Jiri Cermak has 16 years of telecom industry experience with Internet start-ups and software vendors. Based in Prague, Czech Republic, Jiri recently advised publishing software house Exec in preparing product documentation at a technical product marketing level, as well as offering PR and sales support.
Starting his career as an IT manager and graphics designer with Price Waterhouse in Prague, Jiri seized the opening and the drastic transformation of his country into a market economy, embarking in 1991 on an entrepreneurial career before joining LogicaCMG in 2003 to become their senior business consultant, advising carriers on mobile and broadband content services, mobile messaging products and content services strategies.
Prior to this, Jiri had been responsible for the full product lifecycle of a cellular network messaging product (GSM USSD gateway) in the areas of requirements capture, product strategy, marketing and business development, managing the development and successful completion of the product release to the global GSM market, presenting at international telecommunication industry events in Europe and Asia, and actively participating in a worldwide technology forum.
He also managed a programme of business logic product for cellular network operators, coordinating the communication between different teams for product deployments at customer sites, product support, requirements capture and implementation.
Previously Managing Director of Trinity Systems a.s., he developed and executed the business plan of this Czech Internet start-up, assuming full responsibility for P&L, the hiring and motivating of a team of 12 staff, sales and marketing, operations, and investor relationships. Reporting to the Board of Directors, he assisted them in restructuring the company into an offshore company but eventually, as a consequence of the sharp Internet decline in the U.S. stock markets, the company ceased trading.
As Sales Manager and Executive Producer in the Special and Digital Effects Division of Frame s. r. o. in 1998-99, Jiri successfully negotiated and produced major jobs for international clients, such as AMC of Cairo, Egypt (US$300k for TV series digital effects production) and LAPTV Inc. of Atlanta, USA (US$100k for digital effects and postproduction).
In 1991 he co-founded Macron s. r. o. in Prague and led it until 1998, assuming the management of Customer Support, Product Marketing Manager, Business Development and ultimately becoming the Marketing Director. Jiri was instrumental in the company growth from the founding team of 6 to the leading pre-press integrator, distributor and software developer with 50+ staff and turnover of over US$ 6m.
His most valued skills are managing the software product development cycle, ISO 9000, quality assurance and project management, as well as an eye for the visual impact of communication.
Jiri visited the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague and speaks fluently Czech, English and converses in German and Russian.