Ivana Čermáková

“My job is about and with people,” says Ivana. During her professional life, she has worked in a variety of environments; buying and selling stocks, negotiating with suppliers in the beverage industry, to now working in the learning and development sector since 2000. Initially, she provided high school exchange programs at schools all over the world, then progressed to developing adults programs in large international companies in a Human Resources role. She has led teams of varying sizes,  and she coaches or leads workshops all over the world for a variety of demanding audiences. Ivana is also a lecturer and the co-author of Elpida's Senior Friendly Teacher project. As a mentor, she helps create new companies within the Vodafone Foundation Laboratory project.

Ivana believes that “wanting” is more than “being able”, so she is interested in  ‘growth mindset’ or the development of personal resilience.

Ivana has been on stage since the age of five, and says she has no stage fright and loves microphones. She enjoys hiking, reading Scandinavian detective stories, and trying to write creatively. She loves to admire Italian Renaissance architecture and adores the charm & style of the French. Ivana also loves Cimrmans  - a typical Czech kind of humour.

She likes to spend time with her husband, two children and two dogs in their house in the Elbe region. Because Ivana often seeks adventure and the scent of afar, she can easily take herself away for a month in the  Antipodes.