Big interview
New queen of Prague’s conference castle
PAUL COLSTON E-MEETS THE NEW CEO OF PRAGUE CONGRESS CENTRE, LENKA ŽLEBKOVÁ
ow did you first come into
the meetings industry and
what were your ambitions
starting out?
I have a hospitality background and
started to work in sales in the President
Hotel Prague back in 2005 where we had
five meeting rooms for up to 220 people.
During that time we were a member of
Prague Convention Bureau (PCB) and I
got to know the meetings industry. In
2008, I was elected a board member of
PCB responsible for destination
marketing development and my
long-term passion with the meetings
industry started. has really developed into a first tier
destination with its great meeting
infrastructure and business mindset.
It is no longer viewed as a place where
the offer is limited – on the contrary it is
perceived as a destination with high
quality services and warm people.
Prague has a long tradition in
organising medical and scientific
meetings but recently the city has been
attracting a lot of new businesses,
start-ups and high-tech companies, so
there is a big increase in technology
meetings, which particularly require new
meeting formats as well as higher level of
ICT and AV equipment.
How has the industry in the Czech
Republic changed during that time
and what would you say are the main
differences in terms of international
business events and conferences
hosted in Prague (What are the
strong suit sectors also)?
The meetings industry has been
developed in the Czech Republic for
decades but for the last 10 years Prague You have been recently appointed as
the CEO of Prague Congress Centre,
the jewel in the country’s venue
crown – a big responsibility. What
are your initial goals?
I was pleased to be chosen but of course
it is a big challenge and I feel the
responsibility. My aim is to keep the
PCC among the ranks of top European
venues and contribute to the change of
PCC surroundings. We plan to build our
New Exhibition Hall by 2023 and
revitalise a whole area around the
current building in order to transform it
into a meeting hub of conference
delegates, tourists and also locals.
My second aim is to focus on our team
because I strongly believe that the
happier the employee, the happier the
customer. It is something we can
strengthen through communication,
participative decision-making and
common projects.
It is a very difficult time to start in
the role, with major events stopping.
How are you coping with that? Does
it provide some opportunities to
prepare for the future?
We are recharging for the busy period
that will hopefully follow. Some of our
staff have now more time to brainstorm
and explore innovative ideas.
We have been going through a vast
modernisation for the last three years,
but there is still a lot of work that can
been done, so our operation and technical
staff helps with cleaning, painting and
other interior facelifts. It is a difficult
time for all of us, the whole industry, but
I do believe we can only come out of this
situation stronger.
Left: View on Old
Town Square,
Prague
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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ISSUE 106
What has been the cancellation/
postponement rate for your major
conferences and exhibitions? Have
you been able to reschedule many of
those booked into this calendar year?
What about the financial dynamics,
has PCC been flexible with payments
from organisers unable to run their
events?
Currently, we have about 30% of events
‘completely cancelled’, the rest we have
been successful in rescheduling for later