Petr Sykora

Athlete, Entrepreneur, Investor, Parent

Petr Sykora – BIO – updated March 2011 ENTREPRENEURSHIP My business partner and friend Jan Cerny and I started a B2B office supplies delivery business in 1993. We were 18 years old and studying Economics and Law at the University in Prague. The company called PAPIRIUS became No. 1 in Central and Eastern Europe and operated in 4 markets – Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and the Baltics (Lithuania). We reached USD 65 mil of annual sales and had 600 employees. The company has been widely recognized as an American dream within the Czech business community. We were twice selected as finalists of the Entrepreneur of the Year contest and our business story has been used by U.S. universities as a case study. We sold the company to OFFICE DEPOT in September 2006 and agreed to help with the integration. We assisted them for a period of 3 years and finally handed over the business at the end of 2009. For OFFICE DEPOT, this has been a very successful acquisition and integration. The business is in great hands and continues to prosper. Currently I am active as an entrepreneur and investor. I am focused on the strategic aspects of each individual project. Among the companies I am involved in are I-PILOT (the flight simulator experience company, RENOMIA (the leading Central European insurance broker) and RAPID PHARMACEUTICALS (Swiss-US based biotech focused on receptor active peptides) and others. COMMUNITY My wife Jindra and I have been members of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) for many years and enjoy the network very much. I have served in various roles at the chapter level, and my wife has helped organizing various local and international events. On the charitable side we are closely involved in the Sun School project in Kargyak (India, Kashmir) – a unique, environmentally friendly school built high in the Himalayas. ADVENTURE AND SPORT I am free skier, climber and adventure traveler. At the age of 16 I hitchhiked with a friend from Prague to Egypt via the Middle East. In 2008 my wife and I were part of the first Czech Team who finished the legendary Snowman Trek in the Bhutan Himalayas. In 2010 I took part in a successful Czech Expedition to Mount McKinley (6 200), Alaska, a few weeks later participated with my wife Jindra (as the first Czechs) in an extreme race called Goretex Trans Alpine Race (running through 3 countries, 315km, gaining 15 000m altitude in 8 days). Early this year I became the first Czech to compete successfully in the Coast to Coast race – The World Multisport Championship in New Zealand. PERSONAL My wife Jindra and I have two boys – Filip and Patrik (6, 4). Our base is in Prague though we like to spend time in other places around the world. OTHER I am fluent in Czech, English, German and French. I have been practicing yoga for more than 20 years.

Adventure, Enterpreneurship, Mountains, Multisport