Jozef Síkela

Jozef Síkela

Minister of Industry and Trade

Jozef Síkela was born on 17 June 1967 in Rokycany. He started Primary school in Zbiroh, but in 1974 the whole family moved to Brno, where he completed his primary education with expanded teaching of foreign languages. In 1986 he graduated at a secondary economic school and was accepted for study at the Prague University of Economics and Business. He graduated as an economic engineer in 1991. In the same year he was selected in an audition to join the prestigious banking study programme of the Austrian Creditanstalt AG in Vienna, where he worked until 1995.

Then he returned to Prague, where he worked in various positions in the field of credit risk management and corporate banking, initially at Bank Austria Creditanstalt, later in the leadership of insurance company Česká spořitelna, a.s., (Erste Group) until 2006.

In 2006 he became the first vice-chairman of the Board and deputy general manager, later chairman of the board and general manager of Erste Bank in Ukraine.

Thanks to the successful consolidation of Erste Ukraine, he was named chairman of the board and general director of the Slovak insurance company Slovenská spořitelna in 2010. At its head he succeeded in achieving historic results, with the bank repeatedly gaining the title of Bank of the Year, and in 2013 Jozef Síkela was awarded the title Banker of the Year and nominated as Manager of the Year. Under his leadership the bank was also awarded the title of Most Valuable Brand in Slovakia.

In 2015, Jozef Síkela was named a member of the board of Erste Group Bank AG, parent company of the Erste group. In this position he was responsible for corporate and investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, real estate financing including communal living, business finance, financial markets and macroeconomic analysis. His responsibilities included the above-mentioned activities of the Erste group on all “domestic markets” of Erste in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, as well as in the so-called extended markets in Germany, Poland and Switzerland. His direct responsibilities included the Erste Group branches in London, New York and Hong Kong. During 2017–2019 Jozef Síkela devoted himself intensely to the programme of banking development for small and medium-sized companies throughout the Erste group.

In connection with the departure of long-time chairman of the board and general manager Andreas Treichl, Jozef Síkela decided to abandon his banking career and after a year-long “family holiday”, in 2021 he began devoting himself to advisory and investment activities.

Jozef Síkela is married, with his wife Pavlína they have a 6-year-old daughter Natálka.

His passions include listening to music, namely rock, jazz and classical, his hobbies further include literature and film.

Personal Details

Ing. Jozef Síkela, Born on 17 June 1967 in Rokycany

Education

1981–1986: Secondary economic school in Brno
1986–1991: Prague University of Economics and Business Faculty of Commerce, course in Foreign Trade Economics)
1991–1992: Prestigious banking educational programme for academics – Creditanstalt AG, Vienna, Austria
2005–2006: Top Executive Development within Erste Group, including lectures and courses at Haas School of Business of University of California, Berkeley

Career and Public Service

2021 – present: Self-employed (consultancy), partner of the fund of qualified investors Primefund, aimed at innovation and technology
2020 – present: Member of the board of trustees of Professor Charvát Endowment Fund, 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, 1st Medical Faculty Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague
2015–2020: Member of the board of Erste Group Bank AG, Vienna, Austria
2015-2019: Member of the supervisory board of Oesterrreichische Kontrollbank AG
2015-2017: Member of the supervisory board of Erste Group Immorent AG
2010-2019: Member, vice-chairman and chair of the supervisory board of Prvá stavebná sporitelna, a.s.
2010-2014: General Manager and chairman of the board of Slovenská sporitelna, a.s., Bratislava, Slovakia
2006-2010: General Manager and chairman of the board of Erste Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
2001-2006: Member of the leadership and manager of the corporate client division, Česká spořitelna, a.s.
1995-2001: Manager of the corporate client division – Creditanstalt, a.s., later Bank Austria Creditanstalt, a.s.
1992-1995: Credit specialist, risk management division, Creditanstalt AG, Vienna, Austria

Language Skills

Czech – native language
English – fluently both spoken and written
German – fluently both spoken and written
Russian – fluently both spoken and written

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