The hawk’s ambition. The CFO of Strnad’s CE Industries group is planning to set further records

The CE Industries Group aims to double its operating profit by 2028, having reached a record CZK 1.7 billion last year. A new fund for qualified investors is also set to finance this growth through acquisitions. “We are looking for people who will help Jaroslav Strnad fulfil his vision, which is backed up by the results of the last six years,” says the group’s financial director, Jiří Rabiec.

CE Industries plans further records

Billionaire Jaroslav Strnad began building the CE Industries industrial group from scratch after handing over the established CSG holding company to his son Michal. After six years of systematic growth, it has become another giant, bringing together 34 companies with more than 3,000 employees and reporting a record turnover of 19.5 billion crowns last year.

Thirty-seven-year-old Jiří Rabiec has been contributing to this growth for five years, the last three as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the board of directors. “I was drawn to the story of a holding company that manages to rescue even firms in serious trouble,” he explains, describing why he changed jobs in 2021 after eight years as an auditor at PwC.

Today, he oversees the development of all three main segments – the rail business, the Helicopter Alliance group focused on civil and military helicopters, and the Opportunities division, where companies with great potential are being restructured, including those in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. In addition, he is preparing a fund for qualified investors, into which CE Industries aims to raise up to €200 million.

“The production of Đuro Đaković railcars is a matter close to our hearts. We managed to save Croatia’s historically largest company in the sector, which was producing 250 railcars a year and drowning in debt before we stepped in. After five years, we are aiming for production of around a thousand railcars,” he says with a modest smile about one of the group’s flagship businesses.

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