Exhibitions and e-sports. With the new boss, the Brno trade fairs will open up to more events
“I would like to enrich the company’s development with a new perspective on the topic of trade fairs and the development of the Brno Exhibition Center in accordance with the interests of the city as the owner so that the company is perceived as an integral part of Brno,” she presented her vision of Moravce in general to MF DNES.
Just trying to bring new impulses and ideas on how to expand the city’s company in other directions, the Brno councilors decided to announce a tender for the new head of the exhibition center in the summer. However, Moravec’s statement can also be read in such a way that politicians want to speak more strongly in the running of this society.
And the new CEO must start convincing them from today that they have bet on the right horse that will meet what he presented to them in the audition. He still has confidence for a “probationary period” of one and a half years.
“The exhibition center was established for the purpose of organizing trade fairs, and although I do not submit a return before 2019, they are still the main topic that I would like to develop. However, we have prepared several new topics for next year, such as the Future Mobility fair or the Truck Show, “Moravec explained, adding that the complex also wants to offer more to external organizers for their events.
It is precisely in the view of the trade fair business that Moravc’s ideas probably differ – probably different from the Kuliš’s ones, even in the pandemic he did not lose hope in returning to numbers from the pre-Ancestor period.
E-sport or new gallery
Apart from Moravec, however, the management of Brno no longer believes in this. Politicians were looking for a man with a new vision for the development of a large attractive area, where, among other things, a new arena for the Hockey Comet is to be built for more than three billion crowns.
“It is necessary to look at the new target group, ie those who shop online. Today, there is also a modern e-sport that can take place here. We want e-gaming to have a significant position in Brno, “outlined Petr Kratochvíl (ODS), Brno Councilor and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trade Fairs Brno. He also mentioned the possibility of using some pavilions as galleries.
The effort of politicians to have a greater influence in the media-visible city company was already evident after the 2018 elections, when Kuliš was removed from the post of chairman of the board. He won the chair only three years before Brno bought 61 percent of the company’s shares from the German company Messe Düsseldorf, uniting almost all of them into city hands.
Tomáš Moravec
|
The purchase for 225 million crowns was arranged by the then Petr Vokřál, among others the second of the current mayor of the two candidates for the position of CEO. He went to the tender, even though from the beginning, as the current opposition policy, he more or less expected that he would not succeed.
“I wanted to give it a try and see how much of a political choice it was. And really the commission’s questions, whether I will run in the elections next year or whether I am resigning as a deputy, when I become a director, I find it a bit strange, “said Vokřál.
He did not want to evaluate the winning opponent from the audition too much. “Of course, I know Mr. Moravec from his time in the management of Brno. That’s why I’m glad it’s someone who doesn’t come into the new. But being a salesman is different from running such a company, especially at this time, “says the expressor.
He is also worried that the exhibition center will now become a lucrative area that will go on sale for various development projects. “I do not consider it a problem that the UMPRUM pavilion and the one responsible for the possible sale of the Moravia and Brno pavilions have been launched. They cannot be used for trade fair activities either. I am more afraid of other lands where trade fairs could develop in the future, “said Vokřál.
However, Moravec strictly refused to intervene in the form of the complex or that he would allow the felling of fences, as was considered under Vokřel’s leadership. “Our priority is to maintain a multifunctional complex that will be suitable for all kinds of events and specializations. An enclosed space is a prerequisite for this, “added the new CEO, who will now be replaced by another existing employee, Lukáš Helan.
Kuliš maybe in the role of a consultant
And what about the current boss Kuliš? The summer decision of the politicians as a clear message from the current coalition that it is no longer planned. He logically did not apply for bankruptcy. Only from the media and informal conversations did he learn that he could be “assisted as an adviser” even after the new boss took office.
It is not clear whether he really received the offer and will eventually work as a consultant at the exhibition center. “It simply came to our notice then. We will definitely discuss further cooperation, “said Moravec.
In any case, Kuliš did not want to comment for MF DNES on his further engagement or on his successor. But he said earlier that he would be happy to leave when he left office.