PRAGUE “Petr Kellner did not treat investment coupon holders as ruthlessly as others. For example, Viktor Kožený, “says Pavel Kohout, a former employee of PPF and co-founder of Algorithmic Investment Management, in an interview with Lidovky.cz.
The one who taught the Chinese to buy in installments. How did Kellner’s business develop abroad? |
He joined Kellner in June 1993. He wrote a computer game about stock trading, which was a rarity at the time. And he got an offer. He managed to be at the second wave of coupon privatization. He left PPF after about two years, but returned there in 1999 and remained for another eight years. “It was a completely different PPF,” he says.
Lidovky.cz: Completely different PPF?
PPF was a corporation, it had Česká pojišťovna, and the Home Credit consumer loan business started. And the expansion abroad began. I worked there in the analytical department, which was in charge of evaluating various business opportunities. We did analyzes and valuations of various banks, insurance companies or projects. We also went abroad. Even to Vietnam, where we were to map the local financial market, among other things.
Lidovky.cz: What was Petr Kellner like?
He always had a clear idea in his head. But on the other hand, he accepted when someone saw it differently. The corporate culture was such that any opinion was allowed. And Kellner dealt with it and sometimes changed his original attitude. He was not a dictator, a boss who knew in advance what was good, and he was forcing it. I appreciated that a lot from him. Maybe that’s why he was as good as an entrepreneur.
Lidovky.cz: As you once said, you submitted several proposals to him.
Maybe there were more, but I only remember two. The one that passed was the revitalization of the Capital Investment Company, which belonged to Česká pojišťovna (ČP). At present, the funds operate successfully under the roof of Generali, which ČP has taken over.
Lidovky.cz: Did Kellner then tell you that it was a good plan?
Not even that. At the beginning, the project did not look very good, because the management had no experience with investing. This initial error had to be corrected.
And my second proposal was to acquire IZIP, an information system in healthcare. He did not pass, mainly due to political risks.
Lidovky.cz: Political risks?
Of course. Of course, when someone gets into such dimensions in terms of investment volume, it entails a certain contact with politics and, of course, risks.
Lidovky.cz: Kellner is said to have met politicians, for example in sports.
I wasn’t with anything like that. I was just an analyst. So these behind-the-scenes things didn’t concern me. However, he once commented that he had to associate with people he did not like. That he doesn’t enjoy it, but that it’s just necessary.
Lidovky.cz: How was he as the boss, how did he influence you and the other employees of the company?
He was a strong boss. He always performed mildly, and when he wanted to scold someone, he just told him that he didn’t like it and that it could be done differently. In a calm voice, no shouting, no foul language.
Lidovky.cz: What was the basis of the success of the PPF group?
First of all, good marketing for privatization funds. Perhaps the best campaign of all funds. With popular actors and especially the Dikovka television competition, in which there was a chance to win a dizzying amount of 250 thousand crowns at the time. I no longer remember how much a person received for a coupon book at PPF then, but I know that it was better than with the vast majority of other funds. Kellner did not treat investment coupon holders as ruthlessly as others. Like Viktor Kožený.
And the second thing – you certainly remember what happened around the mid-90s. The third wave of coupons. He predicted that someone would start buying up the shares of voting funds in a hostile way. So the PPF funds were not hostile, which was a crucial thing.
And then he managed a transaction with Česká pojišťovna. Perhaps one could blame – and perhaps rightly so – the lack of transparency. However, the fact is that he most likely saved ČP. And finally, the idea of consumer credit.
Lidovky.cz: What was Petr Kellner’s strongest point?
In addition to his high intelligence, something for which I have difficulty finding a suitable expression. I guess I’d say he enjoyed what he was doing. Not for the sake of money, but for the joy of the game. And then that he was always polite, calm and organized. He was not a prototype rich man who yells at people because he has money. This is not a completely normal thing in the Czech Republic.
Klaus on Kellner: The symbol of everything positive that happened in our business and charity after 1989 has left |
Lidovky.cz: On the contrary, what was his weakness?
At a time when he was really rich, that is, since 2005, for example, he was worried about the safety of his family. He was very afraid of kidnapping children. And he began to hide, and he hadn’t seen much in recent years.
Lidovky.cz: You are an entrepreneur and a pioneer of new approaches to investing. What did working at PPF give you, how did Kellner himself influence you?
In short, I got to know how financial professionals work. And when you worked under Kellner, it must have affected him in some way. In the better sense of the word.
Lidovky.cz: What will his departure mean for PPF?
I dare not guess. I don’t know how the heirs will get to the top of the group.
–
