Pavel Řehák studied international relations at the University of Economics in Prague and an MBA at Northwestern University. In the past, he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company for seven years, then worked as an advisor to Česká pojišťovna, where he eventually joined and worked for seven years, of which three years as CEO. In 2013, Pavel left Česká pojišťovna and founded the investment company VIGO Investments with former colleagues from McKinsey. In 2014, together with his partners, he bought the Czech branch of the loss-making Slovenian insurance company Triglav and the Direct pojišťovna brand to establish a completely new Direct pojišťovna. Direct is now the fastest-growing insurer and the largest Czech-owned player on the market. Besides developing his business activities, Pavel helped the Czech government cope with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic while creating a mathematical model for the spread of Coronavirus disease and supporting several key projects in prevention and emergency response to the pandemic. Last but not least, Pavel is the President of the Aspen Institute CE.
Last edited in October, 2023.