Congratulations for the excellent conference on hidden champions in CEE at the WKO in Vienna. I like this research initiative that highlights the great economic contributions of entrepreneurial and international oriented local firms in CEE and makes them known to a broader audience.

Arnold Schuh,
WU - Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria

Hidden Champions in CEE and Turkey - Carving Out a Global Niche

May

2014

Vienna Austria

About
Program
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About

Hidden champions are highly innovative small to medium size companies that have leading market positions in niche markets internationally. They successfully ride on a wave of global competitiveness, and even in times of economic turndown demonstrate the capacity to grow. Inspired by the bestselling book of Prof. Hermann Simon Hidden Champions of the 21st Century, CEEMAN, the international association for management development in dynamic societies, organized an international research of over 100 hidden champions in 15 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey.

This project has resulted also in a new book Hidden Champions in CEE and Turkey – Carving Out a Global Niche, published by Springer in late 2013. The book offers interdisciplinary and cross-study chapters on leadership, governance, marketing, innovation, sustainability and financial aspects of the hidden champions in CEE, as well as country-specific chapters highlighting individual stories of selected companies and their success strategies.

Following the success of the first conference on Hidden Champions in CEE and Dynamic Environments, held in Vienna in 2011, the 2014 event, organized in cooperation Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna) Competence Center for Central and Eastern Europe and Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, presented some of the main insights from the book, as well as provided an opportunity to meet and learn from the hidden champions themselves and book contributors.

Program

8:30 – 9:00	Registration
9:00 – 9:10	Welcome and introductory words Barbara Sporn, Vice-Rector for Research, International Affairs and External Relations, WU Vienna Danica Purg, President of CEEMAN and IEDC-Bled School of Management
9:10 – 10:00	Keynote video address by Hermann Simon
9:20 – 10:00	CEE strengths and potential Arnold Schuh, Director of WU Competence Center for Central and Eastern Europe Rainer Münz, Head of the Research & Knowledge Center of Erste Group Erhard Busek, Chairman, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe
10:00 – 11:15	Researchers panel Moderated by Ian Sutherland, IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia Peter McKiernan, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, UK and Dean, School of Management & Governance, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia Irina Skorobogatykh, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Russia Rein Riisalu, Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration of Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia Tamara Bobakova, Simon-Kucher & Partners, Luxembourg
11:15 – 11:45	Coffee break
11:45 – 13:00	Hidden Champions panel Moderated by Iztok Seljak, President of the Board, Hidria, Slovenia Eivind Schackt, Studio Moderna, Slovenia Ana Majetić, DOK-ING, Croatia Dmitry Chernenko, STiM, Belarus
13:00 – 13:30	Q&A and discussion with participants and closing words by Danica Purg
13:30 – 14:30	Reception at WU campus

Speakers

Barbara Sporn
Vice-Rector for Research, International Affairs and External Relations of Vienna University, Austria
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Danica Purg
President of CEEMAN and IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia
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Arnold Schuh
Director, Competence Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and Assistant Professor at the Vienna University, Austria
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Erhard Busek
Chairman, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, Austria
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Hermann Simon
Chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants, Germany
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Ian Sutherland
Deputy Dean for Research and Director of PhD Studies, IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia
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Olga Saginova
Head of department of Comparative Economics and Entrepreneurship, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Russia
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Rein Riisalu
Lecturer at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
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Iztok Seljak
President of Management Board, Hidria d.d., Slovenia
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Tamara Bobakova
Senior Consultant, Simon-Kucher & Partners, Luxembourg
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Eivind Schackt
Global CEO of Norwex, non-Executive Director and board member at Studio Moderna, Slovenia
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Ana Majetić
Member of the management board, DOK-ING, Croatia
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Dmitry Chernenko
CEO, STiM group of companies, Belarus
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