American Investor March 2011

American

InvestorMARCH 2011

Vol. XXI, No. 3 • ISSN 1506-3240

© American Chamber of Commerce in Poland 2011 www.amcham.pl

Women in chargeThere are good reasons why there should be more women

in top positions in business

Agenda: For big growth think small, p. 9Monthly Meeting: Shell game, p. 20

Expert: Wipe or swipe, p. 28

Company Profile: Dale Carnegie Training, p. 23

MONTHLY MEETING

Shell game A leading advisor warns that Poland’s capital market is built on borrowedmoney, p. 20

COMPANY PROFILE

Effective management is universal American Investor’s Tomasz Ćwiok talks with Peter V.Handal, Chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc., as the management train-ing company opens its first office in Poland, p. 23

EXPERTS

A measure of trust External review of a wide range of corporate activities builds long-termvalue, p. 24

Claimants, get on board! The idea of class actions is popular in Poland…but will realitycatch up? p. 25

Break through to team excellence Teams need good leadership to make a company pro-ductive, p. 26

The way of the dodo A new regulation allowing taxpayers to use electronic invoices muchmore extensively than they could before may spell the end for the paper invoice, p. 27

Wipe or swipe If you think your computer data are safe, think again, p. 28

EVENTS

AmCham Business Mixer, p. 29AmCham Monthly Meeting, p. 30AmCham SME Committee’s 3rd Business Forum, p. 31

DEPARTMENTS

From the Editor, p. 2, From the Chairman, p. 4, Newsline, p. 5, Agenda, p. 8,

Content summaries in Polish, p. 28, Guide to AmCham Committees, p. 33

MARCH 2011 AMERICAN INVESTOR 1

what’s on

www.amcham.plYour online guide to AmCham activities

Women in charge American Investor

profiles selectedwomen businessleaders in Am-Cham member-companies, page12; pre-sents anargument against

quota system by an inter-national business coach, page 12;and a pro-quota argument by one ofthe most influential women in businessin Poland, page 16.

Other useful sites

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

http://www.uschamber.comAmerican Chamber of Commerce

in the European Union

http://www.amchameu.beAmChams in Europe

http://www.amchamseurope.com

COVER STORY:American

InvestorMARCH 2011 Vol. XXI, No. 3

Calendar

By clicking on red links in the Calen-

dar you may visit photo coverage ofour past events. Blue links will takeyou to the announcements of upcom-ing events.

Download this magazine!

American Investor is available in full asa pdf for download from the www.am-cham.pl website. Go to "About Us" inthe horizontal menu, and chooseAmerican Investor Magazine fromthe pop-up menu. You can downloadpast issues of American Investor dat-ing back to October 2010.

Policy Watch

Intelligence: For AmCham positionpapers, policy statements, official let-ters to government ministers and re-search papers, visit the Advocacy linkon the horizontal menu to downloadthe latest AmCham position papers.

Regions

AmCham may be closer than youthink. Apart from Warsaw, AmChamhas two regional branches which areactive all year long and offer many ex-citing opportunities to interface with regional business leaders and politi-cians. To find out more about our ac-tivities in Kraków and the region ofsouthern Poland, and Wrocław, go toRegions in the horizontal menu bar,and pick your region of interest.

Events

AmCham Monthly Meetings are one ofthe flagship events organized by thechamber. While American Investor cov-ers each Monthly Meeting exten-sively, including full-page pictorials,you can search through picturearchives of past events that includenever previously printed material. Justgo to Events and Activities, pickMonthly Meetings and scroll down forlinks to archived events.

AmCham online

We encourage companies to sponsor our Business Mixers, CEO Forums, 4th of July Picnic and other events. Business Mixers

You can sponsor AmCham Business Mixers throughout 2011 (except for April, July and December). To find out more aboutsponsoring Business Mixers, visit www.amcham.pl, click on the Events & Activities link on the horizontal menu bar, and

choose Business Mixers. CEO Forums

A high-level discussion panel followed by a cocktail reception, for AmCham CEOs only, held just 3 times a year. To find outmore about AmCham CEO Forums, visit www.amcham.com.pl, click on the Events & Activities link on the horizontal menu

bar, and choose CEO Forums. 4th of July Picnic

Scheduled for Saturday, July 2, 2011, at Królikarnia Palace, Warsaw. To see pictures from last year’s picnic, go to www.am-cham.com.pl, click on the Events & Activities link on the horizontal menu bar, and choose 4th of July Picnic.

Annual General Meeting & Christmas Reception in DecemberTo see pictures from the last AGM & Christmas Reception, go to www.amcham.com.pl, click on the Events & Activities link

on the horizontal menu bar, and choose Annual General Meeting. Regional events

In addition to Warsaw events, your company can also support AmCham activities in Kraków, Wrocław and Katowice. We areopen for sponsorship of the following events:

Our events in Kraków include two Business Mixers, IT Giants Conference, AmCham Academy Project;in Katowice, one Business Mixer, Manufacturers’ Forum, and the conferences “Outsourcing Potential of

Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis” and “Dębica—Investment Conference.” For more information, please contact Monika Pilarska at +48 608 027 172 or [email protected].

Our events in Wrocław include AmCham Breakfast, two Business Mixers, Oktoberfest, and InternationalChristmas Mixer. For more information, please contact Joanna Bensz at +48 605 678 817 or [email protected].

For additional information contact Anita Kowalska at +48 22 520 5994.

Do not miss the opportunity to sponsor AmCham events

in 2011!

2 AMERICAN INVESTOR MARCH 2011

BOARD OFDIRECTORS

The American Chamber of Commerce in Poland

SPONSORS

Joseph Wancer – DeloitteChairman

Judith Y. Gliniecki – Wierzbowski EvershedsVice Chair

richard lada – TelestoVice Chairman

peter kaY – KPMG PolskaSecretary

stan popoW – FinacorpTreasurer

Tony HoushAPCO Worldwide

Paul FogoMiller Canfield

Piotr JuchaMcDonald’s

Thomas KolajaAlvarez and Marsal

Robert L. KońskiKulczyk Investments

John LynchLynka

Mac RaczkiewiczEx officio

Roman RewaldWeil, Gotshal & Manges

Anna SienkoIBM

AmCham Auditor:

Women in demand

The cover story of this issue of American Investor discusses the pros of in-

cluding more women into higher echelons of corporate structures. While

we focus on corporations, here I venture to take a look at the impact of

women on other than corporate structures, namely the U.S. Army.

In December last year Dr. Malcolm Ross O'Neill, Assistant Secretary of the

U.S. Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, met with the AmCham

Defense and Security Committee. He said that throughout the years the Army

had changed one of its most fundamental priorities. Earlier the emphasis was

on accomplishing the mission. If soldiers were killed or hurt, that was consid-

ered a part of being a soldier. Today the emphasis is to have the soldiers

come back home. "If today is not a good day to fight, we will go back and wait

till the time is right, because we don't want anyone to die," O'Neill said.

This shift in priorities, it seems, reflects a high caliber of empathy for the sol-

diers and their families. It also implies a more conservative approach to risk

management.

Both empathy and a sensitive approach to risk management, as it is ex-

plained in the cover story, are natural female virtues. Unlike most men, most

women have the ability to understand the emotions of others. In turn, while

men tend to overestimate their abilities when deciding what action to take,

women think much more profoundly of the consequences of their decisions.

With this in mind it may be asserted that the shift in the U.S. Army is an after-

effect of the inclusion of women in its ranks.

It may be true to some extent. The U.S. military has the highest percentage

of service women in all NATO countries. They serve in every type of military

and on all levels of command. The importance of women is best exemplified

by the fact that they reach the rank of generals. In 1970, the first woman pro-

moted to the rank of general officer was Brig. Gen. Elizabeth P. Hoisington. In

1998 Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the first four-star general in the Ameri-

can Army. In turn, in 2010 Brig. Gen. Elizabeth L. McGuire assumed responsi-

bility as the first woman provost marshal general of the Army and also took

command of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

In Poland, the ratio of female to male soldiers is below 2%—one of the low-

est in NATO countries. With approximately 1,600 contracted female soldiers in

the Air Force, the Navy, and the Army, only 782 women are officers, but none is

near the top of the chain of command. The highest-ranking woman in the Pol-

ish military is in the Navy—Commodore Bożena Szubińska, the equivalent of

colonel in the army. Poland has no female generals.

While it is the official policy of the Army to enlist 3.4% of female soldiers by

2018, the real change will come only when women are included into the top

echelons of power and decision-making. The current ways that prevail in the

armed forces do not bid well for the future. Different leadership styles and val-

ues are in demand. Women can provide them given that they do not make the

accommodation of behaving like men. I am sure that had there been women

at the top of the chain of command in the Polish Air Force, the safety regula-

tions governing flying would have been more strictly observed and recent, re-

peated accidents would have been avoided.

Tomasz Ćwiok

YOUR AMCHAM FROM THE EDITOR


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American

InvestorThe official magazine

of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland

In other news, Chadbourne & Parke won aprecedent-setting Polish tax case that will havesignificant implications for legal advisors and ad-vocates practicing in Poland. The Supreme Ad-ministrative Court of Poland found no basis forlegal advisors to pay VAT on court-ordered legalaid in cases where the services are rendered bypartnerships that already pay VAT. In a legallyfinal ruling issued on January 27, the court re-jected the cassation appeal by the Minister of Fi-nance from a ruling by the province administra-tive court that upheld Chadbourne’s argumentagainst the tax. Warsaw partner Dorota Szubiel-

ska represented her colleague Piotr Karwat, Eu-ropean Counsel in Chadbourne’s Warsaw office,in the case. The National Chamber of Legal Advi-sors in Poland supported the efforts of Chad-bourne’s attorneys from the beginning and sub-sequently joined them in the proceeding beforethe court.

Cisco A Cisco survey released in January reveals thatU.S. and U.K. consumers want a new way toshop. Research from the Cisco Internet BusinessSolutions Group, the company’s global consul-tancy, and Cisco’s retail marketing team, findsthat retailers must respond to technology-savvyconsumers by combining Web-like and in-storeshopping experiences to create “mashops” inorder to drive growth and build brand aware-ness. Mashops get their name because they“mash up” the virtual and physical worlds to cre-ate a new way to shop.

A mashop shopping experience combines thebest of the physical and virtual worlds, allowingshoppers to receive the information and conven-ience of a Web-based experience while at thesame time being able to touch, feel, and see theproducts they want to buy. For retailers, thiscombination promises to increase sales throughconversions at the shelf edge, as customers gainmore access to product information, andthrough more cross-channel sales.

Creating mashop experiences will lead retail-ers to introduce technologies such as interactivedigital displays, video assistants, social network-ing technologies and Wi-Fi networks that enableshoppers to remain connected with trusted peo-ple and information while they are in the store.

For the study, Cisco surveyed 1,000 shoppersfrom the U.S. and the U.K. to discover how theyare using technology to help them buy, as wellas determine their interest in technology-enabledin-store experiences. According to the study,50% of consumers will continue to use all formsof technology to find the best price, which in turnwill push down margins.

In other news, Cisco predicts that Internet traf-fic will increase 26-fold in 2010–2015, accordingto Cisco’s Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast.Tablet computers will generate the largest trafficgrowth, 205 times the current rate by 2015. Ac-cording to Cisco there will be 5.6 billion mobileInternet devices in use by 2015. Video data deliv-ered to mobile devices will comprise 66% of alldata transfers to mobile devices. In 2009–2010the global traffic in mobile networks grew by159% a month.

On the security front, the 2010 Cisco Annual

Cushman & Wakefield

Commercial real estate advisory firm Cushman &Wakefield has been selected as the exclusiveagent for commercialization of Business Garden,an environment-friendly business park and oneof the largest office projects in Warsaw today.The investor is Swede Center. Business Gardenwill feature 90,000 sq. m. of rentable officespace, combined with retail, hotel and confer-ence space and additional amenities for officetenants. The completion date for the first twobuildings is scheduled for 3Q 2012.

In other news, Cushman & Wakefield interme-diated in signing of a lease between LBP Manu-facturing, a fast-food packaging manufacturerand Harrier Duo, the owner of Diamond Busi-ness Park Łódź. LBP will occupy 2,200 sq. m. ofwarehouse space and 233 sq. m. of officespace. Diamond Business Park Łódź comprises3 buildings with a lease area of nearly 60,000 sq.m.

BoeingAlaska Airlines has ordered 15 737 Next-Genera-tion Boeing passenger planes, including 13 737-900ER planes, the largest member of the 737family. The contract, according to catalog pric-ing, is valued at USD 1.3 billion. Brad Tilden,president of Alaska Airlines, said that the 737Boeings put into service so far by the airline haveproved fantastically reliable, which is why it hasdecided to buy more Boeings. He said that theBoeing 737s have helped the carrier achievevery good financial results for 2010.

The 737 Boeing family is the best-selling pas-senger plane today. By 2013 Boeing plans toboost the production of 737s to meet the grow-ing demand.

Chadbourne & ParkeThe Warsaw office of Chadbourne & Parke rep-resented the Polish Airports State Enterprise(PPL), which operates Poland’s airports, andPort-Hotel Sp. z o.o. in negotiations with an affili-ate of Marriott International for a 30-year fran-chise agreement for a new five-star RenaissanceHotel to be built adjacent to the Warsaw ChopinAirport terminal. Construction will begin in thespring of 2011 and completion is scheduled forthe first half of 2013. Sylwester Pieckowski, In-ternational Partner, advised the client in the ne-gotiations. Chadbourne has advised PPL andPort-Hotel concerning other hotel transactions,including the Courtyard by Marriott, the first hotelat the Warsaw Chopin Airport.


The cover story of this issue of American Investor is devoted to women’s

leadership in business. I have always been not only sensitive to, but also

supportive of, the issue of empowering women in business. While at

Citibank in Japan in the 1970s, I was instrumental in promoting the first Japan-

ese woman in the bank’s history to a managerial position in Operations/Trade

Services. Furthermore, as vice president of the same institution in Vienna, I hired

(for the first time) a Romani woman as an assistant in the Human Resources De-

partment. Both women had very successful careers. So

while the work for the bank was rewarding for them person-

ally, the bank benefited from the work of highly engaged

professionals.

When managing Bank BPH in Poland, one of my last de-

cisions before leaving the bank was to award a special

prize of PLN 60,000 to the winner of a competition de-

signed to propagate the idea of women running their own

business. The competition, formally entitled by the bank

the “Józef Wancer Grant,” was carried out in cooperation

with the International Women’s Forum and was part of a

BPH educational program aimed at boosting women’s un-

derstanding of finance and business. I’m proud that the

bank devoted so much energy and resources to its educational programs for

women.

So I am glad that American Investor has focused on the issue of female lead-

ership in business. The Cover Story explains why it is vital for business to include

women. It also profiles women business leaders of our member companies who

were kind enough to find the time to respond to the magazine’s survey.

A few remarks now about the AmCham Membership survey which we e-

mailed to you in late February. It is an online survey about your satisfaction (or

lack thereof) with the AmCham programs. Thanks to this survey, we will be able

to better adjust the chamber’s activities to suit your needs and expectations. By

the time you read this letter you are probably one day away from the deadline to

turn in your survey form. Please do not hesitate to dedicate 10 minutes of your

time and help us all to better understand the chamber’s development direction

in the near future. Your opinion counts. Do not let this opportunity slip away.

Make the chamber a better place for you!

American

Investor

© American Chamber of Commerce in Poland 2011. All rights reserved.

American Investor is the official publication of the Ameri-can Chamber of Commerce in Poland. It is a voice for for-eign investors and the business community in Poland.The magazine strives to keep our members and otherreaders up to date by following chamber news and report-ing on the leading trends in business and policy.

letters to the editor should be e-mailed [email protected]

AMCHAM STAFF

Dorota DabrowskiExecutive Director

[email protected]

Marzena DrelaDeputy Director

[email protected]

Anita KowalskaEvents & Media Manager

[email protected]

Robert KruszynaOffice Manager

[email protected]

Barbara Pocialik-MalinowskaMembership and Committees Coordinator

[email protected]

Marta PawlakResearch and Policy Coordinator

[email protected]

Robert ChomikProject Assistant

[email protected]

AmCham in KrakówMonika [email protected]

AmCham in WrocławJoanna [email protected]

Many ways of making more sense for your business

Joseph WancerAMCHAM CHAIRMAN

Published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland

YOUR AMCHAMFROM THE CHAIRMAN

AmCham Policy WatchWhile it is in Poland’s interest to attract for-

eign direct investment, the regulatory burdenon businesses in Poland is heavy and incon-sistent with the country’s commercial needs,AmCham said in a letter to the Ministry of Fi-nance in February. The letter followed Am-Cham’s participation in a conference in Janu-ary entitled “The Dynamic and Politics of Bet-ter Regulation: Dealing with Better Regulationand Its Role in a Dynamic and MultilateralContext.”

In the letter AmCham argued that the exist-ing legislation governing and affecting busi-ness should be simplified. The chamber alsosaid that the government should use IT to en-hance the process of consulting social part-ners, NGOs and other interest groups in-cluded in the legislative process. AmChamsaid that an online system for document shar-ing could be one of the solutions.

AmCham stressed that introducing manda-tory debate with social groups at the initialphase of creating legislative proposals is keyfor the business community, as this will allowthe government to reflect from the very begin-ning the issues that need to be addressed be-fore new laws are enacted.

Accreo TaxandConsulting company Accreo Taxand has ex-tended its service mix to include corporate so-cial responsibility. Robert Sroka, who formerlyworked for the employers’ organization Praco-dawcy RP, was named to head the company’sCSR department. His duties will include identi-fication and management of social and envi-ronmental risks and creating CSR policies forAccreo Taxand clients.

CB Richard Ellis

CB Richard Ellis has been appointed by Kro-nos Real Estate as exclusive leasing and mar-keting agent for the Ambassador office build-ing in Warsaw. Located in the Mokotów busi-ness district, Ambassador will offer 15,600 sq.m. of Class A office and retail space uponcompletion in 1Q 2013. Construction has al-ready been started by Warbud. The buildingwas designed by the architectural studio ofAndrzej M. Chołdzyński, best known for thelandmark design of the Warsaw Stock Ex-change.

NewslineNews from AmCham and its members


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ART & DTP

tomasz Ć[email protected]

EDITOR-AT-LARGEchristopher [email protected]

Printing

Q Invest Ltd +48 22 424 6600

To contact AmCham please write or call:

ul. Emilii Plater 53, WFC 00-113 Warsawtel: +48 22 520 5999 fax: +48 22 520 5998e-mail: [email protected]

Nuclear Energy for potential nuclear projects inPoland,” Burek said.

In other news, GE has unveiled the secondphase of its USD 200 million EcomaginationChallenge, “Power Your Home,” which seeks thebest ideas for harnessing, managing and usingenergy at home. The competition targets busi-nesses, entrepreneurs and innovators.

Launched in 2005, Ecomagination is GE’scommitment to conceive and construct pioneer-ing technologies that help customers addresstheir environmental and financial needs and helpGE grow. To accelerate innovation, GE has dou-bled its commitment to Ecomagination fromUSD 5 billion to USD 10 billion by 2015.

Hewlett-PackardHP has rolled out new IT solutions to help bothbusiness and government merge and intercon-nect different modules that are now separateparts of the IT structure and enable them to re-spond to their clients’ needs accurately and im-mediately. The cloud-computing model is calledInstant-On Enterprise.

A study conducted for HP in late 2010 re-vealed that 86% of senior business and govern-ment executives believe they must rapidly adapttheir operations to meet changes in consumerexpectations. The study also found that 78% be-lieve technology is the key to business and gov-ernment innovation, and 85% said that in orderto be successful, technology needs to be em-bedded in the business or government service.

HP’s new solutions help enterprises and gov-ernment leverage technology in ways that willmeet those goals. HP sees it as reinvention ofhow technology is used to deliver innovation atevery point in the value chain: the services thatare delivered, the mobile devices that providethe access, and the global data centers requiredto power Instant-On Enterprise.

Panattoni Industrial developer Panattoni Europe hassigned multiple lease extensions at PanattoniPark Łódź East. Five tenants—Flextronics, Hart-mann, Lekkerland, Schenker and Centrum—have decided to extend their leases with Panat-toni, for a combined total industrial space of45,600 sq. m. The facility received a CEE QualityAward (CEE Industrial & Logistics Developmentof the Year 2007) and a CEPIF & InternationalHerald Tribune CEE Best Project Award.

Security Report, which provides an overview ofthe combined security intelligence of the entireCisco organization, revealed that in response tothe last decade of cyber-exploits targeting PCoperating systems, PC platform and applicationvendors have shored up security in their prod-ucts and taken a more aggressive approach topatching vulnerabilities. As a result, scammersare finding it harder to exploit platforms that wereonce their bread and butter, in particular the Win-dows platform, and are looking elsewhere tomake money. Just as important in driving thistrend is the widespread adoption of mobile de-vices and applications. Third-party mobile appli-cations in particular are emerging as a seriousthreat vector. The report also includes winners ofthe 2010 Cisco Cybercrime Showcase and dis-cusses the impacts of social media, cloud com-puting, spam and global cybercrime activities onnetwork security.

In Poland, Cisco has opened a broadbandwireless network at the Jan Paweł II Hospital inKraków. The 10 Gbps network is available acrossthe whole hospital complex.

Enterprise InvestorsPolish Enterprise Fund VI, a private equity fundmanaged by Enterprise Investors, will invest EUR35 million in a capital increase transaction to ac-quire 12.7% of PharmaSwiss SA, the largestthird-party pharma sales and marketing out-sourcing company in Central & Eastern Europe.

PEF VI will become an owner of PharmaSwissalongside its two founders and the specializedhealthcare investor HBM BioVentures, which in-vested in the company in 2007.

Established in 2000 and based in Zug,Switzerland, PharmaSwiss offers full third-partyrepresentation of specified drugs or portfoliosfrom research-based pharma and biotech com-panies, including drug registration, promotion,sales, compliance and pharmacovigilance.

The total capital raised by all Enterprise In-vestors funds to date is EUR 1.7 billion. Through2010, funds represented by Enterprise Investorshad invested and committed a total of EUR 1.4billion in 121 companies across a range of in-dustries. This figure includes EUR 946 million in-vested in 105 companies in Poland, and EUR455 million in 16 countries elsewhere in the CEEregion. EI-managed funds currently hold inter-ests in 29 companies, which at the end of lastyear employed 20,000 people and reported anaggregate turnover of nearly EUR 2 billion.

Funds managed by EI have exited 92 compa-nies, achieving total proceeds of EUR 1.5 billion,of which EUR 358 million was generated by in-vestments outside Poland.

In other news, Enterprise Investors’ EnterpriseVenture Fund I will invest EUR 2 million in a 27%stake in Screen Network S.A., one of the fastest-growing providers of information and advertisingfor digital displays. Established in 2005, ScreenNetwork delivers services to 25 advertising net-works which operate 31,500 digital screens inover 5,000 locations, including Media Markt, Sat-urn, Inmedio, Relay, Baltona, TUI, PKP Intercity,Lukoil and Wittchen.

General Electric

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has signed a memo-randum of understanding with the Gdańsk Ship-yard and with Rafako S.A., a large boiler equip-ment manufacturer, to pursue opportunities tobuild nuclear components for GE Hitachi.

GE Hitachi previously signed an agreementwith engineering services firm SNC-Lavalin Pol-ska to collaborate on potential projects inPoland.

“Over the last two years, Gdańsk Shipyardhas invested heavily in its infrastructure in orderto create a modern and highly advanced produc-tion facility,” said shipyard CEO Andrzej

Stokłosa (pictured above, on the right, with GEHitachi VP Danny Roderick). “This was done forlarge projects like those that may be needed byGE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in future new nuclearplant orders.”

Rafako VP Krzysztof Burek said that Rafakoconsiders nuclear energy a substantial part of fu-ture power generation in Poland. “We have astrong tradition in building components for nu-clear projects in other countries and look forwardto the opportunity to apply our expertise in proj-ect execution, production capabilities, quality as-surance and engineering capacity to GE Hitachi

MARCH 2011 AMERICAN INVESTOR 76 AMERICAN INVESTOR MARCH 2011

Members on the moveCB Richard EllisPatrick Kurowski hasjoined CBRE’s Industrial andLogistics team, based in War-saw as a senior property ne-gotiator. Kurowski liaises withall international clients, andparticularly German clients, lo-gistics companies, and otherinvestors interested in com-mercial real estate in Poland.He is responsible for leasing and marketing strate-gies, property acquisitions and disposals, and con-sultancy work for CBRE’s industrial and logisticsclients.

EC Harris

Piotr Rusinek has joinedEC Harris as deputy leader ofthe Lenders and Investorsdepartment. He is a char-tered quantity surveyor andholds a degree in quantitysurveying. Before joining ECHarris he was a project direc-tor responsible for manage-ment and development ofcost management and trans-actional services.

Cushman & WakefieldPaulina Misiak, head oftenant representation serv-ices and an associate at theOffice department of Cush-man & Wakefield, has be-come a partner. She is a li-censed real estate agent with11 years of experience in thecommercial property market.She specializes in represent-ing office tenants.

Marek Noetzel, senior ne-gotiator and associate in theRetail department of Cush-man & Wakefield, has be-come a partner. Noetzelgraduated from the Universityof Gdańsk and also studiedat Dublin Institute of Technol-ogy and Sheffield HallamUniversity. He obtained a realestate agent’s license in 2006and in 2010 became a mem-ber of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Aleksander Kuźniewskihas joined CBRE’s Industrialand Logistics team as aproperty negotiator, where hewill be responsible for han-dling relations with interna-tional clients as well as leas-ing and marketing of indus-trial warehouse and logisticsprojects across Poland. Hewas previously a property negotiator at DTZ andgained experience in logistics as a senior fleet man-ager for Vos Logistics.

NewslineNews from AmCham and its members

New MembersIT NGO Techsoup Foundation (www.fundacjate-chsoup.pl) has joined AmCham. The president isNick Eyre.

Hansberry Competition (www.hansberrycompe-tition.com), a specialist in strategic support to lawfirms, competition law and litigation, has joinedAmCham. The company is headed by DorothyHansberry-Bieguńska.

English language consultancy KH ProofPerfect

(www.KHProofPerfect.webs.com) has joined Am-Cham. The company is represented in Poland byGretchen Hardey, partner.

According to a recent report by Jones LangLaSalle, Panattoni Europe was the most activedeveloper in 2010, completing more than233,000 sq. m. of new warehouse space, includ-ing the biggest lease in Poland’s warehousemarket, for 57,000 sq. m., with Tesco. Panattoniconcluded transactions for 356,000 sq. m.,287,000 sq. m. of which was for new leases. Ithas nearly 300,000 sq. m. of space under devel-opment.

PM GroupProject management specialist PM Group hasbeen picked by Pittsburgh Glass Works to de-sign and execute engineering supervision for theauto glass factory in Komorniki, near ŚrodaŚląska. The factory is scheduled to begin opera-tions in spring 2012. The project is estimated atPLN 200 million. When in operation, the factorywill support 170 jobs.

ProLogisLogistics operator ProLogis has extended leasesfor a total of more than 23,900 sq. m. of ware-house space at three of its logistics parks inPoland. The extensions with JAS-FBG, aprovider of comprehensive logistics services inEurope, included 9,507 sq. m. of warehousespace at ProLogis Park Będzin II, 6,313 sq. m. atProLogis Park Wrocław, and 6,121 sq. m. at Pro-Logis Park Poznań II.

ProLogis has also signed a lease for almost11,000 sq. m. of office and warehouse space at

ProLogis Park Wrocław III with Deichmann–Obuwie, the Polish subsidiary of Europe’s largestchain of shoe stores. The facility is scheduled fordelivery in 2Q 2011.

White & CaseLaw firm White & Case LLP ranked first by dealvolume in Mergermarket’s 2010 league table forlaw firms acting on M&A transactions in Central& Eastern Europe, including Russia and CIS.

According to Mergermarket, an independentM&A intelligence service, White & Case hasmaintained its top position in the ranking for thepast five years, having acted on the highestnumber of M&A deals in CEE since 2005.


AgendaIntelligence from AmCham and its committees

For the AmCham Guide to Committees see inside back cover

Good contracts makehappy customers

Companies in Poland need to improvethe quality of their consumer con-tracts, said Paweł Rokicki from the As-

sociation of Polish Consumers at a meetingwith the AmCham Consumer Products Com-mittee in January.

Rokicki cited the findings of the Polishcompetition authority, the Office of Competi-tion and Consumer Protection, based on itsroutine scrutiny of contracts used in the mar-ket. In 2008, according to the regulator, 571out of a thousand consumer contracts it stud-ied were in violation of the law.

Rokicki said that consumers come face-to-face with the problem of poorly written con-tracts in certain situations. For instance, con-sumers who apply for a credit card are con-fronted by a contract that is many pages longand is written in technical terminology that re-quires a legal background to understand.Even if they try to read through a contract likethat before signing, often they cannot makeheads or tails of it. Rokicki said that bankagreements are just one example of howconsumer contracts should not be written.

Rokicki admitted that it is legitimate forcompanies to seek to safeguard their inter-ests in the event of potential consumer com-plaints. Nevertheless, they need to rememberthat a good consumer contract is one thatnot only complies with all applicable market

regulations and consumer laws, but also pro-vides reasonable protection of the con-sumer’s legitimate interests in dealings withthe provider of goods or services. Accordingto Rokicki, contracts form a vital link betweenconsumers and business—even when thecontract is not in writing. Rokicki said this linkfunctions properly only when the consumercontract safeguards the interests of both par-ties.

The consumer’s interest has real value notonly for the consumer, but for the businessas well. If companies go the extra mile todeal fairly with their customers, beyond theletter of the law, it boosts customer loyaltyand thus gives the company a leg up overcompetitors that do not do so. For instance,companies that allow buyers to reconsider apurchase and give them a certain period toreturn a product will in the long run do betterthan competitors, because their level of cus-tomer trust will be higher.

“If companies promote what is good fortheir customers, it is beyond any doubt goodfor them as well,” Rokicki said. “Companiesthat compete in this niche will generate morecustomers and win their trust. This is aboutcorporate social responsibility.”

According to Rokicki, consumer contractsthat deliberately use complex language tomislead customers or discourage them from

fully understanding the terms of the contractshould be on their way out. Such contractsare also illegal, he added.

Rokicki said that simple, clear contractsmay effectively safeguard the interests ofboth parties. To prove his point, he showedthe committee a contract from a credit cardcompany in the U.S. It took up just one nor-mal sheet of paper and was written in simplelanguage that most adults would be capableof understanding. Rokicki went on to say thatthe contract was not only easy to understandfor the consumer, but it also safeguarded theinterests of both the service provider and thecustomer.

By comparison, Rokicki said that creditcard contracts used in Poland are lengthytexts in small print that few customers actu-ally venture to read, and probably do not un-derstand even if they do. While he does notexpect change to happen overnight, Rokickisaid he is confident that companies in Polandwill realize the benefits of having consumer-friendly contracts within the coming years.

In order to help companies produce betterconsumer contracts, the Association of Pol-ish Consumers has begun a certification pro-gram to see that contracts comply with appli-cable laws but also give due weight to theconsumer’s rights. The program consists oftwo parts. First, the company submits its con-tract templates for review by the association.Then, if the contract complies with the asso-ciation’s standards, the association issues a“Good Contract” certificate to the companyfor a certain period. During the certificationperiod, the association monitors changingregulations that apply to the contract andsuggests appropriate revisions to the tem-plates. In return, certified companies can usethe “Good Contract” logo in their marketingefforts. They can also refer their customers tothe association so they can learn about thecertification process and how certified com-panies protect their customers’ interests.

Rokicki said that the certification programgives companies a rare opportunity to adjusttheir contract templates to fit parameters thatare good for both the company and the cus-tomer. The Office of Competition and Con-sumer Protection can eliminate unlawful pro-visions from a contract by force, but the as-sociation’s certification program may serveas an educational program for businessesthat actively seek to be socially responsiblewhile also complying with the law and com-peting on their own market.

Rokicki said that companies should pursuetheir business goals in an ethical fashion,and generating revenue through sales toconsumers is no exception. The contract cer-tification program offered by the Associationof Polish Consumers allows businesses toreach out directly to customers. In the longrun, they are likely to return the favor.

Best practices may make dense, one-sided consumer contracts a relic of the past

Consumer Products Committee

A clear, balanced contract lets companies show they are customer-friendly

For big growth think small

Experts on retail real estate at several ofthe leading real estate consultancies inPoland spoke about market trends at

the February meeting of the AmCham RealEstate Committee.

As Poland’s economy continues to displaystrong growth, the country offers goodprospects to both real estate investors andretailers, said Ian Elliott, retail solutions direc-tor at Colliers International. Elliott said thatthe market for quality shopping centers hasgained momentum. “There are a number ofretailers who are looking to expand theirstores, while there are still some new entrantsto the market,” he said. “In the long-term per-spective, Poland is the second market ofchoice for retailers, after Germany. This ispretty good considering the market.”

Elliott noted that the phenomenon of retailwarehousing, or “power centers,” has startedto grow strongly. Many retailers have takensteps to expand in this area because it offersvalue retail for large portions of the popula-tion. Elliott stressed the importance of the de-sign and high tech that investors put intothose centers. “These warehouses will bemuch more like showrooms, where you go tolook for what you potentially are going tobuy,” he said.

Elliot noted that the format of entertain-

ment available in most of the shopping cen-ters in Poland is outdated. “The idea of tablesand chairs was good in the 1990s,” he said.“There is quite a way to go to enhance that.”

When it comes to investments in retail realestate, investors that have existing assetsand want to expand their assets have donevery well, as they enjoyed stable rents. Theyhave been able to benefit from new marketentrants. “Those entrants have livened upquite a lot of their centers,” Elliott said.

But shopping centers cannot dominate themarket in big cities. In some of them, rentallevels have fallen. Where shopping centersare really gaining market dominance is small-ish, third-tier cities.

Elliott also said that there are some gaps inthe market. “There are still some smallercities where retailers want to expand, Tescoin particular,” Elliott said. “If we can take theopportunity in the largest cities, they offergood investment interest.”

Developers are happy that the economyhas not gone so badly as in other markets.However, Elliott noted that when it comes tothe financing side, there are some problems.

For 2011 Elliott expects that the retail ware-house market and power centers will con-tinue to be very active. “Firms will be devel-oping new projects to gain market share,” he

Renewed confidence in Poland’s retail mar-ket spreads to regional population centers

Real Estate Committee

The Polish economy keeps shoppers shopping

said. “Retailers are going to be looking foropportunities to come into the market, andthere will be quite a demand for the best cen-ters.”

Another speaker, Magda Frątczak, directorof the retail department at CB Richard Ellis,presented market trends that have begun toemerge in recent years. “Before 2008 therewere a large number of developers and in-vestors who decided to be present in almostevery Polish city of 50,000 plus population,”she said. “In the last two years, however, theplanned shopping centers brought onto themarket represented much better quality. Sothis is the first trend: small centers come withbetter quality. Shopping centers there aremuch better designed.”

Another trend that Frątczak identified asespecially visible recently is that investors intraditional shopping centers have started tolook for retail space. This is mainly becauseof the lack of room in the best locations incities where they are already present.

Frątczak also said that while the most at-tractive areas for investors in retail space arein big city centers, a trend toward investing insmaller cities has gained in importance.

Agata Sekuła, head of CEE Retail Invest-ment at Jones Lang LaSalle, looks at the situ-ation on the retail investment market in histor-ical perspective. She said that since 2001, in-vestment outlays in Central & Eastern Europewere increasing up to 2007, which was therecord year with EUR 12 billion in total invest-ment volumes. “Since then investment vol-umes started to drop, hitting the lowest pointin 2009,” she said, when investment volumeswere just one-sixth what they were in 2007.

Sekuła noted that Poland has always ledretail investment volumes in the region, withthe exception of 2008, when Romania tookthe lead. That has not been sustained, how-ever. As she put it, “There is no investor con-fidence in Romania at the moment.”

Sekuła pointed out that in 2009 there werevery few investment transactions in the retailproperty market in Poland. This improved in2010. Today, when measured as a proportionof overall investment in commercial real es-tate, retail generates above 50-60% of thethreshold that was the standard in the past.“In 2010 investment volumes began to growagain,” she said. “Investors’ confidencecame back to the market. We strongly be-lieve that in 2011 these numbers will behigher.”

Sekuła also said that while in 2010 the vastmajority of transactions took place in majorPolish cities, which investors have the mostconfidence in, a significant number of trans-actions took place in smaller cities with popu-lations below 100,000. Sekuła confirmed theview presented by the other AmCham speak-ers that the importance of second- and third-tier cities as good markets for investors is onthe rise.

The track to reform

The national operator of the Polish rail-road system, the state-owned companyPKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A., is a

strong proponent of liberalization of the Pol-ish passenger train market, because themore traffic it supports the more money itgenerates from train operators through ac-cess fees, according to Marek Pawlik, vicepresident of PLK responsible for strategy anddevelopment. Pawlik spoke at the Februarymeeting of the AmCham Infrastructure Com-mittee.

To fully benefit from providing access todifferent European train companies, however,PLK needs to adapt the Polish railroad sys-tem to E.U. standards. This will take time andmoney.

The Polish railway network is 20,547 kmlong. The tracks that need upgrading for in-teroperability total 1,500 km, and lines oflocal importance that need to be upgraded tomeet E.U. standards, 1,000 km.

In addition, PLK has taken steps to con-struct a high-speed railway network in 2018–2020. At the moment PLK is focused on afeasibility study, in two stages, to be com-pleted in November 2011 and October 2012.Based on the studies, PLK will make its deci-sions regarding construction of a high-speedrailroad, which for now is estimated to re-quire construction of 450 km of new trackswhere there is currently no railroad. When fin-ished, the network will support train connec-tions at a speed of 350 km/h. According toexperts, the system will significantly changepassenger traffic in Poland.

Another speaker, Radosław Czapski, Infra-structure Projects Coordinator at the Warsawoffice of the World Bank, said that the currentstructure of the state-owned railway system

has failed to provide the expected results, in-cluding shifting transport from roads to rail.The system has also failed to develop finan-cially sound state-owned railway companies,mainly because the holding structure (PKPGroup) is not flexible enough to successfullyrespond to the changing needs of the trans-portation market.

According to Czapski, the governmentmust strengthen the institutional framework inwhich the railway system and services aredelivered, by realigning PLK as an independ-ent entity that provides a sound environmentfor financing and development of infrastruc-ture according to market needs. With this thegovernment should also reorganize the exist-ing train operating companies by creatingmore operators for regional transport serv-ices, and preparing for privatization of state-owned operators.

Czapski said that the government shouldrethink its role in the new railway environ-ment so it can support balanced develop-ment of public transportation infrastructurefor both rail and road transportation. Accord-ing to Czapski, one of the most important as-pects of this balanced development is to re-design the fees train companies pay throughtrack access charges, to encourage thetransfer of freight traffic from road to rail andeliminate cross-subsidies to passenger trainservices. Both of these aspects are in linewith E.U. transportation policy.

Czapski said that while the regulatoryframework for the railway sector is in place,the complex railway transport market inPoland, with many operators, requires astrong and flexible regulator. The role of theregulator should be to protect small opera-tors against abuses of a dominant market po-

sition. The regulator should address any com-

plaint such as predatory pricing or favoritismin allocation of routes as soon as possible.Delayed decisions do not protect small oper-ators because they do not have the financialresources to survive long in a distorted mar-ket.

The regulator should also avoid overregu-lation of the railway sector, promulgating onlyoperational and safety rules without dictatingsolutions such as the number of staff aboardthe locomotive or how often to check thebraking system.

The role of the regulator should also be topromote the best type of competition for pas-senger services and oversee competition be-tween operators that provide passenger serv-ice on the same lines.

Czapski noted that in order to advance thedevelopment of train transportation inPoland, the government should increase theparticipation of the private sector in the mar-ket. Such transportation companies as PKPGroup, which comprises PKP Cargo and PKPIntercity, should be privatized. The govern-ment should also try to attract the privatesector through public-private partnershipprojects in such areas as track maintenanceand commercial development of train sta-tions.

Czapski said that many challenges facingthe Polish railway system are not unique toPoland. More highly advanced economiesand the developing world alike have dealtwith similar problems. To get Polish rails ontrack, there is a lot to learn from other coun-tries.

Greater participation of the private sector in railway transportationis a must for successful revamping of the existing system

Infrastructure Committee

Poland’s rail system, the third-largest in Europe, is held back by structural problems

The year to volunteer

To kick off 2011, the European Year ofVolunteering, the AmCham CSR Com-mittee held a meeting with officials

from the Public Benefit Department at theMinistry of Labor and Social Policy, the co-ordinator of the EYV program in Poland.

Aleksandra Krugły, a senior specialist atthe ministry, said that the goal of EYV is tospread knowledge and interest in volunteer-ing throughout the E.U. member states, sothat the concept of volunteering becomesattractive to a growing numbers of citizens.EYV also seeks to assist organizations thatpromote volunteering by creating a climateof appreciation for volunteering among vari-ous social and professional groups.

The EYV program for Poland is coordi-nated by the director of the Public BenefitDepartment, Jarosław Duda. His brief is totranslate the EVY theory into Polish reality.

It is no easy task, as Krugły said. Themultidisciplinary committee charged withthe task, which includes officials from differ-ent ministries, NGOs and the private sector,concluded that the development of volun-teering in Poland is being held back bythree important problems. The first is thatinformation about volunteering is sparse.Krugły said there is no single unified data-base on volunteering in Poland. If a data-base like that were created, it would helpbring efficient assistance to organizationsthat manage and promote volunteering.Creation of such a database is one of thepriorities established by the committee.

Another problem diagnosed by the com-mittee is that volunteering lacks recognitionand respect across a vast spectrum of Pol-ish society. Krugły said that there are entiresocial groups for whom volunteering is analien concept. Even groups that are familiarwith volunteering do not really view it as anactivity worth supporting.

The last problem diagnosed by the com-mittee is that there are insufficient programsto back volunteerism, even though Polandactually has many good organizations thatpromote volunteering. But they focus ontheir own activities and programs. “Theirprograms need coordination on a higherlevel,” Krugły said.

In order to improve the position of volun-

teering in Poland in 2011, the committeedecided that several PR activities areneeded. The most important area identifiedby the committee is to promote volunteer-ing along with the values it fosters, in hopethat this will create a fashion for volunteer-ing in Poland in the years to come. Anotherarea where the idea of volunteering needs ahand is empowerment of organizations thatmanage and promote volunteering. System-atic reinforcement of volunteering is an-other urgent need.

To address all the issues the committeehas planned a set of programs and actions,including two nationwide promotional cam-paigns on the Internet. Social media will bethe key. Krugły said that the committee hasalready set up aPolish profile forthe European Yearof Volunteering onFacebook. Theprofile will be pro-moted across theInternet as soonthe operator ispicked.

The committeewill also have toselect an operatorfor the EYV Polishwebsite,erw2011.gov.pl.The Internet is themedium of choicebecause, as Krugłysaid, the budgetfor promoting EYVin the media isvery limited andwill support only acouple of two-week online cam-paigns, scheduledfor the first andsecond halves of2011.

Promotion ofvolunteering willnot be limited tothe Internet, how-ever. The ministry

Poles like to help out—they just need a little top-down coordination

Corporate Social Responsibility Committee


plans to organize an information campaignin Poland’s regions as well, and hopes topick up partners for this program soon.

Krugły said that because the E.U. hasdesignated 2012 as a year to focus on is-sues of senior citizen mobility and social in-tegration, the ministry plans to form con-tacts with companies that promote volun-teering programs for seniors.

To reach out to NGOs and the commer-cial sector, the ministry offers the use of theEuropean Year of Volunteering logo to or-ganizations and companies that support theconcept of volunteering. To obtain the rightto use the logo, companies need to submitan application to the Public Benefit Depart-ment describing their pro-volunteer initia-tives. The department then processes theapplications, and Krugły said that most areapproved.

She encourages companies to get in-volved in this program. “The application isvery simple to fill in,” she said. AlthoughKrugły said that the ministry cannot awardfinancial grants to organizations that applyto use the logo, there are certain benefitsfor companies admitted to the program. Inaddition to a public relations boost, theseinclude listing on the European Year of Vol-unteering website.

AgendaIntelligence from AmCham and its committees


suggest that Poland, with 36%, is doingrelatively well as compared with other Eu-ropean countries.

lonely at the top

Polish society, as it emerged from commu-nism in 1989, was very much gender-inclu-sive in such areas as education, healthcare,and law. One would expect that with theemergence of a free-market economy, thepresence of women at the top echelons ofPoland’s burgeoning corporate sectorwould increase, including women in seniormanagement. That assumption is wrong.

According to international businesscoach Andrew Atter, the number of womenon both supervisory boards and manage-ment boards of the 20 top companieswhose stock is traded on the Warsaw StockExchange (the blue-chip WIG20 index) ac-tually dropped in 2006–2009, from 10.4%to 8.2% in the case of supervisory boardsand 8.2% to 3.9% in management boards.“There are specific issues about boards ofdirectors,” Atter said. “Boards relate topower and decision-making, and for somereason there is a quite significant glassceiling when it comes to board participa-tion. A cynic might say that male boardsare quite happy for women to do difficult,complex work, so there are talentedwomen doing work as CFO, brand man-ager and so on. But actually inviting themto take a seat on the board and letting themmake decisions and exercise power issomething which still seems to be quite aproblem for corporations.”

The first issue, as Atter sees the prob-lem, is that the career path in Poland isvery conservative. “Women are forced tochoose in their late 20s or early 30s be-tween home and career,” he said. “It is abinary choice, it is either/or. A lot of tal-ented women simply exit the workforce in,say, their early 30s, and may not rejoin it, orrejoin it at a significant disadvantage afterhaving been out of work for a few years.”

Atter said that in this respect Polandseems to be lagging behind the rest of Eu-rope. “It is about job-sharing, flexibleworking practices, and part-time work,which allow women to re-enter the workforce and come in on a phased basis.Often, returning to work, women comeback not to a 40-hour week but a 60-hourweek. This can be very difficult.”

The second problem is that women,even those who are at board level or whorun significant operations, sometimesacross Europe, are still the primary care-giver to both their own parents and theirhusband’s parents. “A female general man-

12 AMERICAN INVESTOR MARCH 2011 MARCH 2011 AMERICAN INVESTOR 13

COVER STORY: Women in business

Women in chargeWhether or not

legal quotas eversweep aside the

glass ceiling inPolish corpora-tions, the busi-

ness case for removing it is

clear. American Investor profilesselected womenbusiness leaders

in AmChammember-compa-nies, presents an

argument againstquota system byan internationalbusiness coach

and a pro-quotaargument by oneof the most influ-

ential women inbusiness in

Poland

Earlier this year Polish President Bro-nisław Komorowski signed a newlaw requiring political parties to in-

clude at least 35% women in their slate ofcandidates in parliamentary elections.While critics of the regulation argued thatPoland is a country where women enjoyequal social standing with men, are presentin all professions and jobs, and are free torun for seats in the Parliament, the picturevaries depending on how deep you venture.Looking at the big picture, or the surfaceof the social structure, as does Catalyst, aconsultancy that measures the advance-ment of women in business (Women inManagement—Global Comparison), in2008 Poland had over 36% women in thepositions of legislators, senior officials andmanagers, more than the U.K. (34%), andmost notably such pioneers of women’sempowerment as Sweden (32%) and Nor-way (31%), and slightly less than Germany(37%) and France (38%)—the leader inEurope. Worldwide the leader in the Cata-lyst study in 2008 was the Philippines(53%), and the U.S. ranked quite high at42%.

The odds for women in Polish societyare not so favorable, however, when meas-ured by the World Economic Forum, in theorganization’s annual global survey, GlobalGender Gap Report, which looks at the sit-uation of women in several categories,such as access to healthcare, education,participation in the labor force, and com-parable pay, but also political empower-ment, including female participation inparliamentary or ministerial positions.

According to the 2010 GGGR findings,there is no gender discrimination inPoland when it comes to access to health-care and education. In fact, a greater per-centage of women pursue a higher educa-tion (78% of all female high school gradu-ates vs. 56% of male graduates). And out ofall technical or professional jobs in Poland,60% are held by women and 40% by men.At the same time, however, only 56% of allwomen of working age do work, as com-pared with 70% of all working-age men.

The picture appears bleaker for womenwhen you look at the economics behind thelabor. Women in Poland are paid only halfof what men are paid for comparable work.

In the Parliament, women represent only20% of the members. In ministerial posi-tions, the current government is a record-breaker, with 28% of ministers beingwomen, a significant improvement fromthe previous government, which had only6% women ministers.

When it comes to women’s participationin business, the Catalyst numbers seem to

ager I once coached talked about how shehad to make soup for her husband’s par-ents,” Atter said. “Those women run largeoperations and have to go home and makesoup! I don’t know whether this is uniquefor Poland, but certainly women in WesternEurope would have different expectationsplaced on them than just being the actualphysical provider of care.”

Atter noted that one of the things thatcome through really strongly when hecoaches women in senior managementroles is that they are having to lead a dou-ble life of caring for parents, being womenwith feelings and emotions that are differ-ent from men, and yet putting on thetrousers when they go to work—having toact in a tough way to fit into a work culturethat has been shaped largely by men andmale cultural values. “That is the dilemmawe are facing right now,” Atter said. “It isnot about representation of women, butabout balancing the leadership cultures sothey can fairly bring values that bothwomen and men can share. That, I think,is the necessary solution. That requiresdiscussion, learning, role models and edu-cation.”

a question of balance

Atter says there is scientific evidence thatcompanies perform better when they havea balance of men and women on the board.“There is a lot of data proving that menand women working in concert on theboard produce better results than eithermale or female boards,” Atter said. “Theresearch is about the way people make de-

cisions. Women have more a balanced risk-taking propensity than men. They are notrisk-averse, but they simply are able toweigh up the odds and are more cautiouscalculating the odds of taking some actionthan men.”

Given what has happened in the lastthree years in the economy, that is prettyimportant insight. This explains why nowcompanies are beginning to look more se-riously at women on boards. “Simply put,including women on boards makes betterbusiness sense,” Atter said, “and is about abetter decision process from the psycho-logical point of view.”

Atter said that one of the attributesstrongly associated with female leaders isempathy—being able to empathize withthe workers, but even more critically, em-pathizing with customers. “Research in theU.S. confirmed—as did neuroscience ear-lier—that women naturally can mirror feel-ings and emotions of others,” he said.“They have the advantage over men in thisregard. So, a bank may ask its customershow they feel about using its services, butwomen are more likely to get to that under-standing faster than men.”

Atter noted that values such as empathytend to be exhibited more strongly in theaspect of relations within the business:“Women do tend to be more open to theexpression of feelings than men. They canconnect with people at an emotional levelmore easily than can men. When it comesto things like working in teams and howteam members feel attached to somebodywithin their organization, women do thatwell.”

olga Grygier-siddons, Chair of PwC inPoland, developed PwC’s Advisory Practice inPoland. She says the biggest challenge to faceas the leader of a business with 1,500 people iskeeping everyone well-informed and workingtogether towards a common, long-term visionof success. Then comes paying attention tothe clients’ needs and the dynamics of the ex-ternal market, while supporting people inter-nally and dealing with many important day-to-day issues. Getting the right balance betweenachievement of short-term financial successand investments in new opportunities forgrowth is another challenge.

The values that guide her behavior as aleader are to act with respect for people with-out attention to position and hierarchy, to lis-ten before making decisions, to be fair and

compassionate, and to be consistent.In her work, Grygier-Siddons values such

personal features as drive, knowledge, emo-tional intelligence, determination, humor andhumility. “I have always believed in diversityand that success comes from creating a posi-tive environment for people to excel with theirown unique mix of skills, experience and per-sonality,” she says.

The biggest challenge for her now is to helpPwC clients navigate through turbulent watersand be successful. “This requires PwC to re-shape, be flexible, agile and responsive,” shesays. “My job is to ensure that our people un-derstand our clients’ needs and that we bringthe best PwC can offer from across the net-work to our clients.”

Judith Gliniecki, a partner at WierzbowskiEversheds, believes that her greatest suc-cesses are yet to come. For her ongoing suc-cess, a continuous challenge is developing aworking balance between her career and herfamily life. She is a single working mother witha teenage daughter.

As a manager she lives by a number of val-ues, one of which is the injunction “Do untoothers as you would have them do unto you.”As she says, “The only problem is that I tendto be hard on myself, as I have a strong perfec-tionist streak.”

In people she works with, she values the at-titude of “pulling yourself up by your ownbootstraps.” Gliniecki says, “I like to work withthose with a sense of entitlement kept firmlyin check and who are willing to roll up theirsleeves to get the job done. If you are in charge

of a project, you have to own up to failures aswell as be willing to receive praise. There maybe portions of work over which you have littleor no control, but then it is your job to figureout how to get the input you need, find a dif-ferent solution, or make a tough decisionabout the future of the project.”

Second, she values people who are not afraidto take responsibility, “a good old Tru-manesque ‘The buck stops here.’”

Third, she says, “I prize honesty and loy-alty.”

With the shifts in the legal market over thelast several years, the long-term challenge forher is to find more effective ways of gettingwork done. “I have done quite a bit of thinkingabout this and intend to initiate a couple ofchanges in the first half of this year.”

However, Atter pointed out that these at-tributes, found to be more prevalentamong women, are by no means exclusiveto them. “There are many men who bringthose values as well,” he said. “We cannotbe too binary. All we can say is that womenare more likely to exhibit these values thanmen are. These are tendencies.”

Conversely, men can often be very un-comfortable playing aggressive and as-sertive roles. “I was coaching a male man-ager who said he emphasized empathy andrelational work with his team,” Atter said.“He said he was uncomfortable aboutbeing as aggressively assertive as his peergroup are. There are many men who alsofeel uncomfortable and excluded by an ag-gressive, coercive style when it tends toprevail in leadership in senior positions inPolish business.”

For Atter the issue of women’s empow-erment in management and at companyboard level is not just about includingwomen, but starting to emphasize the val-ues that women bring in. At present, thoseattributes are undervalued in Polish busi-ness culture. Atter explained that Polishmanagers do not tend to place value onempathizing with customers. “There isstill very much of a sell mindset and aprovider mindset. We don’t have yet thebusiness culture in Poland which would betruly consumer-driven.”

What the business culture does tend toemphasize is power, coercion and a directapproach to management, as opposed tofeeling loyal, feeling committed, feeling



dorothy hansberry-Bieguńska, head ofHansberry Competition, says her greatest pro-fessional success was achieving the position ofa trusted advisor. “I know the value of such aposition from my time as general counsel andchief operating officer of a media company,”she says. “There were only a very few lawyersand advisors whose counsel I could rely uponwhen facing the most difficult and demandingchallenges.”

The ingredients of a good manager, accord-ing to Hansberry-Bieguńska, are the ability tocommunicate well, an understanding ofhuman relations, and a sense of fairness andhonesty. “My management style is one ofopenness, communication and high expecta-tions. I prefer to give feedback immediately

and speak openly with my team.” She values loyalty, intelligence, and the ab-

sence of game-playing and unbridled ambi-tion. “Ambition and a desire to advance areimportant and natural,” she admits, “but needto be carefully supported and cultivated by amanager so that the team member feels thathe or she can grow in a way that suits their in-dividual needs, but not at the expense of theteam.”

The most immediate challenge for her—she is managing complex legal projects out-side the traditional structure of a law firm—isto make her business model work in a way thatis valued and sought by clients. “The key isquality service that is seamless and easy for aclient to access and use.”

renata hayder, a senior partner at Ernst &Young and head of the Ernst & Young Foun-dation, says her biggest success as a managerwas at a moment of crisis. The company inwhich she headed a team of experts dissolved,but Hayder, and the leadership of the trou-bled company, managed to keep the team to-gether and bring it safely under the wings ofanother company. “It was a true test, profes-sional and personal, of our credibility and ourability to take strategic decisions,” she says.

The values she believes are essential indealing with people are respect for them andconsistency between what you say and whatyou do. Each person is important, and oneshould not damage his or her dignity—in-cluding at the moment when you need to

communicate that you will no longer be work-ing together.

“Respect also means that you notice whatpeople do—praise their commitment andachievements, and you are genuinelyhappy about their success,” Hayder says. “Re-spect for others helps gain respect, but it isthe leader who is responsible for setting thestandards.” As she puts it, “A leader shouldalso give people a right to make mistakes, ifthey are to be creative and entrepreneurial.”

In people she works with Hayder valuestheir ability to motivate others and create aninclusive environment, where people want toget better at what they do and overcome theirlimitations.

Julia kozak, managing director of Fleish-man-Hillard Warsaw, has been at the helmof the PR agency’s operations in Polandsince 2003. Her greatest accomplishment sofar is to lead the agency toward headcountand business growth. “Practically every yearwe are among the five most dynamically de-veloping PR agencies in Poland,” Kozaksays.

In business she values the soft skills: “InPR interpersonal relations are especially im-portant, because we deal with many peopleon a daily basis.”

When she hires new personnel she notonly looks at soft skills but also at what theyhave achieved so far. “I try to pick peopleaccording to their professional qualifica-tions,” she says, “but of no lesser impor-

tance are such features as personality, workstyle, and good relations with people. I try tomatch the skills of new people I hire withwhat our team needs.”

She respect people who have the ability tolisten to people and can understand otherpeople's point of view. She also respectstheir enthusiasm and engagement. “Work isnot just your duty but an activity from whichyou derive satisfaction and the joy of beingcreative,” Kozak says. “I appreciate it whenpeople are open to learn and have an abilityto see different problems in different per-spectives. Working with people is about con-stant change and one has to be flexible toaccommodate it.”

ewa kudlińska-pyrz, general manager ofMary Kay Poland, says her greatest profes-sional success so far was the opening of MaryKay Poland in 2003. Since then the companyhas generated stable double-digit growth year-on-year. She has also managed to sustain themotivation of the Mary Kay Independent SalesForce and grow the business in Poland. MaryKay Poland also succeeded in taking advantageof the crisis and grew the brand.

Kudlińska-Pyrz did that because she mas-tered her planning skills. “With huge initia-tives it is crucial to break the project downinto little pieces and assign those pieces to re-sponsible employees,” she says. “It has been agreat experience. When problems occur andfrustration grows, I might occasionally gettense, but I am always honest. I never lie or

have ‘hidden agendas.’ I also encourage othersto speak openly with me. I respect differentopinions and rationales.”

In people she values enthusiasm and a posi-tive attitude. “You can learn how to operate anew computer program or how to organize apress event,” she points out, “even if you havenever done it before. But you cannot learn howto be truly enthusiastic if it is not in your na-ture.”

The biggest mid-term challenge forKudlińska-Pyrz is the opening of the MaryKay office in Vilnius, Lithuania, which she willbe in charge of. “Challenges are part of everybusiness,” she says. “I have the tools, knowl-edge and enthusiasm to overcome them. Therole of GM is to feel the pulse of the businessand be where new challenges occur.”

motivated towards the organization, feelingattached to people within the organization.“The area of empathy and attachmentwhich women bring is underrepresented inbusiness culture in Poland,” Atter said.

the quota question

With quotas imposed on the mix of parlia-mentary candidates nominated by politicalparties, one would think the idea may beextended in Poland to cover the boards ofpublicly traded companies.

The theory is that once women are inboard roles, we will grow to accept themand it will just become normal. Such solu-tions have been applied by the Scandina-vian countries and France. It worked: theScandinavian countries have seen a dra-matic increase of women on boards. Re-cently Austria has introduced not quite aquota law, but a strong recommendationfor companies to include women on com-pany boards. But such a policy is, for Atter,a way of avoiding really serious underlyingconsequences.

“This is about bringing into recognitionvalues which are represented,” Atter said.“The quota system, what it really says isthat women need to start behaving likemen. If we do not address the underlyingcauses, all we do is simply place women in

the situation that they have to act like maleboard members, and therefore there willalways be the tendency for them to be dis-advantaged.”

Atter explained that a recent study ex-amined the perception of men and womenin leadership roles when they act in similarways. “If a man acts in a powerful way, wetend to accept that more, both men andwomen,” Atter said. “If, however, a womanused the same behavior, a directive style ofleadership, raising their tone or perhapsusing tough, demanding language, then itis perceived much more negatively by bothmen and women. So they tend to see thesame behaviors and tend to hold women toa different standard than men.”

For Atter, this is a significant finding.“Unless we address the underlying psy-chological perceptions of men and women,each in their leadership role, and try tothink of what leadership is, what we are re-ally obligating women to do is to behaveless like women and more like men,” Attersaid. “That is unfair. So if the quota sys-tem simply avoids that discussion and in-sists that it is about numerical representa-tion, we make women head to fail or leadlives that are not congruent.”

In a business context, one problem withquotas is that women themselves—at least,most of the women Atter coaches—hatethe idea of quotas. “They are absolutelythe most opposed it,” he said. “The reasonwhy is that they want to achieve success on

their own terms. They want to be seen asat least as good as men in business.”

Atter is of the opinion that quotas shouldbe avoided in business because the idea initself suggests it is the solution. “In thebusiness context, where board membersare meant to have specific expertise andexperience that they can bring to bear onthe situation, it is potentially a blind alley,”he said. “It may generate resistance to-wards women on the board because theymay be viewed as nothing but parts of thequota. I don’t know any woman who is infact in favor of that particular solution. Ittends to associate women as being a part ofa minority, which in fact they are not. Theyare slightly a majority in the populationand perhaps do not want to be treated as aminority along with other minorities.”

inclusion debate

Another problem is the policy which at-tempts to bypass quotas. Helena Morrissey,chief executive of Newton InvestmentManagement and founder of an initiative toboost women’s representation at boardlevel to 30% in five years, says that progres-sive companies should bring on theirboards 30% of women by providing practi-cal assistance to women. While this ap-proach may take longer, it is hoped it willproduce more sustainable change and shiftin the role of women in leadership.

However, while progressive companies in

Western Europe say, “Let’s do this volun-tarily and avoid statutory quotas,” theproblem with this approach is they movefrom discussions about equal opportunityto diversity, which tends to emphasize thenegative side of women being excluded.According to Andrew Atter, “What the de-bate should be is inclusion. But the inclu-sion debate is totally different. It is bring-ing education and research which says in-clusion is much more important than im-posing quotas.”

Atter insists that the inclusion debate—the argument for women on boards—isstrong enough to stand on its own meritsas a simple business case, rather thanbeing a sort of corporate social responsibil-ity notion or something that everybody hasto adhere to in terms of certain rules or ac-tions. “It is not about the war of the sexes,”he said. “It is about the extension ofhuman potential in management. We aremoving beyond polemical sexual politics.Neither extreme provides the answer. It iswrong to say that women have a sort of in-nate gift, so if only they were in charge theworld would be a better place. It is muchmore complicated than that. Men andwomen need to work together. We are bio-logically that way. We are designed to worktogether. We are not designed to worksingly. That is the notion of inclusion.”

Tomasz Ćwiok

The numbers

% of board roles on WiG20 companiesfilled by women dropped in 2006-2009

Source: WSE Website; Andrew Atter—GlobalBusiness Coach

Poland and Western Europe have similarproportions of women in management

Source: Women in Management—Global Comparison, Catalyst 2010

Supervisory board Management board

Poland ranked 122nd out of 134 countries when it comes to wageequality for similar work as measured by the Global Gender Gap Index2010 study from the Economic Forum

Source: The Global Gender Gap Index 2010



stacy ligas, a partner at KPMG, says hergreatest professional success so far was thatafter five years of working at the FinancialServices Audit Department at KPMGPoland, she was admitted to the partnership.“This change was one of the most challeng-ing in my professional career,” she admits,“yet the most motivating and ultimately grat-ifying.”

Another professional success came inspring 2010 when she was appointed thehead of the Financial Services Audit Depart-ment at KPMG Poland, which serves thelargest and the most prestigious banks andfinancial institutions in Poland. The appoint-ment made Ligas the youngest departmenthead at KPMG in Poland, and one of very fewwomen among the local firm’s leadership.

Professional values, according to Ligas, arehard work, enthusiasm and being fair to oth-ers. “I believe in leading by example,” shesays, “and as such I have the same expecta-tions of people I work with as I do of myself:give it your best in what you do, share knowl-edge, and respect each other.” She adds thatthis attitude helps build integrity and strongand successful working relationships: “Beingprofessional is not only how much we accom-plish, but also how we accomplish it.”

One of the challenges Ligas sees in 2011 isto successfully anticipate and react to thechanging business environment and marketexpectations for the profession and its serv-ices. “It is also to attract and instill passionabout the work KPMG does in our youngprofessionals.”

Grażyna młynarczyk, president of DaleCarnegie Training Poland, considers becom-ing a partner of Dale Carnegie her greatestprofessional success so far. “I am very proudthat I was chosen as the Dale Carnegie associ-ate to develop their operations in Poland,” shesays.

Regardless of the area—professional or per-sonal—Młynarczyk follows the same rules,which she considers universal values that helpher develop both herself and others. “Respectfor people is the first step to being open fortheir ideas,” she says. “Listen to them, under-stand their point of view—and show them myappreciation.”

Młynarczyk also believes that open commu-nication and loyalty are crucial. “It is ab-solutely necessary to have the trust of the peo-

ple that I am surrounded by,” she says. “Theyhave to know that I am open for dialogue, thatthey can rely on me. Otherwise we are unableto cooperate and achieve success.”

In her co-workers she values a focus on de-velopment, enthusiasm, pro-activeness, com-mitment, a “can-do” approach, and a will tosucceed. “If we work as a team, we have to relyon each other, stimulate each other with ideas,give each other energy. In such conditions,even if someone lacks part of the knowledgerequired for the position, I am ready to investmy time in training and coaching, becausewith the right attitude this investment will payoff.”

Młynarczyk’s biggest challenge today is tobuild the brand of Dale Carnegie in Poland.

monika morali-efinowicz, Managing Di-rector of Advent International, an internationalprivate equity firm, says her biggest profes-sional success has been helping Polish compa-nies grow and develop into regional championsthanks to the support her company provides.

In dealing with people, the principles shefollows are honesty, fairness and respect forothers. Advent is a long term investor whostays with a company for a number of years. Itsglobal success to a large extent has been basedon long term relationships, mutual trust, andfair-play reputation it has developed. “Aboutevery person I meet in business, I always as-sume I will meet again. The trust we establishnow will bear fruit in the future,” she says.

In her profession, the best results areachieved when capital, sector know-how and

international network that Advent can providemeet managers and entrepreneurs who knowhow to use these advantages. The personalfeatures she values in people she works withare imagination, ambition and passion aboutwhat they are doing. “I have a lot of respect forpeople who are willing to take on responsibilityand who, independently from position of jobdescription, show high level of integrity, com-mitment and personal courage in everyday sit-uations,” she adds.

Among her challenges for 2011 she thinksthe key one will be to find the right investmentopportunities in the uncertain economic envi-ronment and to ensure that Advent’s portfoliocompanies continue to develop and createvalue independently from the phase of theeconomic cycle. And she remains an optimist.

magdalena nizik, managing director of theGE Engineering Design Center, says hergreatest business achievement was to be atthe helm of a company which grew from 200engineers in 2003 to 1,200 and extended itsexpertise from the aircraft industry to em-brace the electricity and oil and gas sectors.The challenge included not only managingthe growth but also a lot of learning of tech-nical aspects of the business. “It was a bigchallenge,” she says, “but I got a lot of helpfrom my colleagues.”

In management Nizik is ready to changeher mind when faced with a good argument,because it is better to turn away from thewrong path earlier than later. She valuesopenness in communication with the team.“I always want it to be clear for all people why

a certain decision has been taken,” she says.In people she values self-reliance, open-

ness and friendliness. “There is a lot ofteamwork in GE,” she says, “and what countsis how people can share their experience withothers, their knowledge, whether they canhelp others or not.” A pro-active approach towork is also high on her list of values.

Nizik identifies her challenge for 2011 asmanaging the speedy growth of the companywhen it comes to making it a solid team. “Wetrain new people, work on their career pathsand mentor them,” she says. “Our other bigchallenge is to help experienced engineersfind the right balance between teachingyoung engineers and growing and updatingtheir own knowledge and expertise.”

in march the quota law came into ef-fect, requiring political parties to in-clude at least 35% women and 35%men in their slate of candidates inelections to local councils, provincecouncils, the polish parliament andthe european parliament, or elsetheir list of nominees will be rejectedby the election commission. Youwere very involved in raising publicsupport for the bill and pushing theconcept through the legislativeprocess. are you satisfied?I’m happy about what the bill has gener-ated in terms of public debate. Because ofit, there has been a significant shift in theway people perceive the role of women insociety. I think it is an important change,because it stimulates further debates andchanges. For instance, it has incited a de-bate about wage differences between menand women in Poland. The debate wasnot initiated by the Women’s Congress, itjust came naturally as a result of the ear-lier debates about the quotas.

The quota bill itself is a very importantpiece of legislation because it will speedup the pace at which women embracepublic life. However, I’m not overly opti-mistic about the pace itself. This will nothappen overnight. First of all, the politicalparties have to learn that they needwomen not because of the law, but be-cause of what women bring into the polit-ical equilibrium. On the other hand,women have to learn how to be active in

politics, and again, it takes time becausewomen, whose role in politics has beenmarginalized by men, have to learn theropes about the political process. It alsorequires building the mechanisms of acivic society which would empowerwomen in this process.

Why did you support this legislation?I’m a woman who has made it to the topin business. There was a woman primeminister in Poland, and there was awoman president of Poland’s centralbank. But those examples are exceptionsfrom the rule, and the rule is that there islittle room for women atop either politicalor business structures. So, I’m not sup-porting parity for my own sake. My desireis to see women who are at the beginningof their careers, be it politics or business,empowered enough to take the challengefor what it is worth. They should not beforced into proving their own worth be-cause they are female. They should not bejudged in light of cultural values sharedby men. If there are more women in poli-tics, and if they cooperate with one an-other, they will be able to form coalitionsof the same viewpoints against the domi-nating viewpoints of men. It is not aboutwomen being smarter or more intelligentor having some secret formulas for beingwise. It is about breaking the stereotypesand reaching a balance between the waymen and women see the world, the prob-lems and the solutions.

Would you support the idea of quotasfor management boards and supervi-sory boards of publicly traded compa-nies?On the one hand I hope that business willbe rational enough to include women inthose positions without any legislation. Forinstance, the best practice code for compa-nies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchangerecommends diversity on managementboards and supervisory boards.

On the other hand, however, I fear thiswill not happen without proper legislation inplace. The state-owned companies shouldbe the first ones to be covered by such legis-lation. In the Women’s Congress we discussthat the bill governing the establishment ofmanagement boards and supervisory boardsin state-owned companies, which is nowunder review in Parliament, should beamended to include 35% quota provisions. I anticipate big resistance from the Parlia-ment, which by the way has only 20%women in the lower house and 8% in theSenate.

Why is it difficult for women to get ontocompany boards?It is scientifically proven that if womencomprise below 1/3 of a team, they, like it ornot, have to follow the rules of how the malemajority thinks. In biology this rule isknown as accommodation. So, for instance,if you are one woman on a company boardand you want to express your point of view,which differs from the point of view of your

colleagues, you have to really battle them.How many battles can you take? One, two.Sooner or later you are out of steam. Withmore women on the board you will be ableto have support from your female col-leagues. You will share the same point ofview and be able to work out your positionin a much more persuasive fashion.

The other issue is that for years men havedominated corporate boards and now manywomen are not very eager to jump into suchan environment. They just do not like hav-ing to walk in a man’s shoes.

It is true that there are a lot of womenemployed in lower positions in corporations.There they can balance their professionallives with their private lives. This applies toboth administration and business. The low-est echelons of administration are female-dominated. So are the lowest corporate ech-elons. For instance, 70% of the workforceemployed in the financial sector are women,and around 22% of small and medium sizedcompanies in Poland are owned and run bywomen. But the higher you go in the corpo-rate structure, the fewer women you see. Ifyou reach the top corporate level, you seewomen are few and far between. But onsuch a level, it is very difficult to take care ofyour home and family. You are not the mas-ter of your time. You work as long as ittakes. You cannot take your work home be-cause you cannot manage a company fromhome.

But women play primary roles when it

The right balanceAmerican Investor’s

Tomasz Ćwiok talks withHenryka Bochniarz, Presi-dent of the Polish Confed-eration of Private Employ-ers Lewiatan, President ofBoeing Central & EasternEurope and a member of

the Steering Committee ofthe Women's Congress,about the rising role of

women in politics, busi-ness, and the economy

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monika pływaczewska, managing directorof Viskase Polska, lists among her greatestprofessional accomplishments the creation ofa Polish-German joint venture—a distributorof professional cleaning supplies which by thetime she quit supported 50 jobs.

Her second greatest professional achieve-ment was being promoted to GM of Viskase,after two years as sales manager during whichthe company’s sales tripled.

When dealing with people, Pływaczewska isa proponent of the soft style of management.“It is important to see people as human be-ings and to be compassionate,” she says. “It isequally vital to give people clear messages andorders, to keep promises and to create a goodatmosphere in the workplace.”

Pływaczewska believes that problems must

be solved without unnecessary delay. “If I seean employee does not fit the position, it is bet-ter to terminate the employment,” she says.“In order to minimize the number of suchmistakes, I put a lot of stress on careful choiceof new employees.”

The personal features that she values inpeople are energy, willingness to work hard,loyalty, integrity, responsibility, keeping one’sword, positive attitude, intelligence, frank-ness, respect for others, and resistance tostress.

The biggest professional challenges thatPływaczewska anticipates in 2011 are to main-tain the company’s market and build up thesales of a new product line that has recentlybeen included in the company’s portfolio.

agata szeliga-staszkiewicz, managing di-rector of Acxiom Global Service Center Polskaand Acxiom Polska and also a board memberof the Polish Direct Marketing Association,says her greatest accomplishments are theteamwork and lasting relationships with hercolleagues and stakeholders in the organiza-tions she has built. “Once you gain trust andcommitment, professional success naturallyfollows,” she says.

The fundamental principle that guidesSzeliga-Staszkiewicz in working with peopleis integrity. “Once you clearly communicateexpectations, open the door to dialogue andgive feedback,” she says, “you create a trans-parent environment in which people knowwhat to expect. Following through on commit-ments and approaching every person and

issue with an open mind is an approach thathas not failed me.”

The personal features that she values inpeople are their drive and passion, whichmakes them deliver, but also transfers to oth-ers the enthusiasm and faith that things canbe done. “I also seek personal integrity andhonesty, which is fundamental to buildingfirm and long-lasting relationships,” she says.“Being open-minded and adapting to chang-ing conditions is key in today’s world ofchange.”

Keeping up with change in the business en-vironment is where she sees her greatest chal-lenge today: “Consumers are actually gettingahead of marketers in the ways they use tech-nology. Many industries have a lot of catchingup to do.”

comes to their home and family. So whenthey climb up the corporate ladder theycan only reach as high as does not inter-fere with their family duties.

When you look at the number ofwomen on the boards of WIG20 compa-nies, you will see only one woman presi-dent—Alicja Kornasiewicz of Bank PekaoS.A. Most men on the boards do havechildren. But if a woman wants to have afamily life and a top corporate career, it isextremely difficult for her to have themboth.

There are other issues. Women are in-secure about taking decisions. It has todo with the social mold that they arebrought up in. As children they aretaught to listen and obey rather thandominate. This is the pattern that is stilltaught in schools. In their schoolbooks,children see pictures of girls who playwith dolls quietly in a corner. Boys arepictured playing computer games or soc-cer with their dads. Moms, in turn, arepictured dutifully doing the laundry.Those are the social role models that arestill being taught, and we, like it or not,all have them in our heads. We need tochange that!

Working with women is a very good ex-perience. When they know they canprogress professionally and that they cantake risks, they really fly!

So my supporting women on corporate

boards is about the rational use of humanresources. It is not about erasing men fromthe boards, because a female extreme is asbad as a male extreme. It is about a balanceof diversity. If we let this process happen atits own “natural” pace instead of speedingit up with legislation, experts say we willreach a 50/50 ratio in 2075.

Owing to the global financial crisis, moreand more companies begin to see that thelack of such diversity increases businessrisks. Financial institutions were filled withmale professionals aged 30–40 who gradu-ated from the same schools, played golf inthe same clubs, and took the same busi-ness decisions. I’m not saying that it wasthe main cause of the financial crisis, be-cause there were many more. But consid-ering the effectiveness of the business de-cisions they took, their one-sided view didplay a role. So the quota regulations wouldwork well for all of us.

do you know any regulations otherthan quotas that effectively empowerwomen in the workplace?Yes, they concern maternity leave. Employ-ers tend to approach young women less en-thusiastically than men because they areafraid that sooner or later female employ-ees will become mothers, and as such willbe frequently taking leaves to take care oftheir children when they are sick or needtheir parent’s attention. So young women

are viewed as more problematic employees.But when both women and men are madeto share that responsibility equally, the em-ployers view both male and female workersas having the same risk factor in connec-tion with having offspring. Such a regula-tion is present in Sweden. It makes peoplechange their perception of the roles theymay play in the family, and this change isvery good. Men need to spend time withtheir children as well. It is necessary fortheir children and themselves.

so how do you see the future roles thatwomen will play in our society, busi-ness and the economy? I must say that in general the labor marketis becoming more and more woman-friendly. Jobs that were traditionally associ-ated with men, because they requiredphysical strength to do, are dying out. Theyare being replaced by automation and tech-nology. You no longer need physical powerto operate a bulldozer. Everything is de-signed and engineered in such a way that aperson with average physical strength canoperate it.

This change even applies to the defensesector. There are unmanned vehicles andairplanes. They are controlled through acomputer system. The physical strengththat was once required in the battlefield isno longer a must. Neither is the male driveto fight. All it takes is a professional person

at the remote control, far away from the ac-tual war theater.

So men will be losing jobs. And theproblem is that men are not so adaptableas women. They find it difficult to retrainfor a different job. They associate it withlosing their social status. Meanwhile newjobs will be created in the service sector,including financial services, hotels andleisure. Many men will find it difficult toretrain to professionally fit into this reality.The best example is the coal miners whothink they should not do anything else butwork in a coal mine.

The area where women will really needto help men adapt is the caretaking sector.The sector will boom in the years to come.People live longer now, but they need pro-fessional caretakers when they are old.This is a perfect sector for women to workin, but men find it difficult to fend forthemselves as caretakers. They think it de-prives them of their professional status.They will need to learn from women howto best deal with that problem.

They had better start now. Therefore, itis mutually beneficial for men and womento give up the old stereotypes and try towork together and learn from each other.

What they can learn from women is flexi-bility in dealing with the changing reality.Women have been doing that for all theirlives when managing their very own enter-prises—their home and family. It is naturalfor them to think and act in a flexible way.

What would your advice be to youngprofessionals who are at the beginningof their careers and want to go far butnot stand in a man’s shoes?There is no one way of thinking about it,because there are different work environ-ments, different women and men. But, be-yond any doubt, such women should beopen-minded. Management is about prac-tice and about learning different methodsof managing people. Men know more aboutit because of the way they are brought upand the way the society works. Women haveto learn how to apply it in practice.

They also should not be afraid of takingchallenges. Men take challenges muchmore easily because they have the tendencyto overestimate their abilities. Women areto the contrary. They have reservations anddoubts. They tend to undervalue their pro-fessional worth. But high self-esteemcomes with time.

Women also should not be afraid to turnto mentors and more experienced profes-sionals for advice. Sometimes books giveyou only a dry theory, but what you reallyneed is to talk about your problem withsomeone who has more experience thanyou.

They should also network. Men knowhow to network because it is in their na-ture. Women are focused on home andfamily and tend to forget the value of so-cializing with people. It is about experi-ence-sharing and giving a helping hand ifnecessary. With a good network of friends,women feel much more confident profes-sionally. Networking is very important be-cause if women are to create a good workteam, they first have to like the people onthe team. This empowers them. In turn,men can work with people they despiseand still be confident. That is a big differ-ence.

The last piece of advice is that womenshould take every opportunity to advancetheir professional career and be smartenough to include men in it. After all, it isabout the right balance of diversity.



and it was one of the fundamental mistakes ofthe authors of the reform.”

Bielecki said that when the reform startedin 1999, the government could have cut theZUS pension benefits that retirees were draw-ing then, instead of trying to find money to fi-nance the gap. “Had the government donethat, it would have shifted the burden of socialsecurity reforms onto the shoulders of the re-tired and the older generations of Poles,” Bi-elecki said. “It would have been hard for themto understand why they have to shoulder thecost of pension system reform which is aimedat delivering good pension benefits for the fu-ture generations of working Poles.”

As the gap in ZUS financing has been cov-ered by the state budget, and the state did nothave any surplus money to put into it, it wasnatural for the government to try to financethe gap with debt. Treasury bonds have be-come the way to go for the government tocover the gap in ZUS financing. This has ledto steady generation of debt over the years.

artificial growth of financial marketsMeanwhile the OFEs, which were limited bythe law in the ways in which they could investthe money they got from the government,went on to buy government debt and equity ofthe companies traded on the Warsaw StockExchange. The steady inflow of capital to theWSE through OFEs fueled unprecedentedgrowth of the financial market in Poland.

“It is true that none of the other countriesin Central & Eastern Europe have a robustcapital market,” Bielecki said. “In fact, capitalmarkets are almost non-existent in Romania,Hungary, and the Czech Republic, because


AMCHAM: Monthly Meeting


Meet the speaker

JAN KRZYSZTOF BIELECKI is an economicadvisor. He served as Prime Minister of Polandfor most of 1991. He is a member of the CivicPlatform party and Chairman of the Council ofthe Polish Institute of International Affairs. In1980–1989 Bielecki was an advisor on eco-nomic policy to the Solidarity trade union. In1990 he joined the Liberal-Democratic Con-gress, which became part of the FreedomUnion party in 1994. In 2001 Bielecki joined thenewly founded Civic Platform. After serving asPrime Minister, Bielecki served as Minister forEuropean Integration under Prime MinisterHanna Suchocka from 1992 to 1993. From1993 to 2003 Bielecki represented Poland atthe European Bank for Reconstruction and De-velopment. He then served as CEO of BankPekao S.A. until 2009.

The main message from economic ad-visor and former Prime Minister JanKrzysztof Bielecki in his remarks at

the AmCham Monthly Breakfast Meeting inFebruary was that Poland’s economy is doingrelatively well and the government is holdingpublic finances in check for 2011.

According to Bielecki, naysayers who claimthat Poland’s financial situation is in criticalcondition and accuse the government of notdoing enough to reform the public financesystem, especially when it comes to cuttingbudget expenditures, should give the govern-ment credit for conducting fiscal consolida-tion by raising the VAT rate by 1 percentagepoint from the first of this year.

The VAT hike will postpone until 2012 themoment when Poland’s budget deficit redlines

at the constitutional threshold of 3% of grossdomestic product, although the InternationalMonetary Fund predicts that the level will bereached in 2013. When that does happen, thegovernment will be under a constitutional ob-ligation to apply the excessive deficit proce-dure, which may include freezing salaries inthe public sector, raising taxes, and cuttingbudgetary expenditures. But this year Polandwill manage to keep that risk at bay.

Bielecki said that because of this constitu-tional limitation the government cannot boostspending on social issues, contrary to whatmany government critics say it should do:“Because the deficit growth is on the course ofreaching 3% of GDP in 2013, the governmentcannot boost spending even if it wanted to winpopular support in the upcoming parliamen-

tary elections scheduled for the fall of thisyear.”

Bielecki noted that this may not be as criti-cal as it seems now. In his view the Polisheconomy has been building momentum. Thegrowth of Poland’s GDP had already acceler-ated, thanks to growth of internal consumerdemand, among other factors.

According to Bielecki, the investment cyclein the private sector in Poland operates in two-to three-year phases: “After two to three yearsof foreign direct investment increase, meas-ured year-on-year, Poland has two to threeyears of flat FDI inflow.” The growth cycleshould kick in this year, Bielecki said, and thegrowing inflow of FDI will help slow thegrowth of the current account deficit.

Bielecki added that Poland’s economicgrowth has been stimulated to a very high de-gree by the inflow of public funds from theEuropean Union. With this also in mind, it issafe to estimate that Poland will grow its GDPin 2011 by over 4% from the 2010 level.

Battling the fiscal deficitBielecki said that in 2010 Poland’s fiscal deficitincreased beyond earlier expectations. Threefactors contributed to the increase: a drop inFDI inflow from 2009 to 2010, a significantdecrease in corporate tax revenues, and a sig-nificant increase in borrowing by the munici-pal sector. “The increase in the fiscal deficitwas not planned by the government,” Bieleckisaid.

Further consolidation will take place withthe reform of the capital-based leg of the so-cial insurance system, administered by theopen pension funds (OFEs), when the per-centage of workers’ mandatory pension con-tributions channeled to OFEs is cut from7.3% to 2.3%. “With this the government willachieve a fiscal consolidation amounting to8/10 of a percentage point of GDP this yearand 1 percentage point of GDP from 2012on,” Bielecki said. “In 2011 alone thisamounts to PLN 12 billion.”

Bielecki said that the history of the Polisheconomic transition shows there were mo-ments when fiscal policy facilitated fiscal ad-justments, such as those aimed at keeping in-flationary pressures at bay. “The Polish centralbank has been skillfully keeping that pressurein check,” he said, “and it looks as if it willmanage to do so in 2011.”

Bielecki added, however, that the govern-ment will have to introduce some additionalmeasures in the summer of this year to helpimprove the budgetary situation. “It is unlikelythat the government will raise taxes in 2011 toboost the revenue of local governments,” Bi-elecki said. “The boost may be achieved, how-ever, by improving fiscal discipline.”

But given the financial situation of otherEuropean countries, it is very unlikely that anydramatic scenario will unveil for Poland.

This does not mean that Poland is immunefrom trouble. Bielecki agreed that the Polisheconomy and public finances need reforms,especially to improve economic performance.“Although a lot has been done in the past year,it has not been enough,” Bielecki said. But hesaid he is still an optimist, and Poland’s per-formance through the last global economiccrisis, which in fact was the largest crisis inthe last 70 years, was exceptionally good,which gives reasons for an optimistic outlookin the years to come.

over-borrowing by local governmentsThe reason Poland’s municipal governmentshave become heavily indebted in recent yearsis that they had not generated any savings inthe past. Since their establishment 20 yearsago, Poland’s municipal governments havebeen rather conservative, with their fiscal poli-cies always trying to balance their spread-sheet. Three years ago, however, they had achance to tap into E.U. funding to cover halfof their investment costs. Since the offer tonew entrants into the E.U. is available for alimited time only, local governments are doingtheir best to utilize as much E.U. matchingaid as they can that is available until 2013. Butto cover the remaining 50% of their invest-ment costs they have to borrow.

Bielecki noted that no local governmentcould resist the temptation of tapping into theE.U. financing. Consequently, while no harddata are available yet for 2010, it is estimatedthat the fiscal deficit of the municipal sectorwas 1.4% of Poland’s GDP, or approximately30% of the general government deficit. Bi-elecki said that very few leaders in the localgovernment sector worry about the growingdebt. In fact, he said the municipalities thathave generated the highest debt are very bluntabout it, arguing they are only doing what ittakes to meet their investment needs.

To tackle the problem of the growing debtin the municipal sector, the central govern-ment froze the salaries of civil servants in themunicipal sector for three years, starting in2011. However, this measure did not work.Local governments increased the salaries ofmunicipal staff by 8%, arguing that they needto hire professionals to handle their financialsituation and their investment projects. “Itmeans that municipal governments do not feelany fiscal constraints whatsoever,” Bieleckinoted.

He said that the problem can be solved withlegislation that would put municipal govern-ments under an obligation to maintain a bal-anced budget. “Such legislation is in place inSweden, a country that is often pointed to as arole model for Poland when it comes to publicgovernance.”

Bielecki extended his critique of the localgovernment indebtedness problem to com-mercial banks, saying that they are eager to

lend to the municipal sector because it isviewed as a low-risk borrower. “It has becomean issue with the finance minister, who has al-ready talked about it publicly,” Bielecki said.“Some kind of regulations or spending recom-mendations may be issued by the ministry inthe future.”

reform debacle?Bielecki devoted a separate part of his speechat AmCham to addressing the issue of pro-posed reforms of the social insurance system.Working people are required to pay contribu-tions to the state-run Social Insurance Institu-tion (ZUS). ZUS collects the money fromworkers and pays money out every month tobeneficiaries. Under reforms introduced in1999, however, in case of workers who wereborn after 1968, 7.3% of the fee goes to a pri-vately owned open pension fund of theirchoosing. This is known as the “capital” leg ofthe public pension system.

In late 2010 the government announced aplan to cut the portion of ZUS contributionsthat are allocated to the OFEs from 7.3% to2.3%. In return, it proposed to create ZUS ac-counts for OFE participants in which theircapital would be accounted for and interestwould accrue at a government-defined rate ofgrowth.

Bielecki said that while many economistshave divergent views on such a basic economicissue, the truth is that the authors of the re-form overestimated the potential of the post-reform system to balance itself and go onwithout the need for financial assistance fromthe state budget. “First of all, we have to un-derstand the financing of the pension reform,”Bielecki said. “When the reform started in1999, something over 7% of the money thatpreviously had been earmarked to support theZUS pay-as-you go system was redirected tosupport the capital-based pension plan. Thisdecision created a gap in financing the ZUSsystem.”

Bielecki said that the authors of the reformassumed that Poland would have a surplus inits budget with which to finance the gap. Incase the surplus theory did not work, othersources of financing were taken into consider-ation, such as privatization of state-ownedcompanies. But the main assumption of thereformers was that in any case the gap in ZUSfinancing would be covered. “It is easy to as-sume but much more difficult to deliver,” Bi-elecki said.

The new OFEs (asset-management-based)and ZUS (pay-as-you-go) system will not befinancially balanced before the last person whois exclusively reliant on ZUS dies, some 30 to40 years from now, Bielecki said. “The as-sumption of the authors of the pension reformwas that the OFE/ZUS system will becomeneutral for the state budget in five to sevenyears after its start. That did not materialize,

Shell gameA leading advisor warns that Poland’s capital market is built on borrowed money

Monthly Meeting speaker Jan Krzysztof Bielecki

there is no capital to go into investing in com-panies’ stock. Poland does not have it either,but it generates debt to create that capital. Soit is not that the markets are different, or thatPoland somehow miraculously has managed tocreate a vibrant capital market. The differenceis that Poland has been doing it through debtgeneration.”

Bielecki noted that when it comes to sav-ings, the natural source for financing capitalmarkets, neither Poland nor other countries inCentral & Eastern Europe have it. “If youcompare the savings of an average Italian andan average Pole, the former has 25 times morethan the latter,” he pointed out. “Poles do nothave enough savings to practically invigoratethe capital market. We are short of capital inthe region.”

a looming market crashAccording to Bielecki, growth of the capitalmarket in Poland fueled by debt generation isprone to fail in the long run. Since all workingPoles born after 1968 are under an obligationto pay premiums into OFEs, the OFEs do nothave to compete for clients by coming up withcompetitive investment strategies. Therefore,for the last 10 years their investment strate-gies have been very conservative. The averagefund’s investment portfolio in 2010 was 67%Treasury bonds and 33% equities. Again,thanks to this, Bielecki noted, the companieswhose shares are traded on the WSE obtainedhigh capitalization. “Nobody cared about thefact that it happens thanks exclusively to debtinstruments,” he said. “But the developmentof a capital market financed through debt in-struments is not good in the long term for thecapital market. It is fantastic for asset man-agers, but not for all sides concerned.”

Bielecki noted that with too much moneyinvested in equities, a market crash is certainto take place when OFEs will have to withdrawtheir money from the market to pay back theirclients’ pensions. Since the first portion ofpaybacks will take place 10 years from now,asset managers in OFEs are not worried aboutthe problem now. “They do not need to worryabout that,” Bielecki said, “but the govern-ment has to worry about what happens 10years from now. That’s the difference.”

He said that the lack of capital savings pre-vented the Czech government from initiatingtheir own social insurance reforms. “TheCzechs knew they did not have enough sur-plus money to be able to afford such a re-form,” Bielecki said. “What the Czech Repub-lic plans to do is to start a similar reform oftheir pension fund system, but the portion ofmoney earmarked for OFEs will be muchlower than in Poland. The gap in financing ofthe Czech state pension fund which will resultfrom rechanneling the money to OFEs will becovered by higher taxes.”

spiraling debtThe problem of what will happen when OFEshave to start paying the money back is not theonly issue that the government has to address.Since the start of the social insurance reformin 1999, the government has generated a debtthat amounts to nearly 17% of Poland’s grossdomestic product.

In nominal terms, so far PLN 152 billionhas been transferred to OFEs. In 2011 it willbe PLN 24 billion. But PLN 24 billion alone,Bielecki said, is not all that should be takeninto account when looking at Poland’s 2011 fi-nancial burden for supporting OFEs. “The in-terest on that capital should also be countedwhen it comes to measuring the real cost of fi-nancing the pension fund reform,” Bieleckisaid. “The government has to borrow moneyto finance the reform and therefore has to paythe interest as well. Had it been the other wayaround—the government financing the debtthrough a budgetary surplus—we could haveforgotten the interest as an important cost ele-ment. Since the beginning of the reform in1999 the government has had to pay PLN 60billion in interest on the money it had to bor-row—PLN 152 billion.”

real measure of budget deficitBielecki went on to address the issue of how toproperly measure Poland’s budget deficit, inlight of the cost incurred by the government infinancing the social insurance reform. Bieleckiexplained that since the Polish public financedeficit is 53% of the country’s GDP, and thedebt generated by the government in financ-ing ZUS amounts to 17% of GDP, the properway of arriving at the real percentage figure forPoland’s budget deficit is to subtract 17 from53. “Poland’s real public finance deficit is 36%of the country’s GDP,” he concluded, “one ofthe best results in the region of Central &Eastern Europe. In other words, had Polandnot initiated its pension reform in 1999, thecountry’s public finance deficit would havestood today at 36% of the country’s GDP.”

more than one reformBielecki said that the entire OFE systemneeds reforms. Reducing the portion of thetotal premium paid to OFEs from 7.3% to2.3% is just one step of many required tomake the system feasible. “Another problem isthe limits OFEs are under when it comes totheir investment portfolio,” Bielecki said. “Bylaw they have to invest in government debt, upto 60% of their assets. Investing abroad cancome up to only 5% of their total assets.” Thisis a problem because OFEs are very muchlimited as to where they can invest the money.

However, Bielecki noted that while this lim-itation may constrain OFEs’ performance, ithas its rationale: “It would have been stupid ifthe Polish government were borrowing moneyfrom the financial markets to put it into OFEs

who then would export the money to Greecewhere they would invest in government bondsthere.” That would be nonsense, Bielecki said.

However, he said that the way theZUS/OFE system functions now is not sus-tainable, because it does not rest on an eco-nomically viable mechanism.

Bielecki praised the government led byPrime Minister Donald Tusk for addressingthe issue of pension fund reforms eventhough it would be easy for the governmentnot to do anything about the reform before theparliamentary elections in the fall of this year.“It is easy to survive politically for the nextcouple of years without touching the issue ofthe pension system reforms this year,” he said.“But because Prime Minister Tusk is inter-ested also in the medium-term perspective, hedecided to adjust the financial aspect of thesystem before the election.” According to Bi-elecki, Tusk was driven by a sense of the ur-gency of the problem and responsibility for themedium-term performance of the ZUS/OFEsystem.

political rationaleBielecki said that despite heavy criticism ofthe Tusk reform by various economists, intime more and more of the critics will under-stand that the Tusk government is doing theright thing—not only in terms of the impact ofZUS/OFE on the state budget, but also interms of sustaining political support for theliberal agenda. “Had the Tusk governmentimplemented any social cuts that so many gov-ernment critics have been advocating,” Bi-elecki argued, “the move would have turned asignificant portion of the electorate away fromthe Civic Platform party.”

Bielecki said that the Tusk government isnot going to abandon reforms of the public fi-nance system: “Some of the reforms will takeeffect 4 years after they are implemented. Withthe pension fund reform, the government hasreached financial stability today. It is whatSweden did before. With the new way of fi-nancing OFEs, Poland’s pension system isnow very much like its counterpart in Sweden.There is no reason why Poland should treatthe model differently than the Swedes do. In anutshell, I’m confident the rationale behindthe decision of reforming the ZUS/OFE fi-nancing was good, and it will receive more andmore understanding from public opinion.”

Bielecki concluded by saying that the newway of splitting the premium between ZUSand the OFEs will eventually lead to theOFEs’ becoming neutral for the developmentof the capital markets in Poland. “At the sametime, although their impact will be diminishedas compared to what it has been since 1999,the OFEs will be a sound force behind thegrowth of financial markets in Poland.”


Tomasz Ćwiok

Effective management is universal

be voiced. Everybody has opinions that areimportant, because they see things that theboss would not see. It is a much more effec-tive way of running the business. In fact, theemployee approach is the best business,management and leadership model. It is themost successful all over the world!

But old-school attitudes to managementdo not change easily...One of the reasons why they don’t is thatsometimes people have not seen the resultsthat come with changing the old ways. Theysaw the old ways worked when their fatherswere applying them, they saw they workedwhen they applied them, so they believe theywill work in the future.

This applies to companies that have no ac-cess to international management cultures.Poland has good schools and universities. Youcan learn a theory, but you cannot learn prac-tical solutions until you know how to applythem. That’s why you need someone who isable to offer you solutions—skills and behav-iors—that work in other countries, virtuallyanywhere in the world.

to what degree do you alter your pro-grams to make them work in local cultures and markets?As a company, Dale Carnegie is 98 years old.It was founded as an American company, andfor the first half of the company’s existence itwas basically an American company. Nowmore than half of our business is outside ofthe U.S. We find it to be just as applicableanyplace in the world as it is in New York. Ef-ficient management is not unique to a partic-ular culture. We have 2,700 trainers aroundthe world, and we train in 30 different lan-guages.

But what we do is based on the innerhuman being—it is what motivates people.People are the same in Poland, France, Chinaand elsewhere. The core is very similar any-where in the world. Our job is to take whatwe do and make it relevant to the local mar-ket. Every place has some different issues.Years ago, here privatization was an issue.Now it is an issue in China. So that wouldlead to issues that need to be addressed.

In Poland one of the major issues today isthat the economy is growing, and there is aneed for more managers and more businessleaders. Probably not too many places in Eu-rope would share that particular need, be-cause the other countries in Europe do nothave the growth that Poland has. Leadershipdevelopment and team-building will be veryimportant here.

dale carnegie has just set up itsoffice in Warsaw. But you al-ready have an established pres-

ence in central & eastern europe...It took a long time to find the right people

to establish the business. We were looking forabout five years. We have certain criteria thatwe think are important.

What are the criteria?Dale Carnegie has a unique culture and isvery focused on results and people. We wantpeople who are businesslike and have busi-ness experience—not academic or theoreti-cal, but real-world business experience. Sowe look for people who want to build a busi-ness and want to be successful.

What is your development strategy inpoland?Our objective is to achieve the same positionthat Dale Carnegie has globally. It is the lead-ing training organization for companies whowant to improve their business results by im-proving the performance of their people. Inother words, we want to be the referencecompany on the training market.

Our plan is to focus on the Warsaw marketfirst, but we can provide services to compa-nies in any location in Poland. Our intent isto grow and by the end of next year startopening regional offices around the country.

What companies do you cater to?Any company for which the human elementis important for the success of their busi-ness—starting from big multinationals, withwhom we can share our global experience,through local big companies but also mid-sized ones. We see that there are many mid-sized companies who want to grow but don’tknow how to make the leap.

What makes your approach to businessunique?Our approach works! If you accept that man-agement is about human beings and if youaccept that it is people that get things done—as opposed to management theories andprocesses or IT, all very important but notcritical—you will arrive at the conclusion, aswe certainly do, that the people are central tothe success of any enterprise. Therefore, alogical conclusion would be that it is impor-tant to invest in people.

Investing in people is not a simple matter. Itis not about investing in more computers ormore advertising but about investing in mak-ing your people more engaged in the companyso as a result they are more productive.

So when we say that our solution works, wemean that we deliver solutions that are notsimply about making a change in people’s be-havior, but changing the way a company ismanaged in a way that it brings results. Peo-ple who are engaged work better. People whowork better produce more. That is pure busi-ness. It is not about trying to be nice to yourpeople.

Of course everybody should want to benice, but it is not only about being nice orhaving a nicer work environment. It is aboutachieving better results for the company.Having a nicer work environment for em-ployees may be a part of the process, but it isnot what the whole thing is about.

There are a number of studies that showthat engaged employees are much more pro-ductive. If you look at the success of manycompanies, it is the people who have madethem successful. Investing in them is one wayto make them more engaged in what they do.

it seems that your focus is employees,not the boss....The top-down business model is not an ef-fective way of running a business. The boss-oriented culture and business model used tobe the standard in the U.S., China and othercountries. Now it is not the model anymore.

The most successful, entrepreneurial,growing companies are where the boss lis-tens to the people and has an idea of whatthey are saying. Everybody’s opinions should

American Investor’s Tomasz Ćwiok talks with Peter V. Handal, Chairmanand CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc., as the management training company opens its first office in Poland

COMPANY PROFILE: Dale CarnegieAMCHAM: Monthly Meeting

Class actions are a rare ex-ample of a legal proce-dural notion whose pop-

ularity extends far beyond thecircles of litigation lawyers. Sto-ries of bold lawyers fighting forbillion-dollar damages for vic-tims of greedy multinationalcorporations are a populartheme in Hollywood movies andJohn Grisham novels. Littlewonder the introduction of classactions in Poland thrilledlawyers and non-lawyers alike.

The Polish class action lawhas been in force for over half ayear now. As the bill wended itsway through the Parliament itkindled much enthusiasm onthe partof thepublicand evenmoreconcernamongbusi-nesses as potential defendants.The popular press cheered:“Corporations will start to fearus”—“Poles get a new tool tocombat unfair companies”—“Fight for your rights like ErinBrockovich.” From the otherside of the barricade came spec-ulation about how many compa-nies could go bust, crushedunder the wheels of class ac-tions. Six months down the lineit’s time to take stock.

reality checkSome statistics to begin with. Asof January 2011, around 10 law-suits were pending under thenew procedure. Several othershad been filed but then with-drawn, or were rejected by thecourt, usually due to failure topay the initial court fee. At leastanother two dozen have beenannounced, but not filed—yet.

The first conclusion, whichmay come as a surprise, is thatmost of the class actions filed

Getting on the bandwagonThe kind of remedy sought byclass members will most likelybe one of the factors in thepopularity of class actions. Tofile a claim for payment, theamount demanded by the classmembers should be “unified.”In short, this vague prerequi-site is viewed as problematic,except for extremely rare caseswhen the amount of damagessuffered by each of the classmembers is exactly the same.

However, there is an alterna-tive solution under the newlaw: a claim to establish liabil-ity. Notably, almost all class ac-tion claims filed to date inPoland have fallen into that cat-egory. This tool seems well-suited to cases involving massaccidents or catastrophes,where “unification” of mone-tary claims is virtually impossi-ble. After establishing the de-fendant’s liability in a class ac-tion, class members can file in-dividual lawsuits for damages,relying on the precedentialfinding of liability.

To sum up, the new systemseems tobe a verytempt-ing, al-beitquitecompli-cated,

way of asserting one’s rights,and how it will evolve in theearly years will probably be de-cisive for the future prospectsof class actions in Poland. Ifyou compare a class action suitto a sea voyage, there are manyreefs looming on the horizonthat may sink the class actionship. However, at the momentwe are only at the boardingstage. One thing is certain: thevoyage will involve long, in-triguing battles, and we willdefinitely keep you informed.

starting the proceedings. Savefor one consumer case against abank and one product liabilitycase against the state, where,respectively, around 400 and800 individuals joined thegroup before filing suit, groupshave included little more thanthe statutory minimum of 10persons. Attractive as a classaction may sound in the head-lines, organizing a group inhopes of starting a class actionseems to pose a real challenge.

opt-in filterThat said, initiating a class ac-tion with a cozy group of 10 orso members does not rule out

new members joining. Oncethe court certifies the class ac-tion as admissible, a public no-tice is made inviting other po-tential claimants to join thegroup. As none of the pendingclass actions in Poland havereached this stage yet, it is any-one’s guess how manyclaimants may be tempted totake up the invitation. Onething is clear, though: Polishclass actions will not be compa-rable to U.S. class actions interms of the number ofclaimants involved. The Polishsystem requires each claimantto join the group through sub-mission of a written statement.This “opt-in” model, inciden-tally prevailing elsewhere inEurope, contrasts with theU.S.-style “opt-out” class ac-tion, where the class action cov-ers all persons who meet theclass criteria save for those whoexpressly choose not to partici-pate.

with Polish courts to date havebeen brought not against privatecorporations, but against the stateand state agencies.

One reason for this is that thenew law hit the statute books atthe same time as the massivefloods in the spring and summerof 2010. The public accused cen-tral and local authorities alike offailure to safeguard the life andproperty of citizens, and the newclass action law popped up as anatural tool to seek compensation.At least three class action lawsuitshave been filed since then againstPolish flood prevention agencies.

A second reason is the scope ofthe new law: relatively narrow, but

broad enough to encompassclaims of citizens against state au-thorities. The new law was origi-nally designed to offer class actionlawsuits for all kinds of civilclaims. Only at the final stage ofthe legislative process did theSenate trim down the applicationof the new law to selected cases:consumer claims, product liability,and torts.

corporate targetsConsumer claims seldom offersufficient financial incentive to in-vest in a class action lawsuit, andproduct liability cases are rela-tively rare. This makes tort casespotentially the most productivecategory of class action in Poland,and this includes tort casesagainst the state, where citizens’interests are often infringed on amass scale and in a similar man-ner.

A distinctive feature of class ac-tions in Poland is the relativelysmall number of group members

The idea of class actions is popu-lar in Poland…but will realitycatch up?

External reviewof a wide rangeof corporate ac-tivities buildslong-term value

Claimants, get on board!

By Tomasz Jaworski and Patrick Radzimierskiattorneys-at-law, Salans law firm

EXPERT: Class actionsEXPERT: Assurance services

A measure of trust

By Aleksandra Turek

Sustainable Business Solutions, PwC

company. That is very impor-tant in today’s world, wheremessages communicatedthrough the traditional mediaor the Internet are short-lived,sometimes never reach thestakeholders concerned, andcan be difficult to find againdue to barriers such as paidarchives or a lack of access tohistorical TV records. An inter-nal company newsletter or in-tranet is suitable for communi-cating short messages. Theystrengthen the ties between theemployee and the company andbuild long-term trust.

A social report makes it pos-sible to present the most im-portant issues in one docu-ment, tie the individual actionsto the overall strategy, and ex-plain the comprehensive anddiverse nature of the company’spositive impact on the environ-ment. Measurable data, in theform of figures, tables, dia-grams and trends, stress thecompany’s strategic approach tocreating value.

By presenting the non-finan-cial risks towhich the com-pany is ex-posed, issuesrelating to thesupply chain,employee con-

cerns and customer prefer-ences, such a report providesinformation that is not con-tained in financial statementsor directors’ reports.

At the same time, the infor-mation is understandable to anaverage reader, and may be pre-sented and explained in a waythat a customer, employee, sup-plier or investor is able to ap-preciate. Communication ofdata, supported with an inde-pendent audit report, can con-tribute to the growth of trust ina company, which in turn af-fects its material development.Reliability and trust, mitigationof business risk, and buildingthe company’s image all in-crease the company’s value andhelp build a sustainable com-petitive advantage.

Camelot created a message toits customers that it is reliableand that the drawing process ismonitored by an independentthird party.

csr claimsThe public may bemost familiar with verificationof reports on corporate socialresponsibility initiatives. Manycompanies decide to perform anindependent review of CSR datain order to improve their relia-bility.

Companies that follow CSRstrategies in practice are fre-quently perceived as valuable byinvestors. Social reports pre-senting extensive informationon such items as reputationrisk, regulatory risk and socialrisk can be key elements of aninvestor relations policy.

A well-structured CSR reportsupplements the informationincluded in financial and man-agement reports and thus sup-ports the construction of a com-prehensive image of the com-pany.

The reliability gained fromindependent review of CSRclaims wins the trust of analystsand stakeholders, who tend totreat marketing communica-tions with skepticism. The pub-lication of unverified data by aninternational corporation couldgive rise to a suspicion that thecorporation treats CSR merelyas a method of building itsimage. Employing a profes-sional audit firm to verify dataincluded in a CSR report makesthe data more reliable.

less risk, more valueWhether assurance servicesconcern a process, an action ora social report, they are alwaysassociated with the manage-ment of reputation and regula-tory and governance risks. Ex-ternal verification plays a keypart in mitigating business risk.

By examining the processes,actions and effects of businessand other activities of the com-pany, verification increases trustin the data presented by that

policy, and the responsible brandimage built in this way makesconsumers trust P&G brands.

checks and balances Johnson & Johnson has imple-mented an environmental man-agement system in which self-audit and external audit play animportant part. The company’sManagement Awareness and Ac-tion Review System, or MAARS, isa global system for identifying andmitigating environment, healthand safety risks.

According to Johnson & John-son, “The process includes self-

assessment, independent assess-ment, action planning, correctiveaction tracking, and training. Eachsite conducts annual regulatorycompliance self-audits, and theseare supplemented by an inde-pendent compliance and manage-ment systems audit every threeyears.”

Johnson & Johnson emphasizesthat due to the implementation ofthe global environmental manage-ment system audit, it is able to an-ticipate risks in time and proac-tively respond to them, satisfyingregulatory requirements as well asinternal EHS standards.

Another example of employingan assurance firm is verification ofthe correctness of lottery draw-ings in the U.K. There, lottery op-erator Camelot defined the draw-ing procedures for a lottery, andthen hired PwC to act as an inde-pendent auditor to provide assur-ance that the drawings broadcaston TV were performed in compli-ance with stringently defined pro-cedures.

By adopting this approach,

Trust in a company is thebasis for building a busi-ness case for its pres-

ence on the market. This hasbeen indirectly confirmed by theEdelman Trust Barometer sur-vey, which recorded a decreasein trust in business in 2010. Ac-cording to the survey, “Respon-dents indicated that nowadays acompany’s reputation is builtmainly on transparency andtrust. Among Polish respon-dents, these values took second(67%) and third (65%) place.The quality of products andservices was valued the most byopinion leaders (71%).” Addi-tionally, the survey stressed theimportance of corporate respon-sibility towards society, investorsand employees, which was sig-nificantly less important to re-spondents in previous surveys.

Good woodThere are good examples ofcompanies that have used assur-ance services to verify differenttypes of actions, confirm thequality of their internalprocesses, and increase stake-holders’ trust.

For Procter & Gamble, sus-tainable development manage-ment throughout the value chainis important because it affectsthe overall brand image. TheSustainable Forest Managementprogram, in which P&G sets outthe terms and conditions whichits wood suppliers must complywith, is one example.

The company clearly states,“We ensure compliance withthis policy through site visits,comprehensive surveys and re-search, required documentation,and independent third-partycertification of sustainable for-est management practices.” Thecompany performs an independ-ent review of the suppliers toverify their compliance with the

A company’s reputation is built mainly on transparency and trust.

If you compare a class action suit to a sea voyage,reefs loom on the horizon that may sink the ship.


More about class actions in a bookpublished in Polish, entitled Ustawa odochodzeniu roszczeń w postępowaniugrupowym. Komentarz, authored by Jaworski and Radzimierski



EXPERT: Electronic invoicing

A new regulation allow-ing taxpayers to useelectronic invoicesmuch more extensivelythan they could beforemay spell the end forthe paper invoice

Teams need goodleadership to makea company productive

The way of the dodo

By Aleksandra Faderewska-Waszkiewicztax adviser, Łaszczuk & Partners

storing e-invoicesThe rules for storage of e-in-voices have also changed. Ac-cording to the new regulation,electronic invoices may bestored in any manner (i.e. afterprinting out a hard copy, or elec-tronically), so long as they aredivided into settlement periodsand the storage method assures(1) authenticity of origin, in-tegrity of content and legibilityof the invoices from the date ofissuance through the expirationof the tax obligation, (2) ease oflocation of the invoices, and (3)immediate access to the invoicesfor tax authorities and fiscalaudit authorities.

The regulation also providesthat electronic invoices may bestored in electronic form outsideof Poland, so long as tax authori-ties and fiscal audit authoritiesmay be given online electronicaccess to the invoices. There isthus nothing in the regulationpreventing a taxpayer from stor-ing e-invoices on a server lo-cated outside of Poland. In theevent of a tax audit, however, thetaxpayer will be required toallow the tax authorities to ac-cess the invoices immediatelyand confirm the informationcontained in the invoices.

end of paper?The new regulations concerningelectronic invoices will probablyencourage taxpayers to issueand transmit invoices in elec-tronic form. Now when taxpay-ers decide to issue e-invoices,they need not incur substantialadditional costs to acquire anelectronic signature or specialEDI system. On the other hand,for businesses that issue hun-dreds of invoices every monthwhich they previously had tomail to all of their customers,the decision to replace the tradi-tional system with issuance of e-invoices should generate signifi-cant savings in the companybudget. It is important to bear inmind, however that the otherparty—the recipient of the in-voices—must agree to receivinginvoices electronically.

how it is nowFrom January 1, 2011, electronicinvoices may now be transmittedin any electronic form, so long asthe transmission method hasbeen accepted in advance by therecipient (in writing or electron-ically). A list of methods hasbeen established for transmit-ting invoices in electronic form,provided that the form selectedby the taxpayer assures the au-thenticity of origin and integrityof content of the invoice. Underthe new regulation, “authenticityof origin” means certainty as tothe identity of the supplier of thegoods or services or the issuer ofthe invoice, and “integrity ofcontent” means that the infor-mation required to be includedin the invoice is not altered.

The new rules thus authorizetaxpayers to use the previousmethods for transmitting e-in-voices (i.e. using an electronicsignature with a verified certifi-cate or an EDI system), whichare expressly mentioned in theregulation. In addition, the rulesnow give taxpayers the option touse new and significantlycheaper methods for transmit-ting electronic invoices.

From a review of the regula-

tion, it should be accepted that itis now permissible to transmite-invoices using an electronicsignature without a verified cer-tificate, or only in .pdf format,even though the regulation doesnot expressly mention suchforms. It should be borne inmind, however, that in the eventof a dispute with the tax authori-ties, the taxpayer will have toprove that the method it used totransmit e-invoices assures au-thenticity of origin and integrityof content of the invoice. Inter-pretations will probably be is-sued in the near future underthe new rules, in which the taxauthorities confirm what meth-ods of transmission they find ac-ceptable.

voices. This rigidity was also out ofline with the e-invoice regulationsin force in other European coun-tries, not to mention that sincePoland joined the European Union,invoices no longer need to besigned.

paper and electronicBefore the new regulation wentinto force, taxpayers who did notwant to go to the trouble of issuingelectronic invoices under the rig-orous Polish rules would some-times use a mixed system, inwhich the original invoice for thebuyer was issued and sent onpaper, but the issuer retained acopy of the invoice only in elec-tronic form.

The tax authorities disputedthis system, arguing that all copies

of the invoice (i.e. the original forthe buyer and the copy for theseller) should be issued in thesame manner and in the sameform. In a judgment dated Novem-ber 3, 2009 (Case No. I FSK1169/08), the Supreme Adminis-trative Court rejected that positionby the tax authorities and held thatthe taxpayer could use a mixedpaper/electronic system. The courtfound that there was no legal bar-rier to issuing invoices on paperbut storing them electronically, solong as the seller was able to printout the invoice whenever re-quested by the tax authorities.This system may continue to beused by taxpayers who do not wishto issue electronic invoices but alsofind it burdensome to store hardcopies of invoices.

The new electronic in-voices regulation of thePolish Minister of Fi-

nance (Regulation of December17, 2010, on Electronic Trans-mission of Invoices and Rules forStorage and Presentation to Taxand Fiscal Audit Authorities) en-tered into force on January 1,2011, significantly liberalizingthe strict rules previously inforce.

the old daysUntil the end of 2010, there werejust two acceptable ways to issueelectronic invoices, using a se-cure electronic signature with averified certificate or an elec-tronic data interchange (EDI)system. Interpreting the regula-tions strictly, the tax authorities

stressed numerous times thatonly electronic invoices transmit-ted by one of these methods en-titled taxpayers to deduct theinput VAT on the invoice. Thetax authorities refused to acceptinvoices issued in pdf formatwithout a secure electronic sig-nature. Moreover, invoices issuedand transmitted electronicallycould be stored only in electronicform.

Critics objected strongly tothese rules, arguing that the re-quirements imposed on taxpay-ers who wanted to issue andtransmit invoices electronicallywere too restrictive and requiredthem to incur significant costs toacquire an electronic signatureor an EDI system, as well as sys-tems for storing electronic in-

Electronic invoices may be transmitted in any electronic form as long as the transmission method hasbeen accepted in advance by the recipient.

EXPERT: Business leadership

Break through to team excellence

By Peter Strupppresident of the supervisory board

United Business Development

low performersHigh-performing teams do notlet low performers stay on forvery long. Letting a low per-former stay on is a terrible sig-nal to the rest of the team. Ifthere is a problem with a teammember, there is a need for di-rect communication on the spe-cific shortfall that needs tochange, with clear goals anddeadlines set for improvement.

managing changeLetting go of a process, an ob-solete technology, or a poorlyperforming product or servicerequires an intelligent way tomanage change within the team.Teams that are highly effectiveunderstand where they are inthe context of a defined changeprocess. Knowledge workersshould not be patronized, buteducated on the overall changeprocess taking place. Oftenchange involves three phases:letting go of the old, adapting toan uncertain “middle,” andthen a new beginning. Leadersneed to communicate often inthese situations. They need torespect the past and createstructures and policies that fa-cilitate fast decision-makingwhen there is confusion beforethe new beginning has oc-curred. Excellent team leadersunderstand that the team mem-bers’ psychological change oftenhappens more slowly than theactual external change that hasoccurred.

Team excellence is aboutleadership behaviors and culti-vating the right competenciesand attitudes required by allteam members. It can save a lotof money when it is running ef-fectively. The good news isthere are many things that donot require a lot of investment,simply a change in daily leader-ship behavior, but can have ahuge effect on improving teamproductivity, service and quality.

high effect on overall team cli-mate and productivity in a veryshort time. Often team leadersdo not communicate when anemployee has done somethingreally well outside of the team.In addition, celebration of winsis often lacking. This leadershipbehavior improvement is “low-hanging fruit” that can make abig change in how employeesfeel about their day-to-daywork.

results focusBusiness and financial resultsalways matter to high-perfor-mance teams. Process mattersonly in relation to results. Com-petency-building is great, but inthe context of results. Well-run-ning teams normally have asmall number of key perform-ance indicators that they focuson.

resourcesThe level of success of a team isbased on aptitude (the skills ofthe members), attitude (enthu-siasm, focus and high energy),and adequate resources (time,money and people) to carry outtheir work. Often what happensin organizations is a prolifera-tion of projects that are under-resourced. A strong team leaderknows how to lobby senior man-agement for the resourcesneeded for success to occur.

problem-solving and conflict resolutionHigh-performance teams havedeclared methods for solvingbusiness problems and over-coming disputes. They have anapplied process of looking at theroot cause of a problem, and aspecific method of analysis thatgives them the best optionswhen confronted with a deci-sion. When there is conflict, aprocess is used that allows eachparty to ratchet down emotionsand find common solutions.Many underperforming teamsfight the same problem overand over again without address-ing the reason it keeps comingup. The same is true with teammembers using comfortable butdysfunctional emotional behav-iors that damage relationships.

obstacle to team effectiveness.High-performing teams receiveclear information on the assump-tions behind the decision to take acertain action. Consistent outsidemetrics (such as client repurchaserates) are understood in relationto expectations. If the team is aprofit center, then open bookmanagement may be helpful, withteam members trained in how tointerpret financial results and lookat ways they can improve them.Ten-minute “team huddles” canalso be a good source of betterdaily team coordination.

Goals and planningHigh-performing teams are char-acterized by higher upfront in-vestment in business planning,involving all team members in theprocess. Goals are objective, andteam members believe they are re-warded fairly for exceeding expec-tations. It is amazing how muchambiguity may surround employ-ees’ understanding of whetherthey have reached or exceededtheir targets.

developmentThe team is constantly looking toimprove their skills and ways ofcooperating with each other. Teamcoaching is one way to explorehow to improve attitudes that cancreate greater effectiveness. In ad-dition to training and coaching,team members are given the abil-ity to work at increasing theircompetencies through new expe-riences. Continual process im-provement is also a key character-istic for high performance.

reward & recognitionTeam leaders need to recognizethat often if they simply improvethree things—communication, in-formal feedback, and reward &recognition—that will have a very

Teams are the basic build-ing blocks of most largeorganizations. Whether

they are frontline service teams,functional support or cross-bor-der teams, they are the way workgets done in large companies.

Having a truly productiveteam is a different story. Re-search suggests that most teamsrarely reach more than 60% oftheir potential effectiveness.There are a number of reasonsfor this, the largest one being alack of team leader competen-cies.

Here are a few suggestions onhow you can make your teamsmore effective in delivering re-sults.

leadershipAs with everything else in busi-ness, the quality of the teamleader has an enormous impacton team success. Often the teamleader may be someone in afirst-time leadership role. First-time leaders exhibit very hightechnical competence, but oftendo not recognize that their rolehas changed when they begin tolead others. It is critical thatfirst-time leaders be given apractical framework on the com-petencies they need to buildcredibility and lead their people.

trust and accountabilityA culture of trust and accounta-bility needs to pervade the team.Trust is the foundation for cred-ibility, reliability, and of courseethical issues. Team membersare there to help each other andprovide a certain amount of flex-ibility. When trust is broken itmust be addressed immediately.

communicationResearch constantly finds thatpoor communication is a major


may consider methods that arefaster than software data over-writing.

One such method is degauss-ing, which wipes the data usinga strong magnetic force that ir-retrievably removes all informa-tion recorded on the magneticlayer of a storage medium. Inthe case of hard drives thismethod also makes it possibleto erase data necessary forproper operation of the drive,which is a guarantee that afterdegaussing the drive is nolonger usable.

One of the strongest de-gaussers offered by data erasingcompanies is Degausser DG.03,which operates at the Kroll On-track laboratory in Katowice.With the power of 18,000 gauss,the device irretrievably wipesdata from any storage medium,regardless of its capacity, in lessthan four seconds.

Bytes for everyoneIn 2008 the Polish branch ofKroll Ontrack, the world’sbiggest data erasing and recov-ery company, carried out astudy to check if computerusers in Poland are aware of theimportance of proper data wip-ing. The study was conductedon over 100 hard drives boughtat computer fairs and Internetauctions or from leasing com-panies.

In the study, there were 25company hard drives, whichcontained 118 accessible confi-dentiality clauses, 18,364 cus-tomer database records withdetailed personal information,three marketing strategies, 12corporate budgets and 687 con-tracts.

On the 75 hard drives fromprivate owners, experts foundlogin data for electronic pay-ment systems and online bank-

ing, credit cardnumbers, loginsand passwordsfor social net-working sites,and even mas-ter’s theses.

The consequences of unautho-rized access to such informa-tion could have been disastrous.

used computers and harddrives. As many as 75% do notdelete data securely. Accordingto Kroll’s research, global com-panies suffer a loss of sensitivedigital data stored on old mediaonce a year on average. While40% of companies donate theirold computers with the storeddata to other companies or indi-viduals, 22% “do not know”what happened to equipmenttaken out of service. Accordingto the experts, over 60% ofcompany computers availableon the second-hand IT marketcontain business data that arefully accessible and have notbeen subjected to even the sim-plest data wiping methods.

how to erase data effectively?There are two methods for irre-trievable data wiping: a softwaremethod and a hardware method.The former uses applicationsdedicated to irretrievable datawiping. With today’s density ofdata recording, it is enough torun a single full cycle of over-writing to prevent data retrieval.This feature is used by manydata erasing programs, but themost professional ones, such asOntrack Eraser, overwrite datamany times.

Although software data eras-ing is a reliable and safe methodof data wiping, it is impossibleto use in some circumstances,for example with damaged datastorage media, where there isno direct access to the data butan unauthorized person couldrepair the device and gain ac-cess to the data.

Another group of instanceswhen software data erasing doesnot guarantee absolute safetyconcerns some technologicallyadvanced media, where ad-vanced laboratory methods may

allow access to the data.Using other methods than

software data erasing is some-times prompted by more mun-dane reasons. If we are dealingwith a large number of mediaand we are short of time, we

scenario, and the possibility ex-ists wherever personal data aremanaged. This mainly concernsinstitutions of public trust, suchas banks, insurance companiesand government agencies, but itmay affect any company that hasdata in a digital format.

There is a data erasure re-quirement included in the Pol-ish Personal Data ProtectionAct, but the main source ofproblems is a lack of awarenessconcerning basic principles ofdata erasure.

in with the new, out with the oldWhen an employee gets a newcomputer and there are no pro-cedures for protection and era-sure of data, it is almost certainthat data can leak. Experts esti-mate that 25% of computerusers send corporate e-mail totheir private accounts and 20%send e-mail with classified in-formation to friends and thirdparties.

When old computers are re-placed, they may be given to acolleague, sold to a used com-puter dealer, or scrapped. Whena company disposes of a com-puter, the most common way ofremoving data is reformatting.This is ineffective, and afterthis operation all data are stillaccessible, even for a data re-covery amateur, using widelyavailable data recovery pro-

grams like EasyRecovery.According to a survey con-

ducted in 2010 by Kroll Ontrackin North America, Asia and Eu-rope (including Poland), onlyhalf of businesses erase sensi-tive digital documents from dis-

Almost every day the mediareport on data leaked frombanks, government insti-

tutions or big internationalcompanies. At the beginning of2011, a former employee of aSwiss bank provided WikiLeakswith data of 2,000 of his formerclients. In late 2010 the NASAAdministrator revealed that dur-ing disposal of IT equipmentused in the Space Shuttle pro-gram there was a serious breachof data security procedures. As aresult of neglect and impropererasure of information fromcomputers prepared for sale,some strategic data were leaked.The problem concerned 14computers, at least 10 of whichhave so far reached privatehands. These scandals provethat even the biggest businessesand government institutionsmake basic mistakes in theirdata erasure procedures.

According to studies by com-panies that monitor businessfraud, including strategic dataleaks connected with impropererasure, in 2006–2009 compa-nies from the 10 biggest sectorsof the economy lost on averageUSD 8.2 million as a result ofinsider fraud or their competi-tors’ backdoor activity. In Polandas well, companies lose hugeamounts of money as a result ofsuch events. Although there areno data about the exact lossessuffered by Polish companies(one reason is that companiesrarely admit to falling victim tosuch activities), it is estimatedthat they amount to millions ofzlotys. Ac-cording toanalyses byKroll Ontrackexperts, inthe event of adata leak amedium-sized Polish company couldhemorrhage PLN 500,000 a day.

Could sensitive proprietarydata end up being offered forsale by, for example, a second-hand computer dealer? Unfor-tunately, this is not a far-fetched

EXPERT: Data protection

If you think yourcomputer data aresafe, think again

In the event of a data leak a medium-sized Polishcompany could hemorrhage PLN 500,000 a day.

Wipe or swipe

By Marek Suczyk

Managing Director of the Polish

branch of Kroll Ontrack

EVENT: AmCham Business Mixer

1. Guests enjoy talking by the bar. 2. Budding classical music performer Maurycy Brenner. 3. Lucky raffle winner Paweł Wideł,General Motors; Dorota Dabrowski, AmCham Executive Director. 4. Judith Gliniecki, AmCham Vice Chair; Glen Gregory, JavaCoffee Company. 5. Steven Baxted, Peter Kay, KPMG. 6. Brian Bode; Paul Fogo, AmCham Board Member. 7. Michael Ma-jchrzak, Trade Media; Joanna Bensz, AmCham Wrocław Director; Randy Mott, Ceeres. 8. Artur Gabor; Andrzej Ścisłowski,KPMG. 9. Andrzej Pawelczak, Animex; Michael Moritz, Radio PiN. 10. Alan Capodanno; Artur Dziubak, Bovis Lend Lease. 11.Dorota Dabrowski; Michał Domański, La Bohème.

Easing up after a long and busy day Nowa la Bohème Restau-rant in Warsaw was thevenue and the sponsor ofthe AmCham BusinessMixer in January. Raffleprizes were sponsored byLa Bohème, Java Coffee,Forever Living Products,Club Oasis, CelebritySpa and the Bajka The-ater and Cinema. RoyalUnibrew provided beer.

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EVENT: Monthly Meeting

1. Keynote speaker JanKrzysztof Bielecki; AmChamChairman Joseph Wancer. 2.Rick Lada, Telesto; XavierDouellou, Bartłomiej Morzycki,3M. 3. Martin Miszerak, Misz-erak & Associates; ŁukaszUrban, Kałużyński & Madeja. 4. Marek Gul, Credit SuissePoland; Joseph Wancer;Stanisław Kluza, Polish Finan-cial Supervision Authority. 5. Thomas Laursen, WorldBank; Tim Hyland, FCm TravelExpress. 6. Thomas Kolaja, Am-Cham Board Member. 7. Jo-seph Wancer; Luigi Lovaglio,Bank Pekao S.A. 8. JanKrzysztof-Bielecki.

Talking about money

Former PrimeMinister JanKrzysztof

Bielecki drew in thecrowds to the Hemi-sphere restaurant ofthe Warsaw InterCon-tinental, which was thevenue of the AmChamMonthly Meeting inFebruary. For coverageof the Bielecki presen-tation, read the articleon page 14.

In February AmCham'sSME Committee organ-ized the 3rd Business

Forum, a joint event withthe Polish-Swiss Chamberof Commerce. It took placeat Merliniego 5 Restaurantand Winebar. Generoussponsors included HP andSwatch Group Polska. Boseprovided sound supportduring welcome speeches.

EVENT: AmCham SME Committee’s 3rd Business Forum

1. Merliniego 5 Restaurant and Winebar was the venue of the event. 2. Bartosz Stebnicki, HP. 3. Dorota Dabrowski, AmCham;Stanley Bark, Swatch Group Polska. 4. Marek Kondrat, Polish-Swiss Chamber Chairman; Jarosław Łach, Brugg-Pipe Systems;Ulrich Schwendimann, Polish-Swiss Chamber; Bartosz Stebnicki. 5. Stanley Bark. 6. Sylwester Klarowicz; Alain Bobet. 7. JosephWancer, AmCham Chairman; Marek Kondrat. 8. Cezary Krasodomski, Cisco; Alain Bobet; Joseph Wancer. 9. Jacek Błocki, HP;Jacek Stryczyński, Lionbridge. 10. Joseph Wancer, Marek Kondrat.

Building bridges with the Swiss

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Agri & Food www.amcham.com.pl/agri_food

Mission: To provide a plat-form for discussing andsolving issues and identify-ing opportunities for com-panies in the agriculturaland food sector by creat-

ing a base for dialogue and expertise leveragedamong producers, sector professionals, experts anddecision-makers. Co-Chairs: Andrzej Pawelczak,Animex; Maciej Łubieński, Universal Leaf TobaccoPoland.

Healthwww.amcham.com.pl/health

Mission: To provide aunited forum for U.S. com-panies to share their ex-pertise on the healthcaresystem and exchangeknowledge and experience

with national counterparts, contribute to the positivedevelopments in the sector and promote the U.S. ex-perience and capital while establishing the best con-ditions and opportunities for investments. Co-Chairs: Elisabeth Asirifi, IBM Polska; JolantaChlebicka-Dominiak, Johnson & Johnson.

Infrastructurewww.amcham.com.pl/infrastructure

Mission: To discuss is-sues of the developmentof infrastructure; to pro-mote infrastructure solu-tions for cooperation be-tween private and public

partners. Co-Chairs: Krzysztof Wierzbowski,Wierzbowski Eversheds; Andrew C. Kapusto,Raytheon Homeland Security.

Tax www.amcham.com.pl/tax

Mission: To provide a platformfor identifying tax issues andcreate an educational forum tokeep AmCham members in-formed on current and up-coming legislation. To create a

network to share information, comments and best prac-tices. To lobby decision-makers in the government. Co-Chairs: Peter Kay, KPMG; Piotr Bartuzi, Bank BPH.

Political Discussion Forumwww.amcham.com.pl/pdf

Mission: To build relation-ships with key players inPolish politics, regardless ofwhether within the govern-ment or not, in small groupsand in private settings, toserve as a vehicle into the

world of Polish politics behind official curtains. Co-Chairs: Richard Knauff; Marek Matraszek, CEC Govern-ment Relations.

Corporate Social Responsibilitywww.amcham.com.pl/csr

Mission: To encourage andfacilitate responsible busi-ness practices among Am-Cham members to supportthem to improve the qualityand effectiveness of their

CSR programs. Co-Chairs: Wojciech Arszewski,UPS Polska; Anna Jawor, IBM Polska.

Small & Medium-Sized Enterpriseswww.amcham.com.pl/sme

Mission: To provide a forumfor exchange of ideas/bestpractices to improve the per-formance of SMEs; to iden-tify and promote solutions tofacilitate and support themanagerial and operational

efforts of SMEs through educational, networking or lob-bying efforts that leverage the resources and knowl-edge of AmCham and its membership. Co-Chairs:Alain Bobet; Cezary Krasodomski, Cisco Systems.Employee & Labor Relations

www.amcham.com.pl/labor

Mission: To create an infor-mation exchange forum ofHR professionals and so-cial policy experts frommultinational and localcompanies to share, dis-

cuss and learn about the latest trends in HR man-agement and collectively influence local policy anddecision-makers for modern solutions in labor leg-islation. Co-Chairs: Jolanta Jaworska, IBM Poland;Peter Strupp, United Business Development.

Consumer Productswww.amcham.com.pl/consumer

Mission: To provide aforum to share knowl-edge and exchange ex-perience in all areascommon and relevant tomanufacturers and dis-

tributors of goods. Co-Chairs: Małgorzata Surdek,CMS Cameron McKenna; Agnieszka Dzięgielewska-Jończyk, HP Polska.

Telecom www.amcham.com.pl/telecom

Mission: To create a platformunder the AmCham umbrellafor the exchange of members’ideas and views on trends inthe telecommunications sec-tor in Poland; to take steps to

influence decision-makers in telecommunications legis-lation, policy and practice; to promote innovativetrends in telecommunications; to modernize communi-cations technology for business and the average Polishconsumer. Co-Chairs: Jarosław Roszkowski, CrowleyData Poland; Piotr Muszyński, TP SA.

Real Estate Committeewww.amcham.com.pl/real_estate

Mission: To discuss issuesregarding the complexitiesof the real estate market inPoland, and exchange infor-mation. To be an educa-tional and networking forum

for members and to lobby and influence legislativedepartments of the Polish government. Co-Chairs:Halina Więckowska, K & L Gates; John Bańka, Col-liers International.

Pharmaceuticalwww.amcham.com.pl/pharmaceutical

Mission: To discuss andidentify common interestsand exchange information re-garding Poland’s pharmaceu-tical market; to act as a repre-sentative body and collective

voice of pharmaceutical companies before governmen-tal institutions. Co-Chairs: Peter Koetsier, Bristol-MyersSquibb Polska; Roberto Servi, Eli Lilly Polska.

Outsourcing/High Techwww.amcham.com.pl/outsourcing

Mission: To provide a plat-form for discussing, identi-fying and addressing com-mon SSC/BPO issues re-lated to high tech opera-tions; to maintain contact

with local authorities, educational and governmentalinstitutions to present a unified business perspectiveand to suggest ways of possible cooperation. Toidentify the possibilities/areas of state assistance, toshare experience and leverage knowledge. Co-Chairs: Ramón A. Tancinco II, Cisco SystemsPoland; Jacek Stryczyński, Lionbridge.

Intellectual Property Rights www.amcham.com.pl/ipr

Mission: To advocate forIPR protection and provideleadership that will bringtogether interested part-ners; to share informationwith decision-makers and

law enforcement. The police, judiciary, prosecu-tors, customs officials, legislators and journalistsare among the target groups, while the curriculumof law schools should have more emphasis on IPR.Co-Chairs: Agnieszka Wyszyńska-Szulc, Philip Mor-ris; Anna Lasocka, Łaszczuk & Partners.

European Union Affairs www.amcham.com.pl/eu

Mission: To providemembers with relevantinformation on E.U. re-lated issues, includingE.U. funds, and to repre-sent American investors

before the Commission and the Polish govern-ment. Co-Chairs: Magdalena Burnat Mikosz, De-loitte; Jerzy Thieme.

Defense & Security www.amcham.com.pl/defense

Mission: To serve as a platform for de-fense industry issues and exchangerelevant information. The committeecreates a networking forum and fostersa positive working relationship with thegovernment and people of Poland.

Chair: Paul Zalucky.

Financial Services www.amcham.com.pl/financial

Mission: The FinancialServices Committee aimsto identify and promote is-sues related to and in sup-port of the financial serv-ices sector, as well as to

provide a forum for dialogue among sector profes-sionals and decision-makers in government. Co-Chairs: Andrew Hope; Adam Michon, MetLife.

Energy & Environmentwww.amcham.com.pl/environmental

Mission: To help membersdevelop their environmentaland renewable energy busi-ness and help learn about,identify and overcome anydifficulties connected with

environmental laws, and develop a discussion forumamong members about environmental issues andmaintain contacts with Polish authorities responsiblefor making and implementing environmental policies.Co-Chairs: Adam de Sola Pool, Jerzy Chlebowski, Mit-subishi.

For the most recent information about the work of AmCham Committees, and upcoming events: www.amcham.pl

AMCHAM: Guide to Committees


W tym numerze: COVER STORYkobiety na stanowiskachCzas pokaże czy Ustawa Kwotowaspowoduje odsunięcie barierograniczających kobietom dostępdo stanowisk decyzyjnych. Jednak wprzypadku biznesu koniecznośćobecności kobiet na szczytachstruktur zarządzających wydaje sięjuż nie podlegać dyskusji, str. 12.Wywiad z Henryką Bochniarz, str.16. Profile wybranych kobiet nastanowiskach decyzyjnych w fir-mach członkowskich, str. 12.

Monthly Meetingniebiezpieczna gra Czołowy doradca ekonomiczny rządu,Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, uważa, że nie wolno napędzać rozwojurynku finansowego w Polsce zaciągając na ten cel dług , str. 14

Profil Firmydale carnegie training Redaktor naczelny „American In-vestor” Tomasz Ćwiok rozmawia z Peterem V. Handalem, sze-fem Dale Carnegie & Associates na temat nowoczesnychmetod zarządzania, str. 23

Ekspercimiara zaufania Są różne metody budowy zaufania przezfirmy, str. 24

postępowanie grupowe Ustawa o Posępowaniu Grupowymjest popularna w Polsce ale czy praktyka spełni oczekiwania?str. 25

sztuka zarządzania zespołem Zespoły bez przywodców niesą w stanie tworzyć produktywnych firm, str. 26

elektroniczne faktury na nowo Czy nadchodzi koniec pa-pierowych faktur? str. 27

chroń dane jak oka w głowie Jest wiele sposobów nawyciek komputerowych danych z twojej firmy, str. 28

© American Chamber of Commerce in Poland 2011. All rights reserved.

American Investor to oficjalny magazyn Amerykańskiej Izby Handlowej w Polsce. Magazyn reprezentuje głos środowisk międzynarodowego biznesu w Polsce. Celem magazynu jestdostarczanie członkom Izby i innym czytelnikom aktualnych informacji na temat działalności Izby a także trendów biznesowych i polityce społecznej firm.

listy do rekacji prosimy wysyłać na adres poczty elektronicznej: [email protected]

Relacje zdjęcioweBiznes Mikser, str. 29

Miesięczne Spotkanie Śniadaniowe, str. 30

Forum Biznesu Komitetu SME, str. 31

Działy stałeBriefing redakcyjny, str. 2

List Prezesa Amerykańskiej Izby Handlowej, str. 4

Informacje o firmach członkowskich Izby, str. 5

Informacje o działalności Komitetów Izby, str. 8

Podsumowanie zawartości numeru w języku polskim, str. 32

Przewodnik po Komitetach Izby, str. 33

SUMMARIES: in Polish

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Documents

American Investor March 2011