Although we have enjoyed many successes during our 12 years at AITOM, we have also gone through periods full of disappointment and setbacks. However, we never gave up and fought hard not only for the company itself, but above all for the people who believe in AITOM – our colleagues, partners and customers. And it is primarily thanks to all these people that I can say with a clear conscience that we have succeeded in building a company that is currently in excellent shape and of which we can be justifiably proud.
When we started the agency, we had only a few competitors and, in terms of potential, it was a very interesting market. At the beginning, we brought on board a few individuals, then added more colleagues. Today there are over 25 of us and we help hundreds of Czech and international companies in the online environment.
Choosing a new CEO requires humility
As we all know, many growing companies have someone other than the founder in the role of director. The owner is always looking for people who are, in some respects, more capable than he is, and who will help the company achieve goals that he would take a long time to achieve on his own.
Finding a new company director is by no means an easy task, and I must admit that I have never been able to imagine anyone other than myself in the CEO’s role. Why? When you’ve spent 12 years building a company into which you’ve poured a large part of your life, the idea of a failed handover is a nightmare for you.
Over the last two years, I have discussed this idea with many people. Many companies have succeeded in this, yet many owners of smaller firms do not believe it is possible. I set myself the challenge of finding the right person to lead AITOM. It is true that I was not actively looking for a new CEO, nor could I imagine holding a recruitment process for such a position. If I were to hand over the company, it would only be to someone who shares the same values as me and whom I can trust completely – both in terms of who they are and how responsibly they would take on the new role.
Sometimes you find the right people almost by chance
Although I was planning the handover of the company more as a long-term prospect, I knew it would happen one day. And I was lucky that Jakub Provazník came my way some time ago. He joined AITOM three years ago as an Account Director and gradually worked his way up to become an excellent leader ready to run the whole of AITOM. Jakub is not only an experienced leader, with a track record of managing a team of 70 people, but above all a person who shares the same values in life and who has my full trust.
On 1 July 2018, Jakub Provazník became the new CEO of our company, and I am certain that under his leadership, AITOM will not only grow but, thanks to his abilities, will bring even greater benefits to its customers than before.
I believe this is therefore the best possible scenario for a change of CEO – the company is growing and thriving, the change in leadership is planned, and AITOM is being taken over by someone who knows the company and has worked there for years.
AITOM’s founders will never leave
Tomáš and I are staying on at the company and want to focus on what we enjoy. Tomáš has always been drawn to development and, as Head of Development, will devote himself fully to AITOM’s technological development, whilst I will concentrate on the company’s financial operations and strategic planning of investments in future projects.
Because we will continue to be active in the company, we can fully support Jakub in his managerial roles. People still see all three of us in the company and communicate with us; we have simply reorganised the internal structure to ensure AITOM runs as smoothly as possible, so that it can continue to develop what it does best for the next decade. That is, helping companies harness the potential of the internet to grow their businesses, aligning online projects with their goals, and delivering solutions that are proven and effective.
Jakub has been taking on the role and responsibilities for several months
Jakub has been operating internally as the new CEO for three months now. Although it wasn’t official, he has been gradually taking on all managerial duties since April. The management team and the entire company have now smoothly transitioned under his leadership, and new horizons are already beginning to open up for us.
You can look forward to an article soon featuring Jakub’s thoughts on what he considers important and what further steps he plans for AITOM. Although the name of the director has changed, you can be sure that our DNA remains the same – we will continue to prioritise maximising the improvement of services for our clients and maintaining an internal culture where we enjoy what we do.