JO WEAVER / JWA Prague s.r.o.
Jo Weaver founded and was the Managing Director of JWA Prague s.r.o., which for nearly thirty years was one of Central Europe’s leading marketing and PR agencies for B2B, real estate, hospitality and sport. During her time with JWA, Jo ran marketing and communications campaigns for many of the Czech Republic’s biggest investors, including household names such as Bass Brewers, Tesco Stores, Boeing, GE Real Estate and many others. She was also involved in the success of many high-profile sporting events, including the Velka Pardubicka and Prague International Marathon. Today she works as a marketing consultant and business coach for a number of companies and individuals, as well as being an investor into a few different SMEs.
Jo was Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic from the beginning of 2004 until October 2007, before helping to found the International Business Forum at the end of 2007. She was voted one of the top five foreign businesswomen in the Czech Republic in 2001, and nominated for the ‘Women of the Year’ awards in the category of ‘marketing and communications’ in 2005 and 2006. She is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences on business, marketing, and public relations in Central Europe.
JAN GROZDANOVIČ
Jan Grozdanovič is one of the founding members of the IBF. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1959, he studied law at Prague’s famous Charles University before defecting to the United Kingdom in 1980. From 1981-1985 he attended the London School of Economics, passing the Solicitors Finals course at the City of London Polytechnic before taking articles at Gregory, Rowcliffe & Co., and then, in 1988, qualifying as an English Solicitor. He spent one year at the City of London firm Berwin Leighton, six years at the London offices of the international firms of Baker & McKenzie and Allen & Overy, and, finally, 11 years at Seddons Solicitors, the last two as Managing Partner of their Prague Office, before setting up JGA Legal in 2006.
Mr Grozdanovič was admitted to practise law in the Czech Republic as an advocate in 1995 and is presently one of only a few dual-qualified English and Czech solicitors. He is an arbitrator registered at the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic and Agricultural Chambers of the CR and an arbitrator registered at VIAC – the Vienna International Arbitral Centre. He was a founding member of the Association for Foreign Investment in the Czech Republic, is Chairman of the British Czech and Slovak Law Association of the United Kingdom, and was a member of the Board of the British Chamber of Commerce from 1997-2000, and again from 2003 until 2006. Mr Grozdanovič is a member of the Statutory Board and a Governor of the English College in Prague. He is also the head of the IBF Legal Group and a frequent public speaker on legal aspects of doing business in the Czech Republic.
JONATHAN HALLETT
Jonathan Hallett, is Head of Central & Eastern Europe for Cushman & Wakefield, overseeing operations right across the region, which covers more than 1,500 staff involved in all aspects of property services in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia & Turkey, as well as the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance offices in 8 other countries in the region. Jonathan is also the Managing Partner of Cushman & Wakefield in the Czech Republic and part of the EMEA Management Leadership Team. He became a Partner in 2001 and is a member of the RICS.
HOWARD CHAPMAN
Howard Chapman is a freelance solicitor trained and qualified in the City of London, with more than 15 years’ transactional experience in several European jurisdictions. He has been based in the Czech Republic since 2004. He spent most of his time in private practice with international law firm, Hogan Lovells, with particular experience in corporate and commercial real estate transactions, private equity, international arbitration and financial services. Mr Chapman continues to co-operate with a number of law firms in the Czech Republic and Poland in these areas. Since going freelance in Autumn 2012, he has also developed a growing private client practice specializing in expatriate inheritance & estate planning and acts as General Counsel to a specialist bond issuer, debt finance, and securitisation vehicle, Audacia Capital (Ireland) PLC.” Mr Chapman is a founder member of the IBF Legal Group.
IAN BRYAN
Ian Bryan is the owner and Managing Director of IBA (Ian Bryan Architects, s.r.o.), which he established in Prague in 1997. Ian has more than 25 years’ experience in the field of architecture and is registered as an architect in both the UK and the Czech Republic. After qualifying at the Edinburgh School of Architecture, he worked in London, Glasgow and Riga, before moving to Prague in 1994.
Through the success of projects such as the Kempinski Prague, the Statenický Mlýn mixed-use development, and office HQs for Deloitte and CBRE, Ian’s practice has developed a reputation for high-quality residential, hotel and workplace projects. Ian has witnessed at first hand the transition from a post-communist to developed market economy from the real estate and design perspective, and describes himself as a “survivor” and a firm believer in the power of small-and medium-sized businesses.
Ian is married and has three children.
CARLO GRADL
Carlo was born and grew up in Bavaria, Germany, moving to Prague in 1993. After absolving Czech language classes at Charles University, he started his real estate career at Apollo Real Estate Consultants. Since then he worked for the developer, Copa Group, and the real estate agency Colliers international, before setting up his own company MAX Immo in 2008. Carlo has in-depth real estate experience and a wide network of professional contacts throughout Europe. He has consulted with numerous international and local companies and is specialized in commercial real estate, investment and development.
Carlo is married and has three children. He is fluent in German, Czech and English.