ISP Board of Trustees
Gabriel Eichler
- Governance
Nationality: United States of America
Gabriel has been living primarily in Prague since 1991. He is the founder of Benson Oak, an investment banking and private equity boutique. He has served in senior executive and non-executive roles in Czech, Slovak and US banking and industrial companies, as well as not-for-profit and educational institutions.
Gabriel and his wife Tatiana have four children, three of which are currently enrolled at ISP and one that recently graduated.
Susanna Bäckman
- Governance
Nationality: Finland
Susanna is passionate about early childhood education, shared and team leadership, learning environments and human development. A Educator/Consultant, and former School Director in native Finland, her education and work expertise have focused on the leadership and management of both public and private pedagogical communities. Throughout her career she has also managed various construction projects for different educational centres.
Susanna has been living in Prague with her family since 2016. She and her husband Alex have one child currently attending ISP and one that has recently graduated.
Martin Blecha
- Governance
Nationality: Czech Republic
Martin was born in Prague but spent most of his early years on Long Island. He attended ISP from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2001 until 2004. Going on to pursue studies in London, he returned to the Czech Republic in 2008 to join PwC and subsequently Deloitte. Martin is a corporate restructuring professional, specialized in insolvency advisory and contingency planning. In the interest of supporting ISP as an alumnus, he joined the Board of Trustees in 2016.
“The achievements of alumni are the most tangible measure of success of any academic institution. As much a school should want to see its graduates go on to succeed and represent it in the best possible light, so too are alumni inherently represented by their school and should hold it to high standards. As an alumnus of ISP, I am keen on seeing the school maintain its strong reputation by providing the best possible quality of education, as well as fostering an ever more important multi-cultural environment.”
Dena Brownlow
- Governance
Nationality: United States of America
Dena moved to Prague to work at the U.S. Embassy in 2020. She joined the ISP board in 2021.
She has previously worked at American embassies in Mexico, Albania, Suriname, and the United Kingdom, and at the Department of State and The White House in Washington DC. She was a founder and board member of the Suriname International School from 2010-2013.
Dena and her husband Jeff Patmore have two children currently enrolled at ISP and one who has recently graduated.
Jean-Pasca Duvieusart
- Governance
Nationality: French-Belgium
Jean-Pascal Duvieusart is a shareholder of PPF Group and chief executive officer of Home Credit Group. Mr. Duvieusart is responsible for the sectors of banking, consumer leading and real estate.
Previously, Mr. Duvieusart was a Board member at Polymetal International, Nomos Bank, and a
managing partner at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Duvieusart also served on the Board of Anglo-
American School in Moscow and of the Russian Food Bank.
Jean-Pascal Duvieusart holds a Master in Business Administration degree from University of Chicago, and a Master in Management and Engineering from Catholic University of Louvain.
Jean-Pascal Duvieusart lives in Prague.
Dorota Keleher
- Governance
Nationality: Poland
Dorota has been living with her family in Prague since 2015. She is a Phycologist and holds an MSc in Psychology and an MBA.
Dorota is passionate about helping ISP achieve its mission and vision as a leading international school. She has over 10 years of experience working with international schools in Europe and in Asia as a member of the board of trustees.
Dorota and her husband Neil have four children, one of whom is a student at ISP.
Irene Kernkamp-Bloemkolk
- Governance
Nationality: Dutch
Irene has lived in Prague since the summer of 2021. She relocated from Copenhagen where the family lived for almost six years.
She has professional experience in the area of Change Management, large business transformation projects and systems implementations. She also brings previous School Board experience from the International School of Lausanne. The 2022-2023 will be her first year serving on the ISP Board.
Irene, and her husband Michiel, have three daughters – one of which is in the DP program at ISP. The other two are at universities in the Netherlands.
Martin Kovac
- Governance
Nationality: Slovakia
Martin Kovac is co-owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Porfix Porobeton, which is a major building materials producer active in Central Europe.
Martin was born and raised in Košice (Slovakia), where he graduated in 2000. Over the past 20 years, Martin has led more than 12 companies as CEO, resulting in a significant increase of the corporate value of these companies. Notably, when Martin joined Porfix in 2000 it was a loss-making business, while today the company operates three efficient and modern factories, employs 500 people and generates substantial profits for its stakeholders.
In 2012 Martin was approached by a renowned private equity firm to take over leadership of KVK holding, which as a significant player in the Czech construction materials market. Martin succeeded in turning around KVK and after 5 years it was sold it to a renowned international strategic investor (Sika AG) while generating as significant return on investment.
When not stuck to a computer or work, Martin spends time playing sports, reading and enjoying time with his family. He loves nature and the sea and engages in a variety of outdoor sports, such as windsurfing, cycling, skiing, etc. Martin is actively engaged with his community, as he is a co-founder of a foundation that organizes a summer camp for more than 80 children every year, in addition to supporting various sports and cultural activities. Martin and his wife also support the functioning of the organization Dobry Anjel as well as WWF, Sea Shepard, IRC and others.
Brian Wardrop
- Governance
Nationality: Canadian
Brian Wardrop is a private equity fund manager who has been based in Central Europe since 1998. Brian is Managing Partner of ARX Equity Partners, which is a Prague-headquartered private equity firm with a 25-year track record supporting the growth and development of privately held companies in select Central European countries.
In addition to his role as a Board Trustee at ISP, Brian is an active volunteer supporter of the non-profit social enterprise sector via his roles as a board member of NESst (a non-profit organization focused on developing sustainable social enterprises in emerging market economies) and as a member of the investment committee of Tilia Impact Ventures (the first fund in the Czech Republic investing in “impact first” social enterprises).
Brian and his wife have two children enrolled at ISP.
Standing Committees
Advancement Committee
Purpose: The Advancement Committee’s ultimate purpose is the long-term success of the School through effective fundraising and communication. In collaboration with the Advancement staff, the Advancement Committee oversees the planning and execution of fundraising activities for the International School of Prague. These activities may include cultivation and stewardship of donors, face-to-face solicitation, various forms of communication, and events. In addition to the Responsibilities listed above, Advancement Committee members will therefore:
- Ensure that fund-raising goals are achieved through oversight of fund-raising activities;
- Help identify and cultivate prospective donors;
- Participate in face-to-face solicitations in support of the various campaigns;
- Recruit other Trustees to assist with solicitations;
- Develop fund-raising strategies in partnership with the Advancement staff;
- Encourage friends to attend/participate in the School’s special events/fundraisers;
- Serve as ambassadors for ISP in the community.
Building and Grounds Committee
Purpose: The Building and Grounds Committee shall assist the Board of Trustees in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the School’s land, buildings, and equipment: ensuring the adequacy and condition of capital assets; developing and keeping current physical planning policies for land, buildings, and equipment; providing new structures, rehabilitating or removing older structures as dictated by general Board policies; controlling plant debt and assuring adequate levels of funding for plant maintenance; and such other matters as and Board of Trustees may from time to time determine.
Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the Building and Grounds Committee shall include the following:
- Review physical plant and grounds operations, maintenance schedules and preventative maintenance programs.
- Review and recommend major capital items regarding buildings and grounds, as well as the replacement of depreciable property.
- Develop a master plan for the School campus.
- Advise the School on the selection of architects and general contractors regarding building projects.
Finance Committee
Purpose: The Finance Committee shall assist the Board of Trustees in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to: reviewing and monitoring income and spending policy for the School and its entities consistent with the School’s long term goals; reviewing and monitoring the School’s budget, including program and management appropriations and capital spending; reviewing and monitoring investment and audit policy; and such other matters as and Board of Trustees may from time to time determine.
Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the Finance Committee shall include the following:
- Review and make recommendations to the Board with respect to long range financial planning and the yearly operational budget.
- Monitor the implementation of the budget.
- Make periodic reports to the Board on the School’s financial status.
- Educate the Board on nonprofit financial reporting and trends affecting the School’s finances.
- Review financial aspects of major proposed transactions.
- Recommend and monitor any corrective actions taken to bring the School and its entities into compliance with financial goals.
- Develop and recommend to the Board for approval policies that delineate how the School will invest its financial resources and what amount of return on investment the School will use in its yearly operating budget.
- Monitor the investment portfolio’s return, including setting investment objectives and recommending and meeting with a professional adviser.
- Periodically report to the Board on the Endowment’s performance.
- Ensure that appropriate governance policies and practices are designed and implemented to minimize financial risk.
- Periodically review and assess the adequacy of this Committee charter and make recommendations to the Trustees’ Committee of changes.
- Conduct an annual performance evaluation of the Committee and report its findings to the Board.
- Attend to such other matters as the Board of Trustees may from time to time determine.
- Maintain minutes of Committee meetings and report regularly to the Board.
Governance Committee
Purpose: The purpose of the Governance Committee is to ensure that the board fulfills its legal, ethical, and functional responsibilities through adequate governance policy development, recruitment strategies, training programs, monitoring of board activities, and facilitating the board performance evaluation. The governance committee monitors the development and progress of the ISP Strategic Plan.
Responsibilities: The Governance Committee determines the composition of the board – identifying, recruiting, and proposing new trustees. The committee facilitates the board’s evaluation; provide tools for evaluating individual trustee performance; plans for trustee professional development through orientation, training, and ongoing education. The Governance Committee ensures all legal documents and by-laws of the organization are current and honored in board decisions. Ensure the strategic plan acts as a bridge between ISP’s mission and vision and its policies; the strategic plan sets forth what the school must accomplish in the next five years in order for the school to thrive and achieve its mission.
