Born: May 9, 1962, in Wroclaw, Poland
Early days. Graduated from Wrocław University of Technology, Faculty of Sanitary Engineering; gained a doctorate in economics at Wrocław University of Economics, graduated from the AMP program at Harvard Business School.
Career. Main shareholder in five companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange – Getin Holding, Getin Noble Bank, LC Corp, MW Trade, and Open Finance. In 1986, his passion for cave diving led him to set up a commercial diving company —Przedsiębiorstwo Hydrotechniki i Inżynierii TAN. He was the creator and main shareholder of Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy (European Leasing Fund) which he set up in 1991. This was the first and, eventually, the largest lease company in Poland. In 2001, he sold it to the French bank Credit Agricole for PLN 900 million, and became the CEO of Credit Agricole Poland. At that time, he was also managing other group’s companies, such as EFL, Lukas Bank, TU Europa, TU na Życie Europa, and Getin Service Provider S.A. In 1993–1995, he was the deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and later the CEO of Polbank S.A. (GMAC Bank). In 1996-1997, Leszek Czarnecki was the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of an insurance company based in Wrocław TU Europa na Życie S.A, and in 1997 he became the CEO of TU Europa S.A. and TU Europa na Życie S.A. for the next two years. In 2002-2003, he was the CEO and managing director responsible for leasing and insurance at Credit Agricole Poland. Until the end of November 2004, he was the CEO of Getin Holding, and until May 2006 CEO of Getin Bank. Since June 2007, he has been the Chairman of Getin Holding’s Supervisory Board and a member of the Supervisory Boards of other companies belonging to the Getin Holding Group. From September 2006 to March 2007, and since April 2008, he has been the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LC Corp. Since the merger of Getin Bank with Noble Bank (January 2010), he has been the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Getin Noble Bank. In 2006-2006, for EUR 17.5 million, he purchased Poltegor Centre in 2005-2006, built in the mid-1970s in the city centre of Wrocław, and at that time the city’s tallest building. In place of the demolished building, Czarnecki, along with the investor LC Corp, built Sky Tower.
Cooperation with Polish Security Service. From the materials stored by the Instytut Pamieci Narodowej it follows that Czarnecki, than 18 years old, signed a commitment of cooperation with the Security Service as TW "Ernest", registration number 42601. He was then a student of the III Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace in Wroclaw
In mid-1982 Czarnecki signed a commitment of cooperation with Polish intelligence. In October 1983 his folder was established with number 15538 as an operational contact with a pseudo Ternes. Leszek Czarnecki admitted signing the commitment but he did not confirm to give SB (Security Service) any information.
Honors. 1998, Wall Street Journal award for the Best CEO in Central Europe. 2004- recognized by the Financial Times as one of the 25 emerging stars of European business to set up the directions for the development of financial markets; included in the group of four individuals recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year from Eastern Europe by INSEAD, one of the best business universities in Europe, and the French Minister of Finance. 2005, he received the prestigious Lesław Paga award honoring his achievements and personal contribution to the development of the financial services market in Poland. 2005,2006,2007- elected the Player of the Year by the Polish Edition of. 2009- recognized in the Entrepreneur of the Year contest organized by Ernst & Young and received an honorary award for employing new staff in times of deep economic crisis. 2010, awarded the title of the Financier of the Year. 2010- received from PKPP Lewiatan the Andrzej Wierzbicki Award for his success in business and active contribution to the business environment; awarded honorable medal by the Polish Insurance Association for the longstanding cooperation and support of the Association. In 2010, he ranked number 721 on the list of the World’s Billionaires, with his worth assessed at USD 1.4 billion. In 2010, he won the Entrepreneur of the Year title in the opinion poll organized by the Polish Employers Organisation and Puls Biznesu. In 2011, he was recognized as the Business Leader of the Year by the Warsaw Business Journal. In 2013, he was awarded the special award of the Warsaw Stock Exchange for his passionate and determined creation of new economic projects and visionary leadership in business in the public market.
Social responsibility. The established in 2012 Contemporary Polish Studies Programme at Oxford University is the first of its kind implemented abroad – an interdisciplinary study program devoted to Poland and its post-1989 transformation. The program operates within St. Antony’s College. The program’s founders and affiliates are Prof. Timothy Garton Ash, Prof. Norman Davies, and Prof. Margaret MacMillan, Warden of St. Antony’s College. On the Polish side the founder is Dr Leszek Czarnecki who with Getin Noble Bank donated PLN 6 million to the program. In 2009, he instituted the first meeting of ‘Entrepreneurship – Initiative of Leszek Czarnecki’ – a series of debates held by leading schools of economics where Mr Czarnecki shared his knowledge and experience with students. In the same year, Leszek Czarnecki launched a contest named 'Studying, working, managing' aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs by financing laureates' business ideas. The third edition finished in 2012. Leszek Czarnecki established the charity foundation of Jolanta and Leszek Czarneccy, previously called LC Heart, which commenced its activities in Wrocław in 2007. So far, he has personally transferred PLN 55 million to the foundation.
Personal. He has two children from his first marriage and in 2008 he married Jolanta Pienkowska. Czarnecki is a passionate diver. In 1986, his passion for cave diving led him to set up his first commercial diving company —Przedsiębiorstwo Techniki Alpinistyczno-Nurkowej TAN S.A. In 1986–1990, he worked as a professional diver. He holds two – Polish and world – records. In September 2003, he beat the Polish record diving to 194 m in Boesmansgat cave in South Africa. In Mexico he beat the world record in the longest distance covered in the caverns – 17 km in the system of water-filled caves Dos Ojos on the Yucatan. In 2007, he went on a trip across Siberian wilderness with diving in Lake Baikal, in 2008 – he went to Antarctica, and in 2010 – explored wrecks in the Truck Lagoon in Micronesia, and in Galapagos.
Based on an article that appears in Wikipedia (with modifications):
Wikipedia
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
Other sources:
Wikipedia (in Polish)
Forbes (The World's Billionaires)
Diving
Return to home page:
Prominent Poles
