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IVAN SOUČEK
Role: director Area: chemical industry, economics and management Employer: Union of Chemical Industry; former: Kaučuk Kralupy a.s., Unipetrol, Paramo Kolín a.s., Česká rafinérská a.s.
What can I help my mentee with?
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Ivan graduated in plastics production and processing technology and started his professional career as an operations technologist at Kaučuk Kralupy. During the 11 years there he worked his way up to head of the strategic planning department, an area he has been involved in ever since. His first job was negotiating with potential foreign partners and drawing up long-term strategic plans, and in 1995 this work led to Ivan being one of the first three employees to found Unipetrol and to participate in the creation of the joint stock company Česká rafinérská. At Unipetrol, he was involved in science, research, development and investment and became a member of the Board of Directors. Other work experience includes the position of General Manager of Korama Kolín and Česká rafinérská a.s., in 2012-2015 managing the preparation of a large refinery project abroad. Since 2016, Ivan has been a director of the Chemical Industry Association, an association that provides advocacy, education support, communication with the state and European administration, and support to member organizations in selected areas related to the chemical industry. They also promote chemistry to the public and bring together companies and research institutions and schools.
Throughout his rich industrial career, Ivan has also devoted himself to his studies. After graduating from college in Russia, he decided to attend the University of Economics in addition to his full-time job. "Studying at a full-time job is really a big deal, especially if you enjoy the work extra. So I ended up quitting after five semesters, but I managed to learn what I wanted to learn." He took several international economics courses - including a 2-year course from the University of Chicago and DePaul University, a 2-month production management course in Japan, and a 1-year sector economics and management course in Milan. He completed his studies only in 2007, when he successfully completed his PhD studies at the Institute of Economics and Management, University of Economics and Management. However, he continues to teach and is the author of nine books on strategic planning and more than a hundred articles and conference papers so far.
For the same reason he chose to teach, Ivan is now involved in mentoring. "Naturally, one would make do with work alone. The work I do here at the school is really extra and I certainly won't get rich from it. But the point is that you learn a lot of things in your lifetime and it would be a huge shame to keep it to yourself."