Recapitulation of the SLOVCA Flagship event 2023

We continued the annual tradition, also this year, but in new premises (THE SPOT, Bottova 2/A, 811 09 Bratislava) – the SLOVCA Flagship event, consisting of the Members' Meeting and subsequently the Flagship event open to the general public.

The Members' Meeting was attended by members of the SLOVCA association, both regular and associate members.

The SLOVCA Members' Meeting included a recapitulation of activities from the previous year and a plan for the upcoming activities, reports on the status and activities of the LTC presented by Chairman Tomáš Búry, and the current financial and accounting status, including the approval of the financial statements for 2023 presented by Branislav Kováč from VGD Slovakia.

The most important part of the Members' Meeting was the vote on new associate members of SLOVCA: Ments, SAM International, BHM Group, and Wolters Kluwer. The law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS announced the renewal of its membership.

The Flagship event was opened, as in previous years, by the Chairman of the Board of SLOVCA, Ján Kutan, who welcomed the participants. He briefly presented SLOVCA's activities and highlighted the establishment and activity of the Legal & Tax Committee (LTC) as an advisory body to the SLOVCA Board.

ESOP yesterday and today - stirring changes in the taxation of Slovak ESOP?

The first panel was moderated by Tomáš Búry (Counsel at Allen & Overy), and along with panelists Jaroslav Bukovina (Senior Business Analyst at VAIA) and Peter Varga (Founder & partner at Highgate Law & Tax), they explained how the ESOP law was created and its impact on companies, as well as whether an increased appetite could be observed.

Presentation by HAVEL & PARTNERS

Next, Ondrej Majer (HAVEL & PARTNERS), as the returning sponsor of the event, presented his company.

Private Equity in V4: Seeking new opportunities and overcoming current challenges

The panel continued with moderator Lukáš Baloga (Investment Analyst at Genesis Growth Equity and Project Manager at SLOVCA) interviewing leading players from the PE world: Boris Kostík (Director at Eterus Capital), Jiri Beneš (Managing Partner at Genesis Growth Equity and President at CVCA), and Matej Klenovský (Investment Manager at Sandberg Capital). The panelists focused on the current state of PE in the V4 region, the impact of rising interest rates on the PE world, and the opportunities and trends expected in the coming years.

We want to express our gratitude to all participants for their attendance and feedback. We are convinced that one of SLOVCA's main goals is to connect the ecosystem in Slovakia, which includes all stakeholders in the venture capital and private equity sphere. We are pleased to announce that we will continue to organize networking opportunities for our members. The evening discussion also aimed to inform the public about investment possibilities in venture capital and private equity, and we will actively continue to pursue this role.

After the conclusion of the working part of the program, the networking mixer followed, accompanied by a relaxed atmosphere, light catering, and a wine tasting by Róbert Páleník.