Happiness@Work

Line-up for 2025:

Anna Szymanek

Anna is the CEO of Decathlon Czech Republic and a lifelong sports enthusiast. She lives in Prague and channels her passion for sport and continuous development into building a people-focused culture where autonomy, trust, and a sense of fun drive real results.

She believes that true #HappinessAtWork happens when everyone has the space to be themselves, keep learning, and co-create team success. In her free time, she stays active and looks for new ways to connect people through movement and shared goals.

Christina Glavas

With a unique blend of leadership expertise, Christina leads the greater mission and holistic direction of HMI.

Prior to joining the organization, she served as Chopra Global’s Vice President of Growth & Strategy, where she led initiatives of global impact, including partnerships with Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, and J. Balvin. She has also served as Managing Director for strategic intelligence firm Elia Intel, and directed research efforts on multi-million-dollar initiatives for management consulting practice EHS Partners.

Christina is an original co-founder of Saambaa—a community-bridging software platform featured by Apple and Mashable, and founded multimedia global education initiative Minds Wide Open. Christina’s commitment to global wellbeing began early.

She earned a master of international affairs with a concentration in human rights from Columbia University, and a bachelor of science in communication and social change from Cornell University.

She launched her career in consulting and mission-focused work for the United Nations (Integrated Regional Information Networks, Millennium Development Goals), International Organization for Adolescents (in Bosnia Herzegovina), Search for Common Ground (in the Democratic Republic of Congo), Digital Divide, and The Advertising Council.

When she’s not scaling wellbeing with the team at HMI, Christina commits strategic and advisory time to complementary organizations like spiritual wisdom multimedia company Sounds True. She is an avid world traveler, and started attending Burning Man in 2005, where she contributes to the award-winning collective light performance art of the UCBW. Originally from New York, she now spends most of her time in San Diego.

Venki Raman

Venki is an experienced keynote speaker and Energy Leadership Executive Coach based in Toronto, Canada.

Over his distinguished career in financial services, he held senior leadership roles at Australia New Zealand Bank and executive positions at CIBC, one of Canada’s Top 5 banks, including National Vice President of Mobile Advice, where he led Mortgage Advisor and Mobile Investment Consultant teams across Canada, generating over $20 billion in annual sales.

Known for his energetic and positive leadership style, Venki has decades of experience leading large business teams. He holds multiple professional designations, including a Master’s in Financial Services Leadership from Schulich, Chartered Investment Manager, Certified Financial Planner, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. He is also a Certified Happiness Trainer, Chief Happiness Officer, SPIRE Yoga Teacher, and a Professional Certified Coach accredited by the ICF.

In recognition of his contributions to mentoring newcomers to Canada, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada.

Today, Venki runs his coaching company, PERC – Purposeful Energy and Resilience Coaching, with a mission “to kindle the human spirit and energy through the science of Positive Psychology and Happiness Studies.” He leverages his expertise and decades of experience coaching teams and individuals to boost productivity and sales performance with confidence, hope, and happiness.

Aurelie Litynski

Aurelie Litynski is a globally recognized expert in positive work culture, a TEDx speaker, a certified Chief Well-being & Chief Happiness Officer, and the author of the book 100 Ideas for a Positive Work Culture.

With a track record of transforming organizations, she partners with SMEs, multinational companies, and corporate leaders to ignite positivity, boost productivity, and drive high performance. Her clients include Sanofi, Medtronic, ABB, Johnson & Johnson, Pinterest, Swiss Re, Sonova, SIX Group, and many more.

Aurelie and her work have been featured in the renowned Swiss newspapers NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag, the Australian magazine In The Black, the Management 3.0 podcast, and various platforms, including TEDx, My Health Magazine, HR Today, and Future Health Basel.

Aurelie’s expertise spans positive leadership, emotional intelligence, employee well-being, and fostering human-centric cultures that thrive. Her mantra: We prioritize happiness in our personal lives—so why not in the workplace, where we spend so much of our time?

Ján Košturiak

Ján was the youngest professor and worked at Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, the largest organization for applied research and innovation.

He collaborated with entrepreneurs who, in the 1990s, founded companies in Slovakia such as Linet, ESET, Švec Group, Borcad, Fosfa, Emilovy sady, Gremi Klima, V Podlahy, KOMA Modular, 2N Telekomunikace, Pivovar Bernard, Kros, OMS, Ipesoft, and others. Many of his students were entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneurial University.

Eventually, life led him to the organization Dobrý Pastier – shifting from working with the wealthy and successful to helping the poor and socially excluded.

Ján believes that in both life and business, there are principles that remain constant — even in an era where everyone is focused on digitalization, artificial intelligence, and various revolutions.

Lukáš Bakoš

Lukáš is the face of the independent company Maxman Consultants, where people co-create their salaries and share bonuses collectively.
He is a strong advocate of non-hierarchical, agile ways of working and "teal" organizations.

Lukáš studied psychology at the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University, completed postgraduate studies at the University of Canberra in Sydney, Australia, and earned his PhD at the Faculty of Management at Comenius University.

In addition to his work at Maxman, he also teaches psychology and management at several departments of Comenius University.

Lucie Bášová

In spring 2021, Lucie, together with Kristýna Cejnarová, founded the platform MUMDOO, which aims to improve the availability of options for parents of young children so they can return to work in the way they want. MUMDOO is built on the personal experience of the co-founders, the testimony of thousands of parents, and cooperation with dozens of companies. Based on this, the platform published a report titled Flexible Work: An Opportunity for Czech Companies, Parents, and the Economy.

By combining a business approach with data-driven awareness, the co-founders strive to change the Czech society’s view of working parents and motivate employers to offer flexible job opportunities. Last year, MUMDOO successfully launched the campaign Moms Want It Too, which focused on breaking the taboo around working mothers.

Lucie studied International Management and started her career in digital marketing at a multinational corporation, before leaving for maternity leave during which the idea for MUMDOO arose from her own needs. Lucie has two preschool children, loves the mountains, and good coffee.

Bronislav Převrátil

Bronislav Převrátil is a respected Czech manager and leader with nearly two decades of experience at Chart Ferox, an international company specializing in the production of equipment for the storage and distribution of liquefied gases. From 2018, he served as CEO and successfully transformed the company from a traditional manufacturing business into an innovative enterprise focused on high–value–added projects and services. His leadership style emphasizes strategic talent development, open communication, and building trust within the team.

In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the prestigious title Manager of the Year 2022 for his ability to guide the company through turbulent times and for the successful implementation of innovative business models. His leadership philosophy, encapsulated in the motto “Think big, start small, act now,” highlights the importance of innovation, integrity, and strategic thinking. He actively supports employee development through leadership and personal growth programs, which he sees as a cornerstone of any organization’s success.

Currently, he is developing his business ventures in the field of sustainable energy and technologies.

Bronislav holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and is a graduate of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, with which he continues to collaborate on philanthropic and development projects. He is married, has three sons, and enjoys spending his free time with his family, hiking, and cycling.

Dita Formánková

Dita Formánková is a social entrepreneur and digital skills advocate, recognized as one of Europe’s leading voices in lifelong learning and inclusive leadership. She founded Czechitas in 2013, building one of Europe’s most impactful gender-inclusion tech nonprofits, empowering over 100,000 women and youth. She also co-founded the Inspire & Impact Network, supporting women leaders.

Previously, she led global Diversity & Inclusion at Avast Software. As an independent expert, she advises governments, corporations, and international institutions on digital education and lifelong learning, and has served on multiple advisory boards including Cesko.Digital.

Her work has earned honors including the European Citizen’s Prize, Forbes 30 under 30, and the SXSW Community Service Award.

Ondřej Nečas

Ondřej has been working at the intersection of culture, advertising, and education for 20 years. Thirteen years ago, he co-founded the Škola improvizace, which grew from evening classes into the largest school of its kind in the world. Today, it welcomes hundreds of students each semester and collaborates with companies on topics such as authentic leadership and teamwork. He has led workshops in Australia, Spain, and Hungary, and is a member of the international Applied Improvisation Network (AIN).

What he enjoys most is inspiring people toward lightness and confidence—values he continues to pursue himself as an introvert.

Luboš Malý

Luboš has been driving change throughout his entire professional life. He built on his operational manufacturing experience gained at Procter & Gamble when he joined The Lego Group, where he gradually advanced to leading transformation projects and later to managing technological innovations at a global level.

He is a co-founder of the Red Button network. One of his roles is that of a so-called transformation architect, guiding clients step by step through the process of successfully implementing major changes. He focuses primarily on projects in the areas of sustainability, innovation, digitalization, corporate culture, and corporate learning concepts. For company owners or top management, he acts as a partner in tackling fundamental changes—whether as a mentor, external advisor, or long-term member of supervisory boards.

He has led dozens of change projects, facilitated hundreds of workshops, and trained thousands of people.

Sandra Fridrichová

Sandra is like a corporate doctor, precisely diagnosing where the sources of dissatisfaction lie within teams—where friction points exist, trust is low, and deeper systemic issues are rooted.

She often operates behind the scenes of major transformations: a quiet partner to board members, holding up a mirror to show how the company truly functions—not on paper, but in reality. As a facilitator, she creates a safe space for open dialogue within teams. As a mediator, she helps resolve conflicts before they escalate into crises. And as a mentor and coach, she supports individuals who need to (re)find the courage to step into visibility.

Sandra brings 15 years of experience from the corporate environment and today works with companies such as Emco, Casua, Contipro, Logio, Witte, and ICE. She believes that change is not a project but a process that begins with understanding.

Her approach is grounded in trust, safety, empathy, inspiration, and the ability to go against the current when needed.

Michal Šrajer

Sixteen years ago, Michal and his two friends founded the Inmite studio, which has become a leader in smartphone app development in the Czech Republic. There he became the first Czech "Chief Happiness Officer" and set himself the task of finding ways to make people's work fulfilling.

Eight years ago, Inmite became part of global Avast through an acquisition. However, the role and mission to find happiness at work remained with Michal. After a year-long family trip around the world, during which he also visited a number of "people companies," he returned to the country with a vision to help create successful organizations where people feel great.

That's why he co-founded an international conference Happiness@Work and he is a partner of the Red Button network and co-founder of several technology startups. Recently, he has also been building a CEO Community where he creates an environment for value leaders to meet and support each other.

Jana Jandová

Jana is an accredited EMCC coach specializing in personal and career development. She focuses on personal growth, leadership, communication, well-being, and mindfulness.

She has over 12 years of experience in HR, working with both international companies and the non-profit sector. Today, she fully dedicates herself to deeper work with individuals, teams, and leaders at moments when they are seeking direction, inner confidence, or the courage to make a change.

Jana led the People Care team at Učitel naživo, collaborates with the Czech Mindfulness Institute, and serves as a coach and mentor on the platforms TopLeader, Equilibrium, Femme Palette, and DoToho! She teaches in the MBA program at the British Business School and has co-organized the Happiness@Work conference since 2018.

Through her workshops and coaching sessions, Jana helps people uncover their hidden potential and find a path to a fulfilling and meaningful life.