Aleš Blažek

President of the Czech Banking Association and Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer, Československá obchodní banka, a. s.

Aleš began his professional career as a trainee lawyer at the Prague office of White & Case, where he focused primarily on mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, and restructuring. From 2000 to 2003, he served as General Counsel of Citibank Czech Republic. He subsequently held the position of General Counsel for Central and Eastern Europe at Citigroup, before being appointed Deputy General Counsel for Citigroup EMEA in London, with responsibility for corporate and investment banking across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In 2007, he joined GE Capital Global Banking in London as a member of the senior management team and General Counsel for GE Capital's consumer businesses in Europe. In 2011, he was promoted to General Counsel of GE Capital International in London, where he was responsible for legal services across all GE Capital businesses in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

In 2014, he joined ČSOB in Prague, part of KBC Group, as Head of the Legal Department. In April 2019, he became Chief Data and Strategy Officer at ČSOB. In 2021, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of KBC Bank Ireland. In 2022, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ČSOB Czech Republic and became a member of the KBC Group Executive Committee.