About CzechTech
Founded just two years ago, the non-profit, non-political organization serves as a
juncture for Czechs,
Czech-Americans and Americans in related high-tech industries.
The intent of the network is to provide a common ground for members to initiate a forum
for cooperation and the exchange of ideas, innovations and most importantly,
to establish business and personal relationships between countries.
The Network's founder, Richard Pivnicka, the Honorary Consul General of the Czech
Republic in San
Francisco,
hosts events and speakers in Silicon Valley and San Francisco several times a year.
Speakers in the past have included notable figures such as the President of the Electric
Vehicle
Association of the U.S.,
the CEO of Czech Invest, and the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Speakers have focused on topics dealing with internet strategies, E-commerce and virtual
technologies.
The Network's members come primarily from the greater Silicon Valley area and the Czech
Republic linking
together investors,
founders of Silicon Valley firms, scientists, venture capitalists, start-up
entrepreneurs, marketers,
engineers and business development professionals among others.
History of US-Czech Relations
The Czech Republic has had strong mutual ties with the United States since long ago,
developing
successfully during the first Czechoslovak Republic and lasting to today.
Many citizens of Czech origin have made their mark on U.S. history from the fields of
science, business,
politics, music and sport. Even the word “dollar” comes from the name of a
coin called
the “tolar”, which was first minted in the Czech town of Jáchymov.
America has welcomed and adored numerous artists (composers Antonín Dvořák
and Bedřich Smetana; film director Miloš Forman),
athletes (tennis players Martina Navrátilová and Ivan Lendl;
hockey stars Jaromír Jágr and Dominik Hašek; the founder
of the Chicago Bears football team George Halas), businessmen (McDonald's founder Ray
Kroc) and even
astronauts (James Lowell and Eugene Cernan) of Czech origin. Former U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine
Albright, who was born in the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia), was and continues to
be an important
patron of her native country and a supporter of its acceptance into NATO. The beginnings
of democracy
and the independent state of Czechs and Slovaks are also closely tied with the United
States –
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk prepared and drafted the first
constitution of the
Czechoslovak state when he was living in the U.S. and signed the so-called "Pittsburgh
Agreement" there
in 1918. He also married an American, so when he became the first president of
Czechoslovakia in 1920
his American wife became the first First Lady.
Not only Prague but other picturesque regions of the Czech Republic, too, have
captivated Hollywood
movie stars, who have used the cities' backdrops and the Barrandov studios to film such
movies
as Mission Impossible, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Les Miserables and XXX.
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Winner of the Czernin Palace
Bronze Medal Award
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