Business is always about relationships, says Ivan Šanda

In June 2025, Ivan Šanda joined our company as Sales Director. Ivan took over the baton in a period that, after many years, was in a downturn in the economy, in the construction industry, and especially in our field. He did not have easy conditions at the start.

Ivan, you have been with us for more than a year. How do you rate it?

Just yesterday, a friend and I were discussing the fact that it was Sunday again and Monday and work were ahead of us again. I have a slightly different experience, I look forward to my office and my colleagues every Sunday. So I evaluate my year-long work in the company as the right step I have taken in my life. It is true that this period is very turbulent due to the changes we are going through and does not leave much room for negative thoughts, but I really do not have many of them.

Your professional life is a thread that runs through your B2B business. How much does it differ in the different fields you have worked in?

Of course, the fields are different, but I believe that business is always about relationships, keeping promises, and fair dealing. I have tried to stick to this throughout my professional life and I know that it is the right path. My dad never said much, but he once told me: “Act in a way that you can always look the person in the eye”, so that is my connection between all the fields I have worked in.

You joined the company at a time that is not entirely favorable to our field, and it is therefore not easy to get new orders, bring in new business. What is your driving force?

Definitely feedback from our customers, who are the main judge. They confirm to me that the work and products we create are some of the best in our field. Furthermore, it is precisely the work on the new brand and everything around it, I see it as a huge opportunity to build a strong European merch here and I really appreciate being able to be part of this stage of our company. And the most important thing, which I should actually mention in every answer to this interview: the team of people, colleagues and collaborators who are around me.

What is/was the biggest challenge for you in the heating industry?

It is definitely the product knowledge, in which I still have reserves. Fortunately, I have colleagues around me who can always advise me or guide my ideas. The purchasing behavior of our customers is also slightly different from the industries in which I worked, and the challenge for me is to build the communication and business strategy that is ideal for this.

What are you proud of? What have you achieved this year?

If I can speak for myself, it is again relationships. Above all, I value the cooperation with all my colleagues in the company, but I think that during my year of work I have also managed to establish contacts and sometimes even friendships with people from our industry, which I value very much. I also positively assess the development of sales in our traditional markets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, although I still see great potential for further growth.

When you are not with a customer, in the car or at the PC in the office with the phone to your ear, where can we find you? How do you spend your free time?

90% of my free time is family. We have a young son, to whom my wife and I try to devote all the energy we have left. It's trips, swimming pools, sports, cinemas - in fact, everything he asks for. But I also find some time for myself, I like hiking and rebooting my head somewhere in nature, and I also like to go sit with my friends and discuss important "guy" things.

Thank you for the interview.