Managing and supervisory board
Managing Board is a four-member organ of NFJT which manages all Fund´s activities, creates its strategy, evaluates submitted applications, decides about providing an endowment grant, approves donations from donors of NFJT, decides on changes of Statute of the Fund and performs other activities listed in Foundation Charter NFJT.
First members of the Managing Board were designated by the Founder of NFJT. Future Board members will be elected by current Managing Board members. The term of office of the Managing Board members is for a period of 5 years without any annual change of Managing Board members.
Current members of the Managing Board members are:
Chairman of the Managing Board
Dr. Martin Vágner (1959, Prague, CZ) studied plant physiology at Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Prague (1978-1983). In 1983, he was employed at the Institute of Experimental Botany, Prague, where he defended his Ph.D. (1990). He currently works in the Institute of Experimental Botany (IEB) as researcher focused predominantly on hormonal regulation of conifer somatic embryogenesis. In IEB, he served as scientific secretary (1998-2006), deputy director (2001-2003), chairman of IEB Board (2007-2012) and director (since 2012). Author or co-author more than 50 scientific papers.
Vice-Chairman of the Managing Board
Mgr. Veronika Janečková (1991, Liberec, CZ) studied Botany at Faculty of Science at University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and obtained master degree in 2016. Since then, she has been working as a graduated technical assistant at Station of apple breeding for disease resistance at Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, v.v.i. in Prague. In addition, she is a voluntary manager of a community of neighbours who sort their plant bio-waste in their own composter and use the finished compost again (Project Spolu8bio supported by the town hall of Prague 8). Veronika Janečková enjoys hiking, gardening and ballroom dancing.
Member of Managing Board
Dr. Franciscus M. (Frank) Maas (1957, Bennekom, NL) studied biology at University of Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD at the University of Groningen in 1987. His research is focussed on the physiology of plants with emphasis on the effects of environmental factors on plant development. He was employed as senior horticultural scientist at Wageningen University and Research Centre from 1987 to 2014. At present he is working part time as senior fruit scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (NIBO) and as international horticultural consultant for several companies in the fruit industry. He is the author and co-author of more than 30 scientific publications and a member of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences.
Member of Managing Board
Doc. Ing. Jan Krekule, DrSc. (1931, Prague, CZ) studied crop production at Czech University of Agriculture in Prague. He has Ph.D. degree in plant physiology awarded by Czechoslovak Acad.Sci. (1961) and DrSc. degree (1989) obtained by the same institution. He is an associate professor of Charles University in Prague. His research dealt with plant development i.e. control of transition from juvenile to reproductive state, ecological signals in plant ontogeny as photoperiodism and vernalization, attempts to identify and isolate florigene and studies of circadien endogenous rhythmicity in flowering control. The framework for these studies was mostly the role of phytohormones. In addition, Jan Krekule was involved in phytohormonal research in sea algae and cocoa development. His whole scientific career since 1961 passed at the Institute of Experimental Botany, Acad. Sci. where he is still employed at part-time contract. He is also a vice-president of Czech Society of Experimental Plant Biology. Jan Krekule enjoys sports, history and architecture.
Supervisory Board is a four-member organ of NFJT which controls management of Fund´s property, use of Fund´s money, compliance of stipulated conditions in a process of granting grants, assesses Annual reports of the Fund and performs other activities listed in Foundation Charter NFJT.
First members of the Supervisory Board were designated by the Founder of NFJT. Future Board members will be elected by current Supervisory Board members. The term of office of the Supervisory Board members is for a period of 4 years without any annual change of Supervisory Board members.
Current members of the Supervisory Board members are:
Chairman of Supervisory Board
Ing. Petr Nový (1968, Praha) studied automation and robotics at Czech University of Agriculture in Prague
where he obtained his Engineer degree in 1992. He works at Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, v.v.i. (IEB)
since 2009. He was employed as a property and services manager for 3 years there and since 2012 he is
a head of the Technical-Economic Administration of IEB. He enjoys playing computer games.
Vice-Chairman of Supervisory Board
Dr. Jan Martinec (1962, Varnsdorf) studied biochemistry at Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Prague (1981-1986). Since 1989, he was studying for Ph.D. at the Institute of Experimental Botany, Prague (IEB), in 1996 he defended thesis at the same institute. He currently works at IEB as researcher focused on molecular mechanism of plant responses to stresses. Since 2012, he serves as deputy director. He is author or co-author of more than 60 scientific papers. He lectures at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem.
Member of Supervisory Board
Andrea Hourová (1978, Slaný) works as a secretary to the director at the Institute of Experimental Botany, at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, in Prague. She also works part time job as a laboratory assistant at the department of the “Laboratory of Hormonal Regulations in Plants“. (Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic). In her spare time she loves flower arranging.
Member of Supervisory Board
Mgr. Jan Kolář, Ph.D. (1972, Praha) studied plant biology at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. During his studies, he did research for his theses at the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IEB) and also spent one year at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. After graduating in 2003, he started research at IEB focused on control of flowering by day length, environmental stresses and other factors. Jan also gradually became involved in science outreach and communication to the public which became his full-time job in 2012. He spent five years in the public relations department of the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. From June 2017, he is a PR specialist at IEB. Besides plants and biology in general, Jan is a big fan of astronomy and history, collects chemical elements and their minerals, and enjoys long walks with his dog.