Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> July 30, 2001

Wanda Rapaczynski – Agora (919226.f)

WANDA RAPACZYNSKI is the President of the Supervisory Board of AMS S.A. -subsidiary company of Agora. Ms. Rapaczynski supervises finance and radio divisions and oversees corporate staff & HR. From 2002 she has been involved in the company's activities since the early 1990s, initially as a pro bono consultant and the representative of the Management Board. From 1992 she served as a member of the management boards of the parent and all subsidiary companies of Agora. Prior to joining Agora, she worked for Citibank NA in New York where, until 1992, she was Vice President and Head of New Product Development. Between 1980 and 1982 she held the position of Project Director and Research Associate at the Family Television Research and Consultation Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Before that she was a Post-doctoral fellow at the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey. Ms. Rapaczynski started her career as a Professor of Psychology, which she lectured at several universities in New York and Connecticut. Ms. Rapaczynski is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for European Reform, an independent think-tank devoted to improving the quality of the debate on the future of the European Union. Ms. Rapaczynski represents Agora in the Polish Confederation of Private Employers and in 2003 was elected the President of the Supervisory Board of Polish Union of Private Employers in Media and Advertising. In 2002 she became a member the Polish Group in the Trilateral Commission. In March 2001 Ms. Rapaczynski was recognized by Wall Street Journal Europe as one of the 30 most influential women in Europe and in March 2002 she was ranked 22 on the list of 25 Europe's Most Successful Businesswomen. Also in June 2001 "BusinessWeek" included Ms. Rapaczynski in the list of 50 Stars of Europe, and in March 2002 placed Ms. Rapaczynski on the list of 30 Most Influential People in the Polish Economy. According to "Fortune" magazine's ranking from November 2001, Agora's President is the 26th most powerful woman in the non-U.S. business world. In October of 2002 Ms. Rapaczynski was honored with Media Trend statuette of the Person of the Year. In February of 2003 she received an Impactor Award naming her Person of the Year 2002 in the Advertising Industry" for her drive to create a major Polish media concern. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the City University of New York (Master of Private & Public Management) from Yale University School of Organization and Management. Profile
TWST: Could we begin with a brief overview of Agora, including the history, products, services and core markets?



Ms. Rapaczynski: Agora is a Polish company. It was established twelve