CEO Perspective / 01
After twelve years leading PERI Slovensko
Which hiring, promotion or exit decision would you approach differently today — and what changed your judgement?
Radoslav Kopka
Managing Director, PERI Slovensko
Peter Nemčok of Menity in conversation with Radoslav Kopka, Managing Director of PERI Slovensko, for CEO Perspective. September 2026.
Radoslav Kopka has served as Managing Director and statutory head of PERI Slovensko since 2014, with full P&L responsibility for the Slovak business.
I would make the exit decision earlier when strong individual results came at the expense of the team.
We created a specialist commercial role focused on one segment of the construction market. We hired someone with the engineering expertise and commercial mindset we needed. His results and customer feedback were excellent, but we underestimated how he would work with colleagues.
One question made the decision clear: knowing what I know today, would I hire this person again?
We spent almost a year trying to improve the situation through discussion and coaching. Eventually, the disruption to the team outweighed his individual results. My answer was no — and we parted ways.
Since then, we have placed greater weight on character, communication and teamwork. Technical expertise can be developed; respect for others and collaborative behaviour are much harder to change.
About CEO Perspective
CEO Perspective puts a single question to one leader at a time. Guests are chief executives, managing directors and statutory heads of national or regional entities — people who carry full responsibility for a business.
Conversations are conducted by a Menity partner. Answers are the guest's own, edited only for length and language, and reviewed by the guest before publication. No fee is paid or received for participation.
More CEO Perspectives
One question at a time.
Short perspectives from CEOs on decisions in real operating conditions across CEE.
