Petr Smida

Background

About Petr Smida

From Prague through dozens of countries back to the Czech republic – now investing in Czech projects with a global ambition and positive impact. At the start of my journey, I developed and eventually sold Multiservis, a leading consumer finance company in the Czech Republic, to GE, the world’s largest company at the time. I then became CEO of a leading Czech bank and later several international banks. When the opportunity arose to explore the world in the global role based in the US with GE, I seized it. The United States, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Brazil, Singapore, India, Russia, and other countries taught me what it means to implement a robust business model across different cultures. In 2008, I decided to focus solely on my own projects driven by a belief that in the world of investments there is more money than quality assets. I like the challenge of looking for those assets and as a result, one of the first technology venture funds in the Czech republic was born. Surrounding myself with talented people and leveraging my learnings on growth strategies, I helped dozens of companies on their scaling journey. Now, I am somewhat returning home. As an investor in real estate, venture capital, renewable resources, and various other sectors, I aim to finance primarily Czech projects through a family vehicle - SMIDA INVEST. I want the Czech capital to remain as the “national capital”. Even when investing globally I believe the young generation of entrepreneurs and their capital will care about the prosperity of the Czech Republic and their surroundings.