Michal Houšť

Born in Bohumín, he studied Business Economics and Banking at the University of Economics in Prague. During his studies, he worked in the family-owned business and after finishing university, he joined PPF Group as a financial analyst focusing on banking and consumer finance. From 2010, he worked at Nomos Bank in Moscow, where he greatly contributed to the bank's successful IPO. After completing the process, in which he was personally responsible for the preparation of the whole financial section, he continued to work for Nomos Bank as a project manager. His agenda included developing activities for retail banking, such as creating business strategies for the affluent segment, as well as optimizing and rebranding the branch network. In 2013, he joined EMMA Group, where he was one of the key individuals in the privatization of OPAP, a Greek gaming operator. Among other things, he was responsible for funding the entire operation, including a successful issue of bonds on European financial markets. In 2013, Michal Houšť accepted the position of OPAP’s CFO and contributed to its successful restructuring, after which the company's EBITDA increased by 70%. He left OPAP in the end of 2019. Thereafter, he focused on new investment opportunities in EMMA, of which he has been a partner since 2016.