate of Rail Administration, where he focuses primarily on conceptual issues and innovations in the department's activities, project management, and recently also on presenting the department's activities to both professional and non-professional audiences. Jan has been involved in public procurement since the beginning of his legal career. He has experienced public procurement from the perspective of both the contracting authority and a law firm administering public procurement for the contracting authority on a turnkey basis, as well as from the perspective of supervisory authorities during his tenure as an auditor of public procurement at a subsidy provider. Recently, he has been particularly involved in the introduction and development of the qualification system, where he has been both the author and project manager of the project. He has also focused on establishing the concept of responsible procurement at the Rail Administration, including its complete documentation. His driving force is the desire to devise new procedures and improvements that can be applied within public procurement and are meaningful for practical use.

After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Masaryk University in Brno, Markéta initially began her career in advocacy, focusing on civil, commercial, and criminal law. Since 2011, she has merged her career with the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition (ÚOHS) and overseeing public procurement. She has progressed through positions from a clerk to department head and eventually to director of the public procurement department, a role she held for seven years. Subsequently, she was appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Office responsible for leading the Public Procurement Section, and since last year, she has been serving as Deputy Chairperson of the Office for a six-year term. She is also active in her field through lecturing and publishing activities.

By creating his tools, Jiří makes life easier for contracting authorities, from the largest database of procurement contracts to screening for anti-Russian sanctions. Not only does he and the Datlab team analyze contracts across Europe, he also leads the Zindex project in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Moreover, he is involved with the Ministry of Industry and Trade as an author of the methodology for small-scale procurement. He contributed to the Annual Report and the Public Procurement Strategy.

Petr is the head of the Legal Department at the Regional Office of the Central Bohemian Region, where he is also responsible for the methodology of public contracts awarded by the region. His professional journey is inseparably linked to an interest in new technologies, legal tech, and lately, particularly artificial intelligence in public administration and in the field of public procurement. Petr is a co-author of the e-book 'AI Tools in Public Administration' and author of several articles on AI and law, demonstrating his deep interest and expertise in this area. He considers public administration to be an ideal place for the implementation of artificial intelligence and believes that public administration without AI will not be able to function. In the field of public procurement, he is particularly interested in simplifying and automating administration. He assumes that the combination of legal expertise with technological progress is the path to modernization and efficiency in the public sector.

Michal Barč has been involved in the IT industry for almost 30 years, helping to implement projects for customers primarily focused on supporting corporate processes, automation, and reporting. With extensive experience from international projects and managerial positions in Russia and Germany, he can propose suitable strategies for implementing new tools into companies and organizations. Today, at Konica Minolta IT Solutions Czech, his primary focus is on the development of cloud technologies, automation, Microsoft 365, security, compliance, and IT systems strategy. He is also responsible for introducing proprietary products created on the Microsoft Power Platform into the portfolios of various organizations across Europe.

Roman Berger works at Konica Minolta IT Solutions Czech as a Solution Architect and leads the Power Platform & Dynamics 365 department. He has over six years of experience with the Power Platform, specializing in Power Apps and Power Automate. Roman is a Power Platform enthusiast and believes in the idea of empowering key users of business processes to develop business applications. He admires the Power Platform for its strong individual tools, but he values the synergy that their combination brings. His goal is to help customers with such synergistic solutions. Among his greatest achievements is the creation of the FLEETMAN product for fleet management, which is used by companies such as Rohlík.cz. Roman is also known for leading Power Platform Hackathons. Currently, he focuses on the adoption of AI and its practical application in customer processes within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Since 2007, he has been the head of the consulting team (country manager) of the PROEBIZ group for Moravia, part of Eastern Bohemia, and the Vysočina region. He is one of the leading corporate experts in the digitalization of procurement processes and public tenders. He has successfully implemented PROEBIZ platform software in more than one hundred procurement teams.

She worked for four years within the PROEBIZ project as an expert lecturer and administrator specializing in eAuctions in the corporate and public sector, where she helped PROEBIZ's Czech and foreign clients with the most complex e-auction cases. Currently, she is a dramaturge at PROCUREMENT BOARD TV, where she also acts as a presenter of programs for the professional procurement community.

The legendary trainer of the PROEBIZ platform was at the beginning of the computerization of procurement negotiation processes. From his position as a specialist in dynamic bid comparison, he has handled thousands of eAuctions in terms of setup strategies, processes, and evaluation of even the most complex cases. Not surprisingly, he also invented his own type of electronic auction, which bears his name. He is currently involved in the Digital Procurement Team and eProcurement.TV educational projects and several other developmental educational projects.