Czechmatediary

Peter Petrik was featured on these pages in relation to his presentation “From Behind the Iron Curtain to Membership in the European Union”. Thanks to that initial contact we were able to connect for a short interview about his life and the Czech and Slovak community in Dallas, TX.

CZ: Peter Petrik byl na techto strankach uvedeny jiz jednou a to ve spojeni s prezentaci “Od Zeleznej Opony k Clenstvu v Europskej Unii”. Petra jsem pote zkontaktovala a vytvorili jsme spolu  kraty rozhovor o jeho zivote v USA a  jak se ma ceska a slovenska komunita v Dallasu, kde Petr nyni zije.

1) Peter, how did you come to the USA?
I came here to study. I left Slovakia in 1993 when the situation was not the most stable. I didn’t want to start in a place with so much uncertainty. Once I got my bearings in the US after a few months, it was clear to me that I wanted to stay and build my personal and professional life here.

2) What type of career do you have right now?
I definitely have a non-traditional combination. I teach international business and global strategy at the University of Texas at Dallas. I also offer keynote speeches and workshops. Finally, I advise small- and medium-size businesses on operational efficiency. Most entrepreneurs and business owners are very good at what they do. It is not always like that with running the actual business, developing new business opportunities, or technology aspects. In such instances, I implement systems that simplify company operations and allow the owner and managers to focus on the core competency of the business. (more…)

Have you seen the movie Wanted yet? Well, you should! Never mind if it has some big stars like Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman or Hugh Jackman -  the most important thing is that it came to life practically because of this one talented Czech guy! Petr Forejt not only did all of the sound mixing for the movie but he was also nominated for the ‘Best Sound Mixing’ at this year’s Academy Awards!!! Although the movie did not get the Oscar at the end, the nomination is just an enormous success for Petr. He also did not expect it at all: “I got a phone call from a Czech journalist and I asked him why they were calling me and they said ‘you were nominated, what can you tell us’?“, says Petr.  Radio Praha made an interview with him and here are the most exciting highlights:

CZ: Uz jste videli film s Angelinou Jolie a Morganem Freemanem pod nazvem Wanted? No tak sup, sup na to! Jestli pry je to dobry film? No, to nevim, ale jiste je jedno: tento film prakticky ozil diky jednomu nadanemu Cechovi. Nenjenze mel Petr Forejt na starost vsechny zvukove efekty, ale take byl na letosnich Oskarech nominovany za ‘Best Sound Mixing’! I kdyz film nakonec Oskara neziskal, je to pro Petra obrovsky uspech, tak mu srdecne gratulujeme. Taky to pry vubec necekal: “Z niceho nic mi zavolal nejaky cesky zurnalista a ze pry jsem nominovany na Oskara a jake pry jsou me prvni pocity..”, rika Petr. Radio Praha s nim nedavno udelalo rozhovor a ja jsem z neho par zajimavych otazek vybrala:
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If you saw Pavel Ivancic walking in the streets of Prague you would see a normal, nice looking guy. But a little would you know, that he is carefully evaluating your current outfit and probably thinking that you had no style at all. Who is this clean-cut looking guy? Pavel has been actually voted the Czech fashion designer of 2007. He studied in London, worked in Paris, met the most prestigious designers in the world and now he has its own fashion brand called “Muset”. Radio Prague did an interview with him and  I was surprised to find out that Pavel things there is no fashion business in the Czech Republic. Supposedly there is not a single store that would sell Czech designer stuff! (more…)