Czech Radio Director General Announces a Change in Management for 2025
Director General René Zavoral has officially announced a change in the management of the public broadcaster Czech Radio. He has appointed Martina Májíček Poliaková to the position of Director of Strategic Development of the Czech Radio, a change that will take effect from 1 January 2025.
The new Strategic Development Section will consist of the Research and Analysis Department (created by merging the existing Research Department and Strategic Development Department) headed by Pavel Šimoník and the Recruitment and People Development Department headed by Zuzana Matějovská.
For the latter half of his second mandate, Mr. Zavoral wants to devote maximum efforts to the implementation of the strategic goals set out by Czech Radio in its Strategy 27 for the Digital Age. From the perspective of future development, Czech Radio has identified several key initiatives: those that will support the independence and irreplaceability of public service media, those that will enable Czech Radio to better cope with changes in listener preferences and socio-demographic trends in employment, those that will help Czech Radio to adapt more quickly to rapid technological developments, and those that will contribute to its greater resilience to external influences, including existential and cyber security threats.
Formally anchoring strategic development as a core activity of Czech Radio’s highest management level will strengthen the pursuit of these initiatives and is therefore a logical next step. The Strategic Development Section will coordinate all strategic activities across the numerous divisions of Czech Radio and continue to implement the vision of Czech Radio in cooperation with various specific strategy groups. Martina Májíček Poliaková will bring her experience from her leadership of the Strategic Committee and the Strategic Development Department, where she has long been working on measures aimed at implementing the strategic goals of Czech Radio, to this new position.
Martina Májíček Poliaková has been working at Czech Radio since 2013. In 2015, she participated on the development of the Creative Centre within the Vision 2020 project. After her maternity leave in 2018, she returned to the radio as Strategic Development Manager. She was involved in the creation of various strategic initiatives, including the international EBU Peer-to-Peer Analysis, which led to the creation of the Czech Radio Strategic Committee in early 2019, which she has since chaired. In 2021, she worked on the project aimed at the transition from medium wave (AM) broadcasting to DAB+ digital broadcasting. In 2022, she oversaw the creation of Czech Radio’s Strategy 27 for the Digital Age, which took inspiration from the Director General’s candidacy, responded to current strategic brand research and, together with the Long-Term Development Plan, forms the basic building blocks of Czech Radio’s strategy. The Strategic Committee's initiatives include activities aimed at environmental sustainability, the use of AI and effective communication around sustainable financing and changes in media legislation. Mrs. Poliaková also actively participates in EBU initiatives on the digital transformation of public service media and its benefits for society. In 2022 she graduated with a Masters in Sustainability Management from the Prague University of Economics and Business. Prior to her work in radio, she studied history and political science at Charles University in Prague and worked in the Research Office of the Faculty of Arts.