About us
Due to the period 1946 – 1989 the Czech Republic has not had the history of family business that developed foreign economies have had for several generations. For this reason, there is a lack of experience in the Czech Republic with the transfer of a family business from one generation to another. One of the key missions of our Centre is to transfer this experience to the Czech Republic from abroad, and in cooperation with Czech family businesses, to build up optimal ‘know-how’ for the administration and management of family businesses.
EDUCATION
We navigate the process of succession, management and administration of family businesses. We bring ‘know-how’ from abroad, where family businesses often have more than a century of history. In our team we have both experienced academics and experts from the field of business.
RESEARCH
We try to understand what works or doesn’t work when engaging family members in the business. We conduct research projects with leading universities based abroad. We publish the research results in prestigious international journals and reflect on them in our courses.
COOPERATION
We connect Czech family businesses and students. Top experts from all over the world come to our events. We promote the interests of family businesses on a regional and European level.
Prof. Jiří Hnilica, Ph.D. is the Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration at the Prague University of Economics and Business and the founder of the Centre for Family Business. His professional specializations include family business, strategy and corporate governance. Jiří Hnilica spent 5 months at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, 4 months at the University of Denver in the USA, and taught at Bocconi University in Italy for 5 years at regular intervals. He is a member of the Family Firm Institute, Inc. and holds an Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising.
Ing. Martin Jurek, Ph.D., MIM works at the Centre as Deputy Head and Academic Director of the Centre. He works as an assistant professor at the Department of Strategy, Faculty of Business Administration, Prague University of Economics and Business, where he presides over the English-taught course Strategy and Succession in Family Businesses. He spent two research semesters at the Wirtschaftsuniversität in Vienna and a study year in the USA. The issues of family relationships, goals, succession and finances within a family business are the subject not only of his research, but of everyday practice, as he works in a family company. Martin is a course moderator for the International Federation for Family Development, which has the status of general consultant for the UN Economic and Social Council.
Ladislav Tyll, MBA, Ph.D. is the academic director of the international program CEMS – Master in International Management. In his courses, he connects students with Czech companies and multinational corporations. Under professional guidance, students design innovative strategies that companies can use in practice. Ladislav is also a business consultant and entrepreneur who monitors the latest trends and implements them at both professional and academic levels.
Ales Kubicek, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the Department of Strategy, Faculty of Business Administration, Prague University of Economics and Business. He studied at the University of Economics and Charles University in Prague. He specializes in the strategy and management of family businesses and forms of intra-group conflict. He is the author of more than 40 publications and has published in the prestigious journals ‘Family Business Review’ and ‘Review of Managerial Science’, among others. Aleš is a member of the Family Firm Institute and holds the Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising (CFBA) for family business consultants.
Assoc. Prof. Ondřej Machek, Ph.D, works at the Centre as a senior researcher. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Economics in Prague as well as the Czech Technical University in Prague. He specializes in family businesses and the regulation of network industries. He is the author and co-author of more than 100 publications, including 10 impact articles. The most important publications include studies in the journals ‘Family Business Review’ and ‘Organizational Dynamics’.
Mgr. Julie Hambergerová, MBA provides PR and marketing activities for the Centre. She studied political science and French philology at Charles University in Prague and the MBA-MAE program, postgraduate studies in business management at the French-Czech Institute of Management at the VŠE. She worked as the editor of Economic newspaper (Hospodářské noviny) and then as a press spokesperson for VŠE. She specializes in copywriting and enjoys the topic of startups and small businesses.
Lorraine M. Uhlaner, Ph.D. is a member of the Centre for Family Business and the Department of Strategy at Prague University of Economics and Business and Full Professor Emeritus, Eastern Michigan University. She studied at Harvard University (A.B.), the University of Leiden (drs) and the University of Michigan (M.A.,Ph.D.). Her research spans entrepreneurship/SME and family business topics including innovation, knowledge management, corporate and family governance and social entrepreneurship. Her articles have appeared in ‘Family Business Review’, ‘Human Relations’, ‘Journal of Product Innovation Management’ and ’Journal of International Business Studies’ among others. She recently retired as Full Professor from EDHEC Business School and holds the Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising (CFBA) for family business consultants.
A full version of her professional CV can be found here.
Strategic Council
The Strategic Council is a key advisory body of the Centre for Family Business composed of representatives of major family businesses. The Council has a maximum of 20 members and meets four times a year.
The mission of the Strategic Council is to support and influence the Centre for Family Business in fulfilling its mission and cooperate with the government and the Parliament of the Czech Republic on the conditions and possibilities of supporting family business
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