The shareholder and CEO of PPF Group – Ladislav Bartonicek, was in Sofia this week as part of his first regional tour at the helm of the investment holding. He visited several countries where PPF owns media and telecom operators.
PPF Group acquired the owner of bTV – SME, in October last year, and Mr. Bartonicek headed the company at the end of March.
In addition to discussing future strategies with the Bulgarian teams of bTV and Telenor, Ladislav Bartonicek gave a special interview for bTV to raise the curtain on the company’s plans for the region and in particular for Bulgaria.
See the interview of Svetoslav Ivanov with the successor of Peter Kellner in the management of PPF Group.
– The past year has been turbulent for many of our viewers, for families, for business owners. Many of us lost loved ones because of COVID-19, and PPF unfortunately lost its founder due to a tragic accident. But the road continues. What is the direction of PPF?
It was a difficult time for everyone, especially for us. But we are moving forward. This is the direction, as always. This is part of the respect we pay to Peter – PPF as an organization to continue, to develop business, to create value.
– When a huge corporation like PPF suffers such a tragic, huge incident, it shakes the whole group of companies. But as a person who has lost a friend, how has your life changed since March?
Changed… Has not improved. Unfortunately, it was very stressful at work, but mostly emotionally, because not only a colleague left, but also a friend. Her father, her husband, also left. The first few weeks, even months, were very difficult, but I must say that the PPF team helped a lot to overcome the difficult period, at least in business terms. As for personal feelings – everyone has to deal with them alone.
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“That was my next question.” The announcement of your name only a few hours after the tragedy was an important signal to the business world, to your partners, to your customers. But how did you feel?
The responsibility is enormous, but it was clear from the first moment that this was the only possible way, the only right way. PPF is a huge organization, with many businesses, many partners. It was very important to show that we are continuing without interruption.
– PPF is a global company with many partners, clients and interests in the field of media, real estate, financial services, transport and others. What was the most urgent question for you?
The most urgent issue is to ensure that nothing is left in the background. We work on many projects and we have to make sure that we do not forget anything, not a single important element. In this respect, my colleagues are extremely important.
– About your vision for Central and Eastern Europe. At the moment, according to various forecasts, by the end of this year we will return to economic growth. But there is also uncertainty about the development of the pandemic, problems with the spread and use of vaccines. Is it time now for new investments or to maintain the current ones?
I think it is a good time to invest in the right areas. I’m more of an optimist – a cautious optimist, so to speak. The last 18 months have shown a lot. Many problems and negatives, but on the other hand – and the incredible resilience of society and industry as a whole, because the impact of COVID-19 was huge.
Just as an example, the speed with which vaccines are being developed is unprecedented in history. So from this point of view, I believe that we will overcome this period. It will not be easy. And it has to happen through interaction between countries and between people, so that we make sure that there is no third, fourth or fifth heavy COVID-19 wave. And yes, I think it’s a good time to look around.
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— The whole world is facing the unpredictability of the pandemic. But there is also geopolitical tension in our region. EU vs. Russia, US vs. Russia, US vs. China… Do all these things affect your strategy as a huge company in Europe? What does the bigger picture look like from your position?
In fact, it does not affect our strategy. It should be noted that 60% of the value of our capital is invested in Central and Eastern Europe. From this point of view, this is the most important region in which we are looking for development. In general, it is clear that globalization (as we knew it before) is over and will be replaced by a slightly different system. But we have always worked without interfering in the political process, so this situation does not affect us.
– About PPF in Bulgaria … A few years ago you came here to buy, develop and sell or to buy, develop and stay?
The second. In Bulgaria we have investments in telecommunications. And on bTV, of course. And in the telecommunications infrastructure, CETIN. Probably not widely known, but we also sell Škoda Transportation systems in Bulgaria, the most recent example of this is that we sold 30 trolleybuses in the city of Sofia, which we are proud of. For us, Bulgaria is an important market that we want to stay in.
– You know, Mr. Bartonicek, we live in a time when people consume information very quickly. This changed the way the media worked. You have to be fast and accurate, which is expensive and requires a lot of resources. My question is why it is important for PPF to own a media like bTV? Where do you see the value here?
Above all, the media is a source of entertainment, not just news. For us, the value is in the right combination between the two. The future for us is in the synergy between the telecommunications and media business – this is the trend. On the one hand, it’s great to have content produced by bTV for telecommunications companies to distribute. On the other hand, the telecommunications business has many years of experience in serving customers individually, offering the right product to the right customer. This is the trend in the media – from business to business services to business to customer services.
– Meanwhile, the region is suffering from a decline in the index of media freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders and other organizations. In short: Greece is already in 70th place, Hungary is 92nd at the moment, the positions of Slovenia and Slovakia are also falling. Our country has fallen by 25 positions since 2014 – to 112th place at the moment. You knew this, but it didn’t stop you from entering the market here. Why?
I am not an expert in this field, but in general we are focused on business. In order to be able to provide good customer service and be successful in business, we need to offer great products. The news super product in the media means to be impartial, objective, always on time and not to be influenced by any direction on the political spectrum.
This is important for us and that is why we at SME have created an editorial board, for the whole group, which monitors the quality, independence and impartiality of the news to ensure that our product is the best.
– Telenor and bTV. What do you think is the synergy between the two companies to make them even better?
In Slovakia, we have a very good example of cooperation between the teams of Telenor, which is called O2 – and Markíza, the television. On the one hand, it promotes the O2 brand, and on the other – allows for cooperation in providing the VOYO service there. This is a good example. But each country is different and we give teams the opportunity to come together and generate interesting ideas and ways to implement them.
– Speaking of interesting, what’s next in the new season of bTV? Will there be something new and interesting?
We definitely have new things. I can only mention a few, but we are preparing “Fathers”, a new series, very successful in other countries. We will also broadcast “Get Rich”, as well as several new formats that we believe our viewers will like and have fun.
The interview with Ladislav Bartonicek ends in the spirit of the legendary game of knowledge “Get rich”. How the CEO of PPF Group meet the challenge of Svetoslav Ivanov you can see in the video.
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