08.09.2026
How can you be a good boss, prepare the next generation of leaders, truly understand customers, or hold your own in a world that is being transformed ever more rapidly by technology and artificial intelligence? The Upgrade Bata 2026 conference, taking place on 16 September at the Zlín Congress Centre, will seek answers to these questions. Twenty-two leading figures from Czech business, medicine, sport, marketing and other fields will demonstrate how Tomas Bata’s principles can be applied to tackling today’s challenges.
“Human thought will be replaced by machines. However, what cannot be replaced by a machine is the human soul,” said Tomas Bata almost a century ago. It is precisely the individual, therefore, who will be at the heart of the Upgrade Bata conference. Its programme will explore topics such as leadership, succession in family businesses, people development, customer relations, as well as personal discipline, health and daily habits.
“We often speak of Tomas Bata as an industrialist, entrepreneur or visionary. The essence of his work, however, was not the manufacture of shoes, but the development of people. He believed that prosperity is not created by machines or buildings, but by people who are able to take responsibility, develop their abilities and create value for others. In this age of artificial intelligence, this idea is perhaps more relevant than ever,” says Gabriela Končitíková, director of the Thomas Bata Foundation.
From being a good boss to the handover of family businesses
The first part of the programme will begin with the question of what it means to be a good boss today. Ivan Baťka, owner of Fosfa; Jaroslav Svoboda, owner of the Czech Inn hotel chain; Radomír Lapčík, owner of Trinity Bank; and Stanislav Martinec, founder of KOMA Modular, will discuss leadership, trust, responsibility and talent development.
Succession in family businesses will also be a major topic. Martin Plachý and Veronika Crha Záhorská, siblings from the ROYAL SPA spa group; Juraj Surovič from the PSG construction group, together with his children Peter, Jan and Klára; and Libor Musil with his son Jan from LIKO-S will share their experiences of passing on responsibility, values and the entrepreneurial spirit across generations.
“We don’t want to look back at Bata’s legacy merely as history. We’re interested in what aspects of it are relevant right now, at a time when companies are grappling with succession, a shortage of skilled staff, changes in the nature of work, and the rise of artificial intelligence. That is why, for each topic, we have invited people who are actually tackling these issues in their companies and in their own lives,” says Jakub Malovaný, project manager at the Thomas Bata Foundation.
Our customer, our master
The next part of the programme will focus on people development in a world that is being fundamentally transformed by artificial intelligence. Ivan Baťka, Stanislav Martinec, Ľubomír Švec from ŠVEC GROUP and Radek Hradil, founder of the technology group aeqoom, will discuss how to prepare future leaders and foster initiative, curiosity and the ability to take responsibility.
The conference will also bring one of Bata’s most famous principles into the present day: “Our customer, our master”.Brand strategist Michal Pastier, entrepreneur and e-commerce expert Raul Rodriguez, and Tomáš Ric, founder of the Czech perfumery house Pigmentarium, will explore what customers actually expect today and whether companies really do understand them better thanks to the wealth of available data.
The programme will be complemented by a focus on personal discipline, health and daily habits. Perspectives from the worlds of sport, medicine and business will be provided by triathlete Petr Vabroušek, psychiatrist Rodion Schwarz and Jan Sucharda, founder of the companies FitMeal and Pan Krabička. Rostislav Václavek, founder of the 5 PILARS OF HEALTH project, will then follow with a separate talk on functional breathing.
“Technology can fundamentally change the way we work, but it cannot, on its own, determine what kind of companies and what kind of society we will create. Bata’s legacy is very much relevant today. It refocuses attention on the individual, their character, their ability to learn, to take responsibility and to serve others. And that is precisely what we want to discuss at Upgrade Bata,” adds Gabriela Končitíková.
The Upgrade Bata 2026 conference will take place on 16 September 2026 at the Zlín Congress Centre. It is organised by the Thomas Bata Foundation in collaboration with the City of Zlín and the Zlín Region. It forms part of the year-long Bata150 project, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of Tomas Bata’s birth and, through cultural, educational and professional events, presents his legacy in a contemporary context. Further information and the conference programme are available on the Bata150 website.
