Press Release
Issued by CEPA (Central Europe Private Aviation).
February 3, 2011
CEPA, the Prague based Central European Private Aviation organisation, has appointed Mr. Jirí Matousek as Chairman with immediate effect. He replaces CEPA founder Dagmar Grossman who has held the position since the organisation's inception in November 2009. Matousek has been working together with Ms Grossman on a variety of CEPA-related projects for the last six months, and in his new role will be responsible for developing the profile of CEPA, along with building new relationships between east and western business aviation associations and communities.
Ms. Grossmann is stepping down to focus on the development of Grossman Jet Service, the region's principal executive aviation service, which has recently added a Cessna Citation CJ2 to its existing fleet. "I have every confidence in the qualities and skills that Mr Matousek will bring to the post, and am delighted the chairman's position is in such good hands. I wish him well for the future growth of CEPA."
Matousek has had long term experience in the aviation and travel sector. During 16 years with SAS he was responsible for developing the company's office from a service centre into a fully commercial base. In this time he became recognised as an expert in aviation and the travel industry for the region. From 2006 he worked in consultancy roles supporting insurance, HR, sales and marketing, and event management.
Matousek joined the board of CEPA in the summer of 2010 and his enthusiasm and understanding of the value of business aviation for the CEE region made him an obvious choice for the role. "2011 will be an important year for CEPA which has so far enjoyed positive growth and is building an excellent reputation in the business aviation market in Central Europe and further afield," said Matousek. "We will continue to network within the community, and plan to undertake a number of activities that will increase our communication with the members, and peers in member countries. An absolute priority for 2011 will be the arranging and organisation of the CEPA EXPO in Prague later this year." CEPA EXPO will be the first dedicated business aviation exhibition held within the central European region, and will take place at Vodochocy International Airport in Prague. The Expo follows on from the success of the first CEPA conference held in April of 2010.
CEPA is a voluntary, non-governmental and non-profit members association which co-ordinates the interests of executive aviation manufacturers, operators, airports, service providers, training establishments, fixed wing and rotary brokers to improve standards and best business practice in the region. Supporting services including financial, legal, insurance and publishing companies are also welcomed. The Association's primary goal is to represent its members' interests at national, European and international levels to support the growth of private aviation in the Czech Republic and abroad. For the future CEPA plans to develop an educational arm which will be responsible for providing information and data about the current climate in business aviation in Central Europe.
Building on the success of CEPA a daughter association, SOPA (South East European Private Aviation) was instigated in the summer of 2010. Incorporating South eastern European countries SOPA supports private aviation in the region with the initial focus on the emerging markets of Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and the Lebanon. SOPA's base in Cyprus, reflects the strong trade routes linking western Europe to the Arab world and far east, and it intends to strengthen relations between these region's executive aviation communities.
