I prefer character over skills

At PwC, he leads a successful cloud team operating in many countries, but where he feels most at ease is on his motorbike, on which he has travelled hundreds of thousands of kilometres across Europe and overseas. Václav Urban is a man of many faces, and one thing is certain from the start: whether in the office or on the road, you will definitely not be bored with this man. 

You started your career in agricultural research, founded your own business, and worked for a number of international corporations. What was behind your decision to join PwC? 

After COVID-19, I wanted to take a year off and travel. Then colleagues from PwC approached me and offered me a job. For me, this company – especially compared to other large corporations bound by rules – was an icon. There is much more room for entrepreneurship here, and employees are definitely not just numbers or task fulfillers. 

Our cloud team helps a number of countries in Europe and the Middle East, and we are now negotiating cooperation with the United States. The fact that most of our business is located abroad is another major reason why I joined PwC. 

Which other countries do you work with the most? 

We currently supply mainly to the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. We are trying to develop cooperation with our sister company in Dubai and jointly acquire clients, win them over, and provide them with services. 

It’s not easy; the Arab mentality is characterised by reluctance to say “no” and a tendency to say “yes” more often. It’s important to be careful and not jump into something unnecessarily that you won’t be able to deliver for the promised amount of money. But that’s the risk of doing business. Other than that, it’s all incredibly interesting and we enjoy it. 

So, what is your work like and who are your typical clients? 

We focus on cloud transformations. These are not just about moving applications to the cloud, but often about rewriting them to take advantage of the new solution – higher availability, security, and disaster recovery. This allows companies to respond more quickly to demand and use data in real time. 

The cloud opens the way to artificial intelligence, but it also brings new security challenges that we must respond to. A typical client is an international company. Interestingly, in Saudi Arabia, for example, we mainly deal with ministries or various government agencies. This is a new world for me, because in the Czech Republic we don’t work in the public sector at all. 

Is contact with other cultures the most attractive aspect of your work?

Yes, it is. The very dimension of international business and meeting people of different nationalities certainly fulfils me as well. But what I enjoy most is building things from scratch – building teams, setting the direction, investing time and energy into something that has long-term meaning.

At PwC, we set up a team knowing that a large investment would be needed at the beginning. But it will pay off. The key is to choose the right people – not only professionally, but also in terms of personality. I prefer character over skills, because we also need someone to be able to explain the technology. 

You also love travelling outside of work; you’re an avid motorcyclist. When did you get hooked on this?

I got really into this hobby when I started travelling more often for work and added a few days off to explore. Motorbikes have been a part of my life for more than two decades and have become my passion. I’ve been riding an Indian for ten years, which is a motorbike my grandfather also had, so I have a lot of memories associated with it. 

I also have a motorbike in America, where my daughter lives, so I don’t have to keep transporting it back and forth. Thanks to that, I often ride there, have clocked up hundreds of thousands of kilometres, and travelled through about 45 American states. 

What are your trips like and where are you going next?

I now ride with my partner. This year, we plan to ride about 10,000 kilometres over four weeks. We’re starting from San Francisco and will meet up with friends in Oregon and Canada at large gatherings with several hundred motorbikes. Such events are often associated with charity auctions and country balls, so it’s also about a great community. 

We tend to plan everything at the last minute. We have our plane tickets and the motorbike sorted, but we sometimes don’t arrange accommodation until an hour before sunset, when we know where we’ll end up. Of course, sometimes you get caught out by technical problems. Once, for example, I had a bearing fail on my bike in a national park with no signal, but we always manage to sort things out somehow.

Why is this world important to you? 

It’s a completely different world from the digital virtual space we all live in. It’s a harsh reality – all the heat, frost, rain, snow – and you have to react to everything. For me, it’s a real adventure that I enjoy immensely. I also takes photos of everything I experience, write about it, and generally share my experiences, which people find interesting because it allows them to follow adventures they may never undertake themselves. 

What’s more, within the motorcycling community, I meet lots of interesting people who have gradually become friends and who even travel to the Czech Republic just to see me. All these stories and encounters are ultimately the most valuable thing for me.