Minhwan CHANG Chief Representative of KHNP Prague Office
Mr. Minhwan Chang serves as the Chief Representative of KHNP's Prague Office, where he spearheads and coordinates KHNP's efforts in advancing new nuclear projects within the Czech Republic. Since joining KHNP in 2002, Mr. Chang has amassed extensive expertise in nuclear power plant operations and international project development. Notably, in 2011, he played a pivotal role in the triumphant execution of the UAE Barakah NPP construction project, taking charge of ENEC personnel training and commissioning preparations. In 2014, Mr. Chang has made significant contributions to global nuclear safety by serving as a Peer Reviewer at the WANO Tokyo Centre, furthering the cause of safe NPP operations across the globe.
In recent times, Mr. Chang has directed his efforts exclusively towards the expansion of the overseas nuclear sector in Europe, underscoring his commitment to advancing this crucial industry.
Tomáš EHLER General Director, Department of Nuclear Energy and New Technologies, Ministry of Industry and Trade
Tomáš Ehler has been dealing with the energy and the energy policy for a long time. Up to now, he headed the Department of Nuclear Energy and Section of Nuclear Energy at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and he is a member of the supervisory board of the electric power station Elektrárna Dukovany II, a. s. and Elektrárna Temelín II, a. s. and is a member of expert committees in the field of energy, including those within the NEA OECD. Before joining the Ministry of Industry and Trade, he worked in the Czech Chamber of Commerce and in the Diplomatic Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR. He also worked in Berlin and Vienna, and, as a Commercial Counselor, he headed the commerce and economic department of the Czech Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany. Tomáš Ehler graduated from the Charles University in Prague and the Institute for Industrial and Financial Management and holds a Ph.D. in economics from University of Economics in Prague.
Karel HAVLÍČEK Deputy Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic
He graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University, then from the PIBS at Manchester Metropolitan University, and completed his doctoral studies at the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Economics in Prague, where he also became an associate professor at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting. Since the turn of the millennium, he has defended the interests of entrepreneurs, especially as Chairman of the Board of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Tradesmen of the Czech Republic. As co-owner and CEO of the SINDAT Group, he has built the company into a respected investor in the fields of small and medium-sized industry and new technologies over the past twenty years. He has been involved in academia for many years, building the Faculty of Economic Studies at the University of Finance and Administration and developing the Economics and Management degree programme. He has written several academic books on SMEs and published dozens of peer-reviewed articles both domestically and internationally.
He has served on a number of advisory bodies to the government and ministries, has been a member of the Government Council for Research, Development and Innovation since 2014, and has been its Vice-Chairman since 2018. He is the main author of the government's innovation strategy Czech Republic: The Country For The Future. In April 2019, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy and Minister of Industry and Trade. He subsequently relinquished all statutory and ownership positions in the business sector, and in January 2020 he also became Minister of Transport.
Anna FOŘTOVÁ Team Energy Leader, KPMG
Anna Fořtová graduated in nuclear power engineering equipment at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague and has been working on the topic of energy (both nuclear and thermal) for her entire professional career. This has led her from academia to the International Atomic Energy Agencyc, to the Energy Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Currently she works at the consulting company KPMG, where she leads the energy team and, together with her colleagues, focuses on nuclear energy, modern energy and electricity distribution topics.
Juyoul KIM Professor, Kepco International Nuclear Graduate School, Co-Leader of the Czech-Korean Nuclear Cooperation Centre
Professor Juyoul Kim graduated from Seoul National University in 2002. He was serving as a researcher for Waste Disposal Research Group of KHNP-NETEC for 2 years from 1998 to 2000. After graduation he joined CENS UCLA for 3 years being postdoctoral research associate. He was serving as director of radiation environment department of FNC Technologies in Suwon from 2005 to 2017 and part-timely was also delivering lectures at Dongguk University. He joined KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School as an Assistant Professor in Radiation Protection in 2018 and was promoted to associate professor in 2022. From 2022 he has also served as Dean of External Affairs of KINGS and Section Chair of Korea Nuclear Society as well as the member of Board of Editors for Korean Radioactive Waste Society. He is very active in support of international cooperation of KINGS and Czech, Polish, and other universities. He introduced the idea of a Czech Korean Nuclear Cooperation Centre and is going to be its director from the Korean side.
Jiří MAREK NE•RS 2025 Conference Chairman
Jiri is the consultant in the field of power industry and is the Partner & Head Executive of JMM Consulting, Ltd. – a company focused on advisory services and organization of professional activities. After graduating from the Czech Technical University, Faculty of Technical and Nuclear Physics, he worked in research; he has been working in the power industry field since 1974 (until 1996 in ČEZ). For the last more than thirty years, he was the advisor of the Minister of Industry and Trade, chairman and vice-chairman of the Supervisory Board of ČEZ, a member of supervisory boards in several energy distribution companies and an advisor of Deputy Ministers of Finance. In these positions, he was dealing with the reorganization of state administration in power industry, the development of state energy policy, the establishment of the State Office for Nuclear Safety and with the preparation of the privatization of Czech power industry. He is occupied by publication activities, mainly in the field of nuclear power industry and has wide experience in organizing of international and specialized professional conferences and meetings. His positions are quoted on TV, radio and in economic periodicals. In 2014 Jiri was elected the President of the Association of Czech Nuclear Veterans.
Ondřej NOVÁK NE•RS 2025 Conference Vice-Chairman, Department of Nuclear Reactors, Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague
Ondřej Novák graduated from nuclear engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague, where he also received his PhD. He currently works at the Department of Nuclear Reactors ibidem. His expertise is in the field of neutron detection during fast transition processes and assessment of energy development in connection with nuclear energy. He leads research projects focused on analyses of Czech energy development in the context of transformation, development of large nuclear units and SMRs, and hydrogen production. For a long time, he has been the chairman of the Young Generation of the Czech Nuclear Society. He has had longer scientific stays, for example as a Fullbright scholar at the University of Knoxville TN, and in the CEA laboratories in Paris and others.
Jan RATAJ Head of the Department of Nuclear Reactors, Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague
Jan Rataj graduated from the Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague with a master's and doctoral degree in Nuclear Engineering. In 2001 he became a member of the Department of Nuclear Reactors and since 2005 he has been working there as an academic researcher. From 2008 to 2018 he held the position of Head of Reactor Operation VR-1 and Deputy Head of the Department, since 2018 he has been the Head of the Department. He is the guarantor of the Bachelor's degree program in Nuclear Engineering. As an academic researcher, he provides teaching in the field of experimental neutron and reactor physics. He is engaged in experimental and teaching activities at the VR-1 and VR-2 reactors and in the development of nuclear education in the Czech Republic. He led the project for the construction of the VR-2 subcritical reactor. He cooperates with the IAEA in the field of the use of research nuclear reactors and the promotion of nuclear education and training, and participates in IAEA missions aimed at assessing the safety of research nuclear facilities. He is a member of the Council of the State Institute of Radiation Protection.
Jan SKOPEČEK Deputy Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic
Jan Skopeček graduated in economics and management at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and then in economic policy and administration at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics in Prague, where he also completed his PhD studies. His professional interests focus on the history of economic thought, economic integration theory and public sector economics. He is one of the leading economic experts of ODS (Civic Democratic Party – right wing party, now the leading one of the governmental coalition).
He has been active in politics for twenty years, since 2017 he has been a deputy and since November 2021, he has been a deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
Kamil ŠTEVANKA Head of a Unit of Development of New Nuclear Units, Ministry of Industry and Trade
Graduated at Brno University of Technology with a master’s degree in Power Engineering, during the studies spent one semester at Malardalen University in Sweden. After graduation enrolled in Ph.D. program focused on thermohydraulics and nuclear safety at Brno University of Technology. In 2022 visited Knoxville, Tennessee in the USA as IAEA sponsored fellow for 3 months. The aim of the fellowship was to study U.S. approach to SMR licensing and development.
In 2021 took up the position at Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Department of Development of New Nuclear Units, as a Head of a Unit of Development of New Nuclear Units. The department is responsible for preparation of new nuclear construction project of large reactors in the Czech Republic.
Martin UHLÍŘ Director of the Construction, Commissioning and Operations Department, Elektrárna Dukovany II a. s.
Martin Uhlíř is a graduate of the Brno University of Technology and the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He started working for CEZ Group as an operator of the control room of the Dukovany NPP Unit 1. Gradually, he held several leading positions in the investment division of ČEZ, where he was responsible, among other things, for preparatory exploration work for the construction of new nuclear units at Dukovany and Temelin. Currently, he is the Director of the Construction, Commissioning and Operations Department at Elektrárna Dukovany II a. s.
Branislav VRBAN Director of the Center for Technology Transfer in Nuclear Power Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
Branislav Vrban completed his engineering and doctoral studies at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava in the field of nuclear power engineering, where he has been working as an associate professor since 2021. In his research and teaching work, he is dedicated to the issues of neutronics of thermal and fast reactors, shielding analyses and dosimetry. During his stays abroad, he worked at CEA Cadarache and at KAERI in South Korea. He is the leader and researcher of several national and international research projects in the field of nuclear research and education. At FEI STU, he works as the head of the Department of Nuclear Technology and Energy of the Institute of Nuclear and Physical Engineering and the director of the purpose-built facility, the Center for Technology Transfer in Nuclear Power Engineering.
Petr ZÁVODSKÝ CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dukovany II Power Plant and Temelín II Power Plant
Petr Závodský joined CEZ Group in 1994, started at Nuclear Power Plant Temelín during construction of Units 1&2, among others as Manager of Independent Verification and Validation of the Safety Systems Software. In autumn 2006, when CEZ decided to prepare New Nuclear Built, Petr was one of the first members of the new team, responsible for technical part. In April 2009 he becomes Director of NPPs Construction Department responsible for nuclear new build within ČEZ Group, i.e. New NPPs at Dukovany and Temelín (in the Czech Republic) as well as at Jaslovské Bohunice (Slovakia).
Currently he is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Elektrárna Dukovany II, a. s. and Elektrárna Temelín II a. s. as well as Chief Executive Officer of those companies. Additionally, he is Vice-Chairman of Board of Directors at ČEZ Bohunice, a. s.
Hana ŽÁKOVÁ Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Transport of the Senate of the Czech Republic
Hana Žáková is a senator for the Třebíč district and the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Transport of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, which is part of the Committee on Economy, Agriculture and Transport. In her work, she has long focused on issues of energy, transport infrastructure and regional development, with special emphasis on energy security and the stable position of nuclear energy in Czech energy policy.
She comes from the region where the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant is located and where the construction of a new nuclear source is planned. As a long-time former mayor, she is paying attention to the issue of nuclear energy not only from a political, but also a personal and practical perspective. In the Senate, she actively advocates for the region´s voice to be heard – especially that of the the municipalities and towns around Dukovany, which will be fundamentally affected by the construction and are key partners in this strategic project. Thanks to her previous experience in municipal politics, she understands well the needs of local governments and the importance of transparent communication and coordination with local actors. At the same time, she supports the involvement of the business sector and regional companies in the preparation and implementation of NPP construction, which can bring important development impulses for the entire region.
Andrej ŽIAROVSKÝ member of the Board of Directors and Strategy Development and International Projects Director, VUJE a.s., Trnava
He graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava with a focus on thermal energy and received an MBA from the Prague International Business School. He started his career in aviation and logistics. He has been working in the energy industry since 2003. He was the general director of Alstom Power Slovakia and the commercial director of Alstom Power Service for the Czech and Slovak Republics. He worked for the Italian energy group Enel in Slovenské elektrárne, in the position of deputy director of the procurement division. Between 2008 and 2019, he worked at the Czech energy company ČEZ, a.s. in senior management positions, as well as in statutory bodies of ČEZ Group companies, such as Nuclear Energy Company of Slovakia, a.s. and Škoda Praha a.s..
He is also the author of a number of popular science articles and podcasts devoted not only to energy, but also to military history. He is currently a member of the board of directors and director for strategic development and international projects of the nuclear company VUJE a.s.