Josef Buryan, manager of production and technology at Mittal Steel Ostrava, was recently promoted to the company's board of directors. Buryan joined the Ostrava-based steel manufacturer after graduating from the Mining University in Ostrava in 1971 and has worked for the company ever since.

Success and patience have earned Dutchman Roland van Wijnen a top spot at Holcim, the Czech construction materials producer has announced. After eight years at Holcim, van Wijnen was recently named chairman of the board. Before receiving the promotion, van Wijnen was responsible for managing corporate finance projects. He has also worked for Philips Electronics, Atos-Origin and Cambridge Management Consulting.

Petr Žídek, a human resources specialist, has decided to leave the Synergie recruitment firm after eight years with the company. Žídek has been made executive director and partner of Top Recruitment, which specializes in headhunting and consultancy services.

Pavel Váňa has joined Logica CMG, an information technology company, as a senior business consultant. He will focus on the development of interconnection strategies for corporate procedures and information technology. Váňa joins a new team created within the company's consultancy services department.

Váňa has 12 years of experience in developing information technology solutions, primarily in the telecommunications sector. He has also worked for DHL Information Services and Hewlett-Packard.

Polish oil group PKN Orlen, which bought Czech petrochemical group Unipetrol last year, has appointed a new vice-chairman of the board: Cezary Stanislaw Filipowicz. Filipowicz holds a doctorate in geology from Warsaw University and also studied at Basingstoke Technical College in Great Britain. He is a member of the European Federation of Geologists and the executive committee of the American Association of Oil Geologists.

Petr Svoboda has been confirmed for another year as chairman of the International Association of Pharmaceutical Companies. Svoboda has led the association, which includes pharmaceutical companies that have their own research and development departments, for the past two years. Svoboda is also the general manager of the pharmaceutical company Novartis.