After opening the Olomouc outlet, Porsche Inter Auto CZ is now selling cars of different brands in five Czech cities, including Prague, Brno, Plzeň, České Budějovice and Olomouc.

Longtime Česká pojišovna (ČP) General Director Ladislav Bartoníček has put the executive management of the largest Czech insurance company in the hands of Dutchman Lard Friese.

Before joining ČP, Friese worked for market research company ACNielsen Europe. He spent 15 years in the insurance sector and worked for insurance groups NOG and Aegon.

Bartoníček will keep his position as chairman of the ČP board and will focus on the ČP group's planned expansion into Eastern markets.

Ivan Kočárník, finance minister of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic from 1992 to 1997, was appointed a vice chairman of the supervisory board at chemical company Unipetrol. After stepping down from government, Kočárník worked as chairman of the board of directors at ČP.

Along with Kočárník, Chemopetrol Executive Director Miroslav Krejčí and Benzina CEO Martin Durčák were appointed new members of Unipetrol's supervisory board.

GE Money named Petr Karel business development director. The appointment expands Karel's duties with GE Money, as he keeps his position as compliance division director.

Karel graduated from Charles University's Law Faculty and has a Ph.D. from the University of Economics in Prague. He has participated in professional seminars held by London's King's College. In the 1990s, he worked with a consortium of international advisory companies providing consultancy services to the European Commission and the Czech Republic. He joined GE Capital Bank in 1999, then moved to Komerční banka, where he was a regional manager. He rejoined GE Money in 2002, as compliance director.

Vladimír Vurm was appointed the new president of the Czech-German Industry and Trade Chamber. Vurm, who represents gas company RWE in the chamber, replaced Jiří Škrla.

Vurm has worked in the chamber since 1993. He was named to the board of directors in 2003.

In another change, two new members were named to the board: Hana Pavlištová of the Czech Information Agency and Allianz insurance company Chief Financial Officer Christoph Plein.