Performing while transforming
"You cannot pause the business
in order to transform it."
Menity Leaders Talk · May 2026
Peter Vyšný
VP Retail Operations & eMobility, OMV
Managing Director, OMV Slovakia
On performance. On transformation. On what cannot stop.
The business still has to run
Transformation is often discussed as a future topic. In real business, it happens while targets still need to be delivered, people still need direction, customers still need reliability, and operations cannot slow down.
For Peter Vyšný, this is where leadership is tested. Not in the ambition of transformation, but in the ability to keep the business performing while change is already underway.
In this conversation
Five questions on mindset, local execution and what holds after a leader moves on.
01 Transformation is everywhere. But the business still has to perform. Where does it first start to break?
02 Which decisions look right for the future — but hurt performance in the next 12 months?
03 Some things look right on paper. But reality is different. Where does this gap start failing in real operations?
04 When does transformation stop moving — and start slowing down from inside?
05 When a strong leader leaves — what remains, and what disappears faster than expected?
On pressure. On where transformation first breaks.
Transformation competes with daily business
In theory, transformation has its own roadmap. In practice, it competes with the same people, time, attention and resources that are needed to run the business today.
Transformation is everywhere. But the business still has to perform. Where does it first start to break?
01
Transformation requires resources. If businesses are stretched between running the business (performing) and transforming it, one will suffer. From my experience as a performer but also leader, it is daily business that is prioritized, consequently transformation breaks.
Which decisions look right for the future — but hurt performance in the next 12 months?
02
Linked to my previous answer, in order to position right for the future one has to either buffer resources, consequently worsen results of the near future or let go of activities than may positively contribute to the EBIT for the next 12 or even 36 months, but will not be there in 5-10 years.
Peter Vyšný on the trade-offs between transformation and near-term performance — in conversation with Vladimír Janík, Leaders Talk 2026.
On reality. On lows. On staying with the work.
Not every low point is failure
Many plans assume progress will be linear. Real operations rarely work that way. Transformation has pressure points, delays and moments that can look like failure before the value becomes visible.
Some things look right on paper. But reality is different. Where does this gap start failing in real operations?
03
Every transformation has its lows and highs. This is well understood in theory, yet very often companies tend to stop initiatives claiming it is a failure, while in reality it is only a temporary low point. Almost no planning or business case has lows built in, yet they are to be expected.
When does transformation stop moving — and start slowing down from inside?
04
If early successes aren’t visible or achievements aren’t celebrated, momentum can stall, and skepticism grows. From that moment on it is an uphill battle.
Peter Vyšný on momentum, visible progress and transformation under pressure — Leaders Talk 2026.
On continuity. On talent. On what remains.
Legacy is built through the people who continue
For leaders, transformation is not only about what changes during their time.
It is also about what continues after they move on.
When a strong leader leaves — what remains, and what disappears faster than expected?
05
One of the crucial leadership skills is to attract and maintain talents. So when leader leaves what stays are talents that surrounded him. This is how continuity and legacy is created.
In Menity’s CEO and board work across CEE, the same pattern appears: Transformation only holds when the right people can carry it further.
About Leaders Talk
Leaders Talk is Menity’s editorial interview series featuring CEOs, board members and senior leaders across CEE. Each conversation examines the decisions, trade-offs and operating realities of senior leadership.
Guests are selected by Menity for the relevance of their experience. No fee is paid or received for participation. Answers are the guest’s own, edited only for length and language, and reviewed by the guest before publication.
Menity Leaders Talk
May 2026
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