SlovenčinaConference is divided into two days. On the first day, there will be a conference and evening networking programme prepared for you. On the day two, we will continue with the conference program in the morning. The event ends with lunch.
- Specialists sharing their experience
- Inspiration from automotive industry experts
- New contacts and networking
- Evening raut
How it will run
After opening the conference on Tuesday morning, we will start the first lectures. Then, lunch will be served at the hotel restaurant. After the lunch break, we will continue with the next set of lectures. If you find it difficult to concentrate you may welcome regular coffee breaks for your refreshment. After the last lecture, you will have some time to rest. An evening raut will take place in the nearby restaurant Talska bastion with the opportunity for informal networking.
Second day, after breakfast, the conference will continue with interesting lectures and panel discussions. Lunch will be served at the restaurant of Hotel Partizan.
*conference program is subject to change
May, 26th (Tuesday)
from 8:30 Registration
Registration and badge collection
Registration will start on day one of the conference at 8:30 AM at the hotel Partizan lobby and will continue until lunch. After lunch on the first day, the registration of participants will be possible at the info booth in the conference foyer on the first floor.
09:30 - 09:40 Conference opening
Alexander Matušek
President, Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak republic
He heads the External Relations / Environment / Social Services department at Volkswagen Slovakia, a.s. In the past, he was responsible for the management of the entire logistics at Volkswagen Slovakia and also held several management positions within the Volkswagen Group in Portugal and the USA. Since 2018, he is the President of the Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic (second term). In 2018, he was elected Vice President of the Federation of Slovak Industrial and Transport Associations.
Ivan Hodáč
Event host, founder of Aspen Institute Central Europe, former ACEA Secretary-General
Ivan Hodač is a Founder and President of the Aspen Institute Prague. He was Secretary-General of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) from 2001 until October 2013. He is the Chairman of the Board at cabinet DN. The Financial Times listed him among the most influential personalities in Brussels politics. Before joining ACEA, he was Senior Vice-President and Head of the Time Warner Corporate office for Europe. Previously he was Secretary-General of the trade organization IFMA/IMACE, Senior Economist at Didier & Associates, and Assistant Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. He was born in Prague, where he studied mechanical engineering. He completed his education in economics and political science at the University of Copenhagen and the College of Europe in Bruges (European studies).
09:40 - 10:10 Lecture
Rastislav Káčer
diplomat, former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic
10:10 - 11:10 The competitiveness of the European automotive industry – panel discussion
Alexander Matušek
President, Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak republic
He heads the External Relations / Environment / Social Services department at Volkswagen Slovakia, a.s. In the past, he was responsible for the management of the entire logistics at Volkswagen Slovakia and also held several management positions within the Volkswagen Group in Portugal and the USA. Since 2018, he is the President of the Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic (second term). In 2018, he was elected Vice President of the Federation of Slovak Industrial and Transport Associations.
Juraj Nociar
Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the European Union
11:10 - 11:45 Networking break
Congress foyer
11:45 - 12:15 lecture Volkswagen
Wolfram Kirchert
Chairman of the Board of Directors and member of the Board of Directors for the technical area, Volkswagen Slovakia
Wolfram Kirchert is a graduate engineer and a graduate engineer in economics, he worked for the Porsche brand for 25 years. He has extensive professional experience in the field of production and project management, having worked in various management positions, including from 2002 as Head of Outsourced Manufacturing Management, from 2003 as Project Manager for Boxster/Cayman Product Line Production and from 2012 as Head of Project Planning vehicles and plant structure. Since 2018, as head of production planning, he has been responsible for product and process planning across all Porsche plants and product lines. In September 2023, he joined Volkswagen Slovakia as chairman of the board and member of the board of directors for the technical area.
12:15 - 12:45 lecture Volvo Cars
12:45 - 14:00 Lunch
Hotel Partizan Restaurant
14:00 - 15:00 OEM and Tier 1 Supplier Perspectives on Global Changes in the Automotive Industry – Panel Discussion
Wolfram Kirchert
Chairman of the Board of Directors and member of the Board of Directors for the technical area, Volkswagen Slovakia
Wolfram Kirchert is a graduate engineer and a graduate engineer in economics, he worked for the Porsche brand for 25 years. He has extensive professional experience in the field of production and project management, having worked in various management positions, including from 2002 as Head of Outsourced Manufacturing Management, from 2003 as Project Manager for Boxster/Cayman Product Line Production and from 2012 as Head of Project Planning vehicles and plant structure. Since 2018, as head of production planning, he has been responsible for product and process planning across all Porsche plants and product lines. In September 2023, he joined Volkswagen Slovakia as chairman of the board and member of the board of directors for the technical area.
Kai Lücke
Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, Marketing & External Affairs, ZF Friedrichshafen
15:00 - 15:30 The German Automotive Industry Under Pressure: How China Is Challenging a Proven Success Model
Martin Koers
Professor, Shenzhen Technology University, China
Dr. Martin Koers is Professor at Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU) in China and former Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). With more than 25 years of experience in the automotive sector, he has worked across industry, policy, and academia, including positions at Ford of Europe. His current work focuses on the strategic transformation of the automotive industry with a main focus on China, particularly in the context of geopolitical shifts and intensifying international competition.
15:30 - 16:15 Networking break
Congress foyer
16:15 - 16:45 lecture
Petr Knap
Senior Advisor, EY
Petr Knap is the Head of the Consulting Division for the Czech Republic. After having worked at Procter & Gamble, he worked in consulting since 1996, and joined EY in 2002. His professional experience is based mainly on work in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, in the past he also worked for clients in the telecommunications and public sectors. Over the years, he has led management consulting projects focused on strategy development, organizational change, process improvement and cost optimization. Petr is actively involved in initiatives addressing innovative trends of the manufacturing future such as digitization, Industry 4.0, autonomous cars, e-mobility, etc.
16:45 - 17:15 lecture
17:15 - 17:30 Summary of the first conference day and invitation to the evening program
Ivan Hodáč
Event host, founder of Aspen Institute Central Europe, former ACEA Secretary-General
Ivan Hodač is a Founder and President of the Aspen Institute Prague. He was Secretary-General of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) from 2001 until October 2013. He is the Chairman of the Board at cabinet DN. The Financial Times listed him among the most influential personalities in Brussels politics. Before joining ACEA, he was Senior Vice-President and Head of the Time Warner Corporate office for Europe. Previously he was Secretary-General of the trade organization IFMA/IMACE, Senior Economist at Didier & Associates, and Assistant Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. He was born in Prague, where he studied mechanical engineering. He completed his education in economics and political science at the University of Copenhagen and the College of Europe in Bruges (European studies).
19:00 Evening Raut & Networking
Tálska bastion
May, 27th (Wednesday)
09:00 - 09:30 Lecture
Michaela Hletková Ploszeková
Chairman of the Commission for Environmental Legislation, Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic
She is head of Environment Department at Volkswagen Slovakia. She has been involved in the application of environmental protection in car production for over 17 years – implementing the requirements of legislation and environmental management systems in production processes, design and implementation of environmental strategy or preparation of concepts and plans to reduce environmental impacts for environmental and energy-intensive technologies. As a chairman of the Environmental Legislation Commission of the Association of the Automotive Industry of the Slovak Republic, she prepares opinions and proposals for comments on the environmental legislation of the Slovak Republic and the EU. Since 2021, she has been active as a member of the Government Council for the Green European Agreement of the Slovak Republic for the Federation of Slovak Industrial and Transport Associations. She graduated in Environmental Protection / Geochemistry at the Faculty of Science, Comenius University in Bratislava, and later in the professional MBA program Automotive Industry of the Technical University of Vienna and the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava.
09:30 - 10:00 Product platforms as a key tool for standardization and competitiveness of modern manufacturing companies
Andrej Kršjak
global director of product platform development, Continental ContiTech
Andrej Krsjak is an experienced leader in research and development, with 20 years of experience in the automotive and general industrial sectors. He is currently responsible for the global strategic development of product platforms and for leading multidisciplinary teams. Over the long term, he focuses on innovation, efficient processes, and scalable solutions. He is known for his systematic approach, pragmatic leadership style, and strong emphasis on high technical quality.
In an environment of rapidly changing market demands and increasing portfolio complexity, the ability to efficiently standardize products is becoming one of the key success factors for industrial companies. Product platforms represent a systematic approach to building modular and reusable solutions that enable companies to reduce technical variability, shorten development time, and significantly streamline internal processes.
By unifying core building blocks across the portfolio, platforms allow for the consolidation of components, technologies, and know-how, leading to lower costs in development, industrialization, and operations. In addition to financial benefits, product platforms also support digitalization, automation, and the scaling of processes across manufacturing plants, thereby significantly enhancing their robustness and operational stability.
Ultimately, a platform-based approach strengthens competitive advantage—it enables faster responses to market opportunities, the flexible creation of customer-specific variants without increasing complexity, and the gradual transformation of the organization from a reactive to a proactive, strategically managed product development system. For companies aiming to succeed in the long term in global competition, product platforms are therefore becoming an essential pillar of future sustainability.
10:00 - 10:30 Lecture
Martin Hrdlicka
Head of the Chassis and Powertain Development, ŠKODA Auto
10:30 - 11:15 Networking break
Congress foyer
11:15 - 11:45 Lecture
11:45 - 12:15 Automotive platform CEE AutoHUB
Petr Dolejší
Mobility & Sustainable Transport Director, ACEA
Petr Dolejsi started his career within the public services on different posts, leaving the Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic at the Head of Unit post to the Permanent representation in Brussels in 2004. He became member of the Czech EU Presidency team in 2009 chairing the Competitiveness and Growth working party of the Council. In 2010 he joined ACEA and became a Director for Mobility and Sustainable transport, with a specific focus on CO2 policy, industrial policy and alternative powertrains. As from March 2022, he is also acting as a Vice-President of the Automotive Skills Alliance.
12:15 - 12:45 Lucifer in a suit
Veronika Koišová
Produktové platformy sú kľúčom k štandardizácii a znižovaniu komplexity v moderných výrobných firmách. Zavedením modulárnych a opakovane použiteľných riešení umožňujú zjednotiť komponenty, technológie aj know‑how, čo vedie k nižším nákladom, rýchlejšiemu vývoju a efektívnejším procesom.
Platformový prístup podporuje digitalizáciu, automatizáciu a škálovanie naprieč závodmi, čím zvyšuje stabilitu a prevádzkovú robustnosť. Zároveň umožňuje rýchlejšie reagovať na trh, flexibilne tvoriť varianty bez rastu komplexity a posúva organizáciu od reaktívneho k proaktívnemu strategickému riadeniu vývoja.
Pre firmy v globálnej konkurencii sa tak produktové platformy stávajú nevyhnutným základom dlhodobej udržateľnosti.
12:45 - 13:30 Lunch