Mikulas Szapu, Deputy Chairman
It is most important to do what one likes
You took over the company's management from your father. Was it a natural step for you or was a degree of persuasion required?
This change came about ten years into the company's existence and and was caused maily by a change of business focus from mapping utility networks and simple user interfaces to more complicated IT products. It was important that the information gathered via IT systems was useful and began to make money for the owner. In order for the company to grow, it was also necessary to focus on other segments apart from energy and gas. I was glad to do it :-).
Which one of your strategic decisions was, according to your evaluation, a breakthrough decision, which started the company up for international success?
The key startup was the formation of a team of excellent people who wanted to prove, even beyond the border of Slovakia, that we are good. They were willing to invest a lot of work into an endeavour with an uncertain outcome. A breakthrough was even that we did decide to do it at all. It is not enough to just have a good idea...
A year ago you went from executive management to deputy chairmanship. How do you see the future of YMS Group from this new, more strategic position?
If we want to continue growing abroad, we must start to think in some other ways. Until now we tried to "export" our best people abroad and support expansion. But it is more important to find good people in destination and manage growth from the centre. Our second point is integration of foreign top management, which gives the original Slovak business a completely different managerial and human dimension.