Petr Očko

Deputy Minister for New Technologies, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic (Czech Republic)

Petr Očko (born April 22, 1976) graduated in Information Management and European Integration from the University of Economics in Prague and later obtained a Ph.D. in Information Economy from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague. He began his career in 1998 as a web developer in a small company that would today be considered a successful technology startup. As an expert in European economic integration, he worked at the Ministry of Finance from 2001, focusing on EU structural funds. In 2004, he became an advisor to the Deputy Minister of Finance for financial markets, and in 2006, he was appointed by the government as the National Coordinator for the Introduction of the Euro. From August 2007, he worked in the private sector as an EU project coordinator at Telefónica O2. He returned to public administration in 2009 as Director-General for Budget and EU Funds at the Ministry of Transport. From August 2010, he served as Director of the EU Funds, Research, and Development Section at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, where he managed key programs supporting industrial research and development, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In 2012–2013, he was Acting CEO of the CzechInvest agency, responsible for its stabilization and development, a role he later resumed in 2022–2024. From 2015, he led the Department of Financial Instruments and Project Management at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, overseeing projects such as the establishment of the National Innovation Fund and the transformation of the Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank. In March 2016, he was appointed by the government as Chairman of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, where he successfully advanced support for applied research in key areas for the Czech Republic, including Industry 4.0 and other major trends. Since July 2018, he has served as Deputy Minister and currently as Director-General at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, responsible for a newly established section for digitalization and innovation. He firmly believes that the Czech Republic has the potential to become a leader in innovation across multiple fields in the near future. He is also engaged in academic activities, particularly in the field of the digital economy.