Happiness@Work 2023
Speakers
Radvan Bahbouh
Psychologist, coach and mathematician
Doc. MUDr. PhDr. Mgr. Radvan Bahbouh, Ph.D. studied mathematical statistics and probability theory at the MFF UK, psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Art Therapy at the Faculty of Education, Charles University and medicine at the 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University.
Since 1995, he has worked at the Department of Psychology, which he headed from 2018 to 2021. Among other subjects, he was responsible for personality psychology, management psychology and coaching psychology.
He is the author of the sociomapping method, which allows to analyze, visualize and improve communication in teams and organizations. This method is used in space research experiments, in the military and in many companies around the world. He received the 2019 Medal of Merit for the use of sociomapping in the Army of the Czech Republic.
In 1996, he founded a company (now QED GROUP a.s.) that offers psychological services to organizations and individuals. Among other things, it provides services in the field of human resource development, individual and team coaching, management training, change programs and organization development. In 2019, this company was selected as a leading company in the field of communication and information technology in the CZECH 100 BEST.
It has been working with leaders of major companies for a long time, inspiring them with its insights to perform better and to improve the leadership of their subordinates and teams. In addition to contributing to a range of psychological and psychiatric research, he has published books making psychology accessible to a wider audience, such as The Tale of the Lost Landscape, The Mindful Ela, The Tale of Colors, and Sociomapping Teams.
Jos de Blok
Founder and CEO, Buurtzorg
Jos de Blok is the founder and CEO of Buurtzorg (neighborhood nursing), a Dutch organization with more than 15.000 employees, offering community based (home) care services to more than 80.000 patients a year. Founded in 2006 with one team of four nurses, Buurtzorg has transformed home-based health care and it has created an innovative method for nursing care at home.
As a community based and client centered organization, Buurtzorg connects highly qualified licensed nurses and clients to create positive and proactive solutions that are effective, holistic, and sustainable. Organized in small autonomous teams of up to 12 nurses within a neighborhood-sized care area, Buurtzorg nurses bring groundbreaking synergy and expertise in a direct and connected relationship between caregiver and client. Buurtzorg has succeeded in reducing administrative burden for nurses, improving quality of care and raising work satisfaction for their employees (Buurtzorg was awarded five times employer of the year in the Netherlands).
Buurtzorg is supported by an innovative IT system and works without management structure.
Internationalization started by launching in countries like Sweden, Japan, China, Austria, Germany, Denmark, France and UK.
Jos de Blok is a nurse by education and considered a change agent in the Netherlands when it comes to the organization of community based (home) care. Before he established Buurtzorg he had several senior management positions in home care organizations including director Innovations for medical services.
Janka Haderková
CEO, Kros
Janka is an example of courage and ambition that can change lives and inspire others. Although she studied economics, she decided to move into the IT sector 20 years ago. For her, software development is not just a job, but a true destiny.
She made a fundamental change at KROS 10 years ago when, as a company, they took a step towards agility, which brought simplification of processes, but also increased demands for customer collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement. From a classic "command and control" manager, she became a leader with the heart of a coach.
Janka actively helps to build a company that is not only about profit, but also about its customers and its people. It is important to her that the company reflects the needs of its customers, while providing space for the personal growth and development of its employees. She believes that if we want to improve the company, we have to start with ourselves.
Olga Vlachynská
therapist, PsychOlinka
Olga Vlachynská is a psychologist and psychotherapist in training. She helps people and companies in fragile moments to change their story for the better. She writes and speaks openly about the soul, experience and interpersonal relationships. She can explain complex theories to your grandmother. But most often you will meet her in individual therapy sessions or in the field among people. In her work, authenticity, transparency, and humanity rather than cold professionalism prove to be her strengths. Her heartland is People of the Bar, but she works with a number of other companies. While she loves to talk, she believes that the more important thing is to listen well and ask questions. Her favourite hobby is turning people's heads and challenging the established order.
Honza Vlachynský
Founder and CEO Lidi z baru
Honza Vlachynský is the founder of the Brno-based gastronomic group Lidi z Baru, which operates legendary places such as Bar, který neexistuje, Super Panda Circus, 4pokoje and the hotel Anybody. A graduate psychologist, member of Forbes 30 under 30 and Czech Goodwill in the category of innovation, he is a fan of mental performance enhancers, which led him to the idea of creating the brainhack drink Osmička. In 2020, he published his first book on leadership, provocatively titled Šéfové jsou kok*ti.
Mark C. Crowley
Author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century
Mark C. Crowley is the author of “Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century,” and his mission is to fundamentally change how we lead people in workplaces around the globe.
Mark is a regular columnist for Fast Company Magazine and has been published in USA Today, Reuters, Forbes, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Huffington Post, Gallup, The Financial Times, CEO Magazine, Great Britain, and the Seattle Times. His two LinkedIn Pulse articles on inspiring a 21st Century workforce and managing millennials have been read well over a million times.
The second edition of his book debuted in August, 2022 as an “Amazon #1 Release.” His book has been taught in ten American universities, including the educational Ph.D program at the University of Massachusetts Global & at the University of Iowa’s MBA Program. His Lead From The Heart podcast rank in the top 1.5% of all podcasts in the world, and has an audience in 174 countries.
Before writing his book, Mark spent over 20 years in the dog-eat-dog world of Financial Services. He held two national level positions at one of America’s largest financial institutions where he was named leader of the year. Quite untraditionally, Mark proved that deeply caring about and supporting people, and thereby positively affecting employee’s hearts had a profound effect on motivating their sustained engagement, loyalty and productivity.
New and breakthrough medical research Mark draws upon in his book proves that the heart is actually the driver of optimal human performance. A leadership pioneer, Mark shows us that, rather than weak or soft management, leading from the heart is the most informed and enlightened thing a manager or organization can do.
Mark is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego and the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School. He lives in La Jolla, California.
Natasha Swerdloff
Founder of the Principles Institute
With nearly three decades of experience as a business consultant, coach, speaker, and author, Natasha Swerdloff is a trusted authority on creating transformative changes in corporate settings and individual lives alike. A trained psychotherapist based in Denmark; Natasha has a unique ability to bring psychological well-being into the professional sphere.
Her journey took a decisive turn in 2012, when she came across the teachings of Sydney Banks known as The Three Principles. This shifted her understanding of the true sources of happiness and peace, leading her to refocus her consultancy on CEOs and leadership teams. The result has been an impactful blend of well-being and business acumen that enhances productivity, teamwork, and resilience.
Natasha is also the co-author of the influential book, Coming Home: Uncovering the Foundations of Psychological Well-being, which has been translated into 11 languages including Czech. Building on her work, she founded the Three Principles Institute in Denmark, aiming to equip a new generation of professionals with essential skills for mental and emotional resilience.
Natasha believes that one of the greatest discoveries a person can make is that peace and happiness cannot be given or taken away by external circumstances.
Join Natasha at the Happiness at Work Live! Conference in Prague to explore how rediscovering intrinsic happiness can revolutionize both your personal life and professional career.
Nataliya Bauhuber
Management Director at Volkswagen Financial Services
Manager with many years of experience in the field of finance, automotive, IT and compliance.
Nataliya is Management Director of Volkswagen Financial Services. She came to the company from former Daimler AG, where she gained lots of experience being responsible for the financial steering of the regions Americas, Western and Eastern Europe, as well as development of the global profitability topics. As financial director, she was in charge, for example, of Slovenian market as well as the development and digitalization of the Croatian Financial Services Entity. As a Head of transformation office Nataliya supported the new set up within the global Legal and Compliance organization.
She is very passioned about the topics around the modern Leadership styles and cultural transformation and collected unique experience as a project lead of the global initiative “Leadership 2020” challenging the status quo and creating disruptive solutions for the modern and sustainable leadership and management.
Nataliya studied Economics and Languages in Germany. Also, she gained the Diploma as the Financial Services Expert at the prestigious EBS University and is a qualified decision-making coach.
Alexander Kjerulf
Founder and Chief of Happiness Officer, Wohoo Inc.
Alexander is the founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Woohoo Inc. and one of the world’s leading experts on happiness at work. He is an author and speaker, presenting and conducting workshops on happiness at work at businesses and conferences in over 50 countries. His clients include companies like Hilton, Microsoft, IKEA, Shell, HP, and IBM.
Alex is the author of 5 books, including the international bestseller Happy Hour is 9 to 5: How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life, and Kick Butt at Work. The book has been extremely well received all over the world and is available in 11 languages, including English, Spanish, Dutch, Czech and Chinese. His latest book is Leading With Happiness: How the Best Leaders Put Happiness First to Create Phenomenal Business Results and a Better World.
His work has been featured in CNN, New York Times, Times of India, The Times, BBC, Financial Times, and many others.
And in case you were wondering, his last name (Kjerulf) is pronounced a little like care-oolf :).
Michal "Radar" Vrátný
Founder of fitness centre Železná koule
Michal "Radar" Vratný founded Iron Ball in 2011, which he says with exaggeration is "a fitness center for the Prague café." He operates three branches in Prague, which have seen over 10,000 people pass through them since their inception.
He believes that the gateway drug to overall health and personal progress is strength training, and his passion is helping people feel great. When he's not changing lives in the gym, you can find him hanging in the sky on a parachute, flying in a wind tunnel, navigating the hills on a board or bike, or slaying magical creatures in Dungeons & Dragons.
His unique approach to physical training not only enhances performance, but also prepares individuals for real-world situations and promotes long-term health and vitality.
Šárka Strachová
Olympic medalist, Founder 🟡 VO2Max
Šárka is the most successful alpine skier in the Czech and Czechoslovak history of this popular sport. During her career she has won five medals from top events and 17 times on the podium in the elite series of World Cup races. Her greatest achievements include gold at the World Championships (2007) and bronze at the Olympic Games (2010). In 2012, Šárka suffered a metabolic disorder and subsequently had a benign brain tumour in the pituitary gland removed. In 2015 she celebrated her great comeback by winning another bronze medal at the World Championships in Beaver Creek. She chronicled part of her career in the documentary Two Minutes of My Life, which won 1st place in the Outdoor Film Festival in the category - Adventure and Extreme Sports Film. In 2017, she retired from her active sports career and dedicated herself to the Vo2max Holistic Therapy and Sports Clinic in Prague, which she founded in 2015. Since 2020, she has been the President of the Czech Fair Play Club, which is part of the Czech Olympic Committee. She conducts corporate workshops where she passes on her experience. She focuses on parallels between top sport and top management, team communication, health sustainability and healthy corporate culture.
Radek Laci
Trainer, manaul therapist
Radek is a personal trainer and manual therapist and considers it his mission in life to motivate and inspire people to break down all physical and mental boundaries that prevent them from living life to the fullest. In his classes he applies, among various methods of mobilization and rehabilitation, mainly the connection of body and mind. He believes that a relaxed approach to exercise leads to a shift in the perception of movement and a nice figure is just the icing on the cake. The most important thing is a healthy body, the joy of movement and the ability to effectively relieve pain.
Senta Čermáková
Executive Director at Czechitas
Senta is a professional with 20 years of international sales experience,
marketing and mergers and acquisitions. She currently holds the role of Executive Director of a non-profit Czechitas and CEO and co-founder of Inspiruj.se, an educational startup in the field of generative artificial intelligence. Senta is a graduate of Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague and holds a Master of Science degree in Biocybernetics.
Pavel Wimmer
Co-founder of DNAi
Pavel, co-founder of DNAi, has a big dream: to pass on a better world to future generations. With a team full of expertise and dedication, they are creating innovative AI solutions that have the potential to change our lives in meaningful ways. Paul puts his heart and mind into his work, and through the synergy of team spirit and professionalism, DNAi is emerging as a future leader in technology innovation. Pavel's and DNAi's journey is an inspiration to all who desire to play a role in shaping the future.
Jakub Chomát
Therapist, coach and guide
Lecturer, coach, experiential therapist and guide for people on their journey of life transformation. He teaches how to better and more consciously handle your energy, build and cultivate habits for a more satisfying life.
As of 2019, Jakub has guided nearly 4,000 participants through his Wim Hof Method courses and workshops and coached dozens of clients. In all activities where he has guided someone through an experience he has felt the wisdom and unique talent and potential that lies within us all.
Jakub is an advocate of a kind approach to life, including working with discomfort. For him, it is crucial to create a safe environment and space for vulnerability so that we can get more to our true essence through this approach.
Michal Šrajer
Co-founder of Happiness@Work
Michal, with his two friends, co-founded the studio Inmite in 2008. It was known for its democratic principles and soon became the Czech smartphone app development leader. He named himself "Chief Happiness Officer" at that time, focusing on purpose and relationships at work.
After six years, Inmite became part of the global security company Avast through acquisition. And Michal became CHO of a much bigger company. Two years later, Michal started his sabbatical. While traveling with his family, he visited many "happy companies" worldwide. Michal returned home with a mission to help build successful organizations where people thrive.
He co-founded the international Happiness@Work Conference and a company assisting leaders in making more human workplaces. He is a proud member of the Red Button network and co-founder of startups Workshop Box and XR Leaders.