Jiří Koleňák: Welcome to another episode of the Úspěšní (Successful) podcast, specifically to the launch of our new series dedicated to presenting the winners of the Manager of the Year 2024 awards. Throughout this series, we highlight exceptional leaders whose core principles, habits, and mindsets empower their organizations to achieve extraordinary results. Joining me as co-host is Olga Girslová, President of the Czech Management Association. Welcome, Olga!
Olga Girslová: Thank you, Jiří. Thank you for the warm welcome.
Jiří Koleňák: Olga, please introduce our guest today.
Olga Girslová: Our guest today is Petr Střelec, General Manager of the Brno site of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Approximately one-third of the world’s electron microscopes originate from Brno, and Petr leads an organization that stands as one of the key global centers in this cutting-edge field. In recent years, he guided the company through a business expansion of over 30%, recruited hundreds of new colleagues, and oversaw a multi-billion-crown investment into a state-of-the-art manufacturing and R&D center. Alongside his corporate role, he actively contributes to regional development, serves on scientific and innovation boards, and bridges industrial practice with academia. Welcome to the podcast, Petr!
Petr Střelec: Thank you, good day.
Jiří Koleňák: Petr, before we dive into business, a warm-up question: what brought you genuine joy in recent days—not as a General Manager, but as Petr the individual?
Petr Střelec: It might sound surprising, but the winter weather! I was genuinely glad the hard frost finally arrived—it helps restore balance in nature and clears out pests in my large garden.
Jiří Koleňák: Let’s move to business. You lead an enterprise responsible for producing a major portion of global electron microscopes, which carries immense responsibility. Do you recall a situation where you had to choose between prioritizing people versus project delivery?
Petr Střelec: Never. Delivering a project is fundamentally part of developing people. Challenging project situations provide the single best environment for personal and professional growth. Team members simply need to know that if they stumble, someone will support them. If they can pick themselves back up, I let them handle it. Hard situations offer the richest learning experiences where people learn from their mistakes and move forward.
Jiří Koleňák: So you foster a culture where mistakes are treated as learning opportunities?
Petr Střelec: Mistakes are the best teachers. My only rule is: don't repeat the exact same mistake twice.
Jiří Koleňák: In 2014, you stepped away from a global corporate role to focus on technology at the Australian National University. Was that an escape from corporate management, or a return to something you missed?
Petr Střelec: It was definitely a return, driven strongly by my leadership convictions. I had been challenging our leadership that we weren't building truly disruptive teams and that we were managing new technologies using conventional methods. They challenged me back: "Go build it yourself." So I handed off my global team, took two colleagues, and joined the Applied Mathematics team at the Australian University to develop a product. Working alongside academics was a fascinating experience!
Jiří Koleňák: You often mention that perseverance means finding a purpose worth pursuing. How do you articulate vision so it resonates as an authentic commitment rather than a generic corporate slogan?
Petr Střelec: First, through radical authenticity—sharing personal experiences, including past failures and core beliefs. Second, through situational leadership—tailoring your approach to each individual. Some people need direct, unvarnished encouragement, while others need gentle confidence-building. Most importantly, a leader must have personal skin in the game. If team members don't see your personal commitment, they won't buy into the vision. Leadership means steering the ship—defining the immediate operational milestones and taking the first hits yourself when obstacles arise.
Jiří Koleňák: Your business scaled dramatically in recent years, growing from 20 billion to 31 billion CZK. What drove that rapid expansion?
Petr Střelec: Market expansion provided the primary momentum. However, if you aren't structurally prepared, you miss the window. Preparation requires an innovative product portfolio addressing exact customer needs, alongside mature business systems capable of scaling. Sustainable growth comes from systematic, multi-year cultivation of products, market intelligence, customer satisfaction, and institutional trust. When market demand surges, a prepared organization captures that momentum seamlessly.
Jiří Koleňák: Not every year brings dynamic market growth. How do you approach a year that is stable and profitable, but not a record-breaker?
Petr Střelec: As a strategic opportunity. Rapid scaling creates operational friction—hiring hundreds of people quickly can introduce process inefficiencies. Stable periods allow you to optimize workflows, refine inventory management, invest in workforce upskilling, and restructure teams where necessary. Crucially, companies should use stable periods to invest heavily in R&D and new product pipelines. Organizations that maintain R&D investments during market plateaus emerge like rockets when the next growth cycle begins.
Jiří Koleňák: You recruit hundreds of employees annually. Is it harder to select the right talent or to integrate them into the organization?
Petr Střelec: Selecting the right talent is far harder. Professional skills can be taught relatively easily. When evaluating candidates, I focus heavily on character, moral integrity, values, and intrinsic motivation. Core personal values are established early in life and are difficult to rewrite. Once you hire individuals with the right character and drive, onboarding becomes a structured operational process.
Jiří Koleňák: You lead an site of roughly 2,000 people across various functional verticals. What management approach prevents executive leadership from losing touch with frontline realities?
Petr Střelec: I view my role more as an organizational facilitator than a traditional hierarchical commander, especially since many cost centers operate across global reporting lines. Maintaining operational connection requires continuous internal talent development. The most effective managers rise from within the organization—stepping from frontline execution into first-line management, where they learn to lead former peers while preserving strong interpersonal trust.
Jiří Koleňák: Your workplace culture allows any technician on the assembly floor to approach the General Manager directly. How does that work in practice?
Petr Střelec: It happens naturally in hallways, during lunch, or in the office. We eliminated executive secretaries two decades ago to dismantle artificial corporate hierarchies. While formal organizational responsibilities differ, we are equals on a human level. Maintaining an open-door policy sends an authentic cultural signal that leadership is accessible to everyone.
Jiří Koleňák: What does an informal, first-name addressing policy (tykání) bring to an organization?
Petr Střelec: It reinforces mutual respect and equality. It doesn't eliminate decision-making authority—when complex issues arise, we debate them openly around a table, but the individual holding ultimate responsibility makes the final call. Psychological equality creates the psychological safety required for multidisciplinary innovation. Innovation cannot be mandated top-down; leadership must build an environment where diverse specialists feel empowered to collaborate and experiment.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you ensure company vision is effectively communicated and shared across all levels?
Petr Střelec: By personally communicating why the vision matters from day one. I conduct new employee orientation sessions to explain our corporate mission, values, and strategic direction authentically. Furthermore, every department head and project manager must translate that overarching vision into meaningful context for their specific teams.
Jiří Koleňák: Regarding technological innovation, is it harder to develop a breakthrough technology or to successfully commercialize it?
Petr Střelec: Commercialization is far harder. Engineers and scientists often create brilliant technical innovations, but unless a technology addresses a compelling customer use case, it remains a prototype.
Jiří Koleňák: Have you ever halted a technologically impressive project because it lacked commercial viability?
Petr Střelec: Absolutely. During my time managing R&D technology transfers, we halted roughly 30% of projects. Even resource-rich global enterprises must rigorously filter projects based on market demand and commercial scalability.
Jiří Koleňák: When implementing sustainable site operations—such as rooftop solar or heat recovery systems—is the primary challenge technical or organizational persuasion?
Petr Střelec: Persuading corporate stakeholders to approve capital allocation used to be the main hurdle. Years ago, we advocated aggressively for rooftop photovoltaics, eventually installing one of the region's largest industrial solar arrays. Today, sustainability is a corporate priority. However, environmental initiatives must be balanced with economic logic and pragmatic business sense rather than driven by rigid ideology.
Jiří Koleňák: Is building a fully sustainable factory driven primarily by corporate values or commercial logic?
Petr Střelec: It is primarily a value-driven choice that aligns with our core mission, resonates with employees, and strengthens client trust during international supply chain audits.
Jiří Koleňák: As a certified executive coach, what is your primary coaching question when working with leaders?
Petr Střelec: "What do you truly want to achieve, and do I have your permission to dig deep?" Effective coaching must address underlying personal mindsets rather than remaining on surface business tasks.
Olga Girslová: Petr, looking at the Czech management ecosystem, should top leaders actively participate in professional platforms or remain focused strictly inside their enterprises?
Petr Střelec: Successful leaders and established companies have a responsibility to give back to the broader ecosystem. We must elevate the public perception of executive management and entrepreneurship—moving past outdated 90s stereotypes to showcase leadership as a noble profession centered on serving organizations, empowering talent, and building national economic strength.
Olga Girslová: If you were to design a professional platform for top executives from scratch, what three foundational principles would you establish?
Petr Střelec: First, radical openness and active collaboration—leaders sharing authentic experiences and lessons candidly. Second, a flat, non-hierarchical environment free from formal titles and corporate ego. Third, a culture that encourages asking and addressing hard, uncomfortable questions.
Olga Girslová: Can Czech management navigate global technological and geopolitical shifts independently, or is cross-industry collaboration essential?
Petr Střelec: Cross-industry collaboration creates exponential strength. Models like the Brainport ecosystem in Eindhoven (formerly Dommel Valley) or Silicon Valley thrive because leaders know each other, exchange insights, and collaborate openly. Competing isolated in silos limits global competitiveness.
Olga Girslová: What did winning the Manager of the Year award mean to you personally?
Petr Střelec: It provided a valuable public platform to highlight the management profession and share practical leadership insights. The evaluation process also forced structured self-reflection, prompting me to articulate my core leadership values clearly.
Jiří Koleňák: Olga, thank you for co-hosting. Petr, thank you very much for joining us and sharing your valuable insights.
Petr Střelec: Thank you very much for having me.
Jiří Koleňák: To our viewers, thank you for watching. Please like, comment, and share, and see you next time with more inspiring guests!
