Patrik Zoltvány
Co Founder & Senior Partner
Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Member of the Western Balkans Contact Group

Patrik Zoltvány is a co-founder & senior Partner at FIPRA Slovakia and has worked in the area of public affairs with specific focus on EU Affairs since 1997.

He has acted as EU Affairs Adviser to the Minister of Industry, as member of EU Affairs Committee to National Union of Employers, the EU institutions, various business, public sector and NGO clients. Patrik was heavily involved in assisting the business sector in Slovakia for preparations for EU membership. As member of the TEAM EUROPA run by the European Commission he was also involved in the campaign for the EU membership. In 2003, he managed the establishment of Slovakia first Public Affairs Office in Brussels and became the Head of EU Office. Patrik started his career in the area of Pre-Accession Projects as project manager and consultant. Later he developed a wider EU Consulting area – advisory on Strategy Consulting related to EU Structural Funds, Regulatory Affairs, Competition – State Aid, External Trade, EU Institutional Functioning and Capacity Building and his range of experience is reflected in Company's industry practice groups. Patrik's expertise also covers recruitment of Euro-managers and Euro-audits of multinational and local clients. Prior to this, Patrik was a Research Fellow in the European Parliament conducting political and economical research papers on candidate countries and worked for NGO sector. Lately, Patrik has been involved in issues dealing with the preparation for the introduction of the EURO, technical assistance projects. He is a frequent speaker on issues related to Impact on EU membership at international foras.

Patrik is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels where he serves as Member of the REX (External Affairs Committee) and TEN (transport, energy, infrastructure) Sections and is also active in other European Institutional Advisory Bodies and Committees. In the EESC he is a member of Western Balkans Contact Group where he assists countries in the region with EU membership preparation. He is a Vice-chairman of the Board of the think-tank organization EPPP – European Public Policy Partnership and Member of the Board of Jenewein Group with special responsibility for territorial expansion of consulting services of strategic holding company.

Patrik speaks fluent Slovak, Hungarian, English, basic French and Croat.

Ambassador (ret.) Rastislav KÁČER
Chairman
President of Slovak Atlantic Commission

Rastislav Káčer joined FIPRA Slovakia in September 2008 after completion of his five year term as the ambassador of Slovakia to the U.S.A. Prior to this he served at different levels of government for almost 16 years. He started his career as a policy analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later he became the Head of Analytical Unit. Between 1994 and 1998 he served as a liaison officer/diplomat at NATO HQ in Brussels. After his return from Brussels he served as a head of Policy Planning Staff and the Director General for Security Policy and Multilateral Affairs. In 2001 he became the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defense responsible for negotiations and accession process of Slovakia to NATO.

In July 2008, he was elected a president of the Slovak Atlantic Commission which is a member the Atlantic Treaty Association. He is publicly recognized as expert on Transatlantic Relations and Defense and Security Issues.

Ambassador (ret.) Rastislav Káčer serves as the Chairman of FIPRA Slovakia overseeing assignments in Strategic Government Relations for Foreign Investors, Governments and International Institutions. He also serves in Defense Policy and Procurement Working Group within FIPRA Global Practice Group.

Rastislav speaks fluent Slovak, English, French and Russian.

Martin Krekáč
Co-Founder & Senior Partner
President of the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS)
Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Martin Krekáč is a co-founder & senior Partner at FIPRA Slovakia.

Martin as co-founder and chairman of strategic holding company Jenewein Group has worked in strategic management and consulting in the area of human capital, management consulting and public policy since 1990. He is responsible for strengthening of the group 's consulting portfolio and strategic relationships development for provision of services for public sector as well as state-controlled industrial branches.

At the EU level, Martin is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. Martin is also a founder and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Public Policy Partnership think-tank. EPPP works on innovative solutions in human capital development, reforms in university education systems, governance, lifelong learning and developing new solutions for effective use of public-private partnerships. Martin is a member of many advisory boards and associations, clubs and organizations in Slovakia and abroad.

At home, Martin is also a member of several advisory committees in the Slovak National Parliament. Since 2005 he has been a president of Business Alliance of Slovakia and holds many awards including: Slovak Gold, the Golden Biatec, and the Medal for Developing French-Slovak Bilateral Relations.

Martin speaks Slovak, Czech, Russian, German and English.

Jana Plankenauerová
Research Analyst

Jana Plankenauerová has joined FIPRA Slovakia in 2008 as Research Analyst.

Her primary responsibilities are monitoring and researching the government and parliamentary agenda and drafting policy and issue briefs for clients.

In July 2007 she successfully completed her studies at the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava. Then she continued her studies at the Institute of International Relations and Approximation of Law – within the program which trains experts for Foreign Service. At the moment she is enrolled at part time PhD program where she focuses her research on “The contemporary program of codification of the United Nations International Law Commission“. During her studies Jana had several part time jobs working as researcher in law firms.

Jana speaks fluent English and intermediate German.