<phrase>NGP will have an executive director before the new chief emerges from the competition</phrase>

Prague - Anne-Marie Nedoma, an economist, will become the executive director of the National Gallery in Prague (NGP) until a new general director is appointed through a regular selection process. A source familiar with the situation informed ČTK that she will start as a crisis manager at NGP on Friday. Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) has called a briefing on the situation at the National Gallery for Thursday. The ministry does not want to comment on her name today, referring to the Thursday briefing.

Ivan Morávek, who has been entrusted with the management of NGP, does not want to comment either. "I cannot comment on the situation because I have not yet had the opportunity to speak with the minister, with whom I am supposed to meet this evening. I am only getting unofficial information through the media," he told ČTK.

The position of executive director at NGP should correspond to the essence of so-called interim management, which involves providing management capacity, skills, and experience for a pre-agreed period. An interim manager is integrated into the organizational structure of the company for the contractual period with all the responsibilities associated with the position they hold.

The significant domestic collecting institution has been without a regular director since April when its then-head Jiří Fajt was dismissed by former Culture Minister Antonín Staněk (ČSSD) due to serious economic misconduct. This step led to protests and initiated reflections on his departure from the position.

Staněk appointed economist Ivan Morávek to lead NGP on the day he dismissed Fajt. Staněk submitted his resignation at the end of May, which President Miloš Zeman accepted only at the end of July.

Just before leaving office, Staněk took several controversial steps and announced a competition for the director of NGP, which Zaorálek canceled shortly after taking office as culture minister. According to information from ČTK, Nedoma will not be appointed the gallery's director without a competition, which the minister also has the right to do. She is expected to come to NGP and stabilize it, particularly in financial and personnel aspects, until a new general director emerges from the planned competition.

Zaorálek canceled the competition announced by Staněk on September 2, stating it was insufficient. "Announcing a new process is not something that can be done in a few weeks. The first thing is that I canceled it. The second is that I am turning to some experts in this area so we can start talking about the parameters," he stated. According to him, the long-term perspective of the gallery is fundamental.

Economist and HR specialist Anne-Marie Nedoma (59) studied at the Prague University of Economics and has worked as a manager in institutions such as Gallup Organization, Nestlé, Reader's Digest, and as an advisor on GDPR at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2014 to 2018, she led Karmelitánské nakladatelství, among other roles.

Nedoma also had a connection to culture as a member of a group formed in 2001 by then-Culture Minister Jiří Besser, which addressed the future of the State Opera Prague and the National Theatre. The opera eventually became part of the ND. In the past, she also served on the board of the Institute of Restoration and Conservation Techniques in Litomyšl (the predecessor of today's Faculty of Restoration of the University of Pardubice).