Andrzej Capiga
By : Greg Goodale
After dealing with the problems of steelworks and mines as a corporate banker, Andrzej Capiga, 47, finds himself at the head of a team charged with the huge task of transforming the Huta Katowice steelworks.
Capiga says that while growing up in Silesia he was wowed by the technology in the region's steelworks. As a result, he went on to study steel production management at Silesia Polytechnic. After graduating he went on to Huta Katowice, then the area's most stable source of work. During his 12 years at the company he rose from the post of economist to head of human resources, but left when his promotion prospects came to an end. In 1991, after completing a postgraduate course in banking, he applied for the post of managing director of Huta Katowice. When the job was taken by future Treasury Minister Emil Wasacz, he decided to move into banking, which he saw as the best area of opportunity in the early 1990s. As the director of a regional corporate banking center, he was closely involved with the region's largest steelworks and their emerging economic problems.
When offered the post of chairman of Huta Katowice eight years later, Capiga spent a month pondering whether he really wanted to tackle the onerous task of preparing the financially crippled steelworks for privatization. The company had debts of zl. 2.5 billion ($595 million) compared to sales revenue of zl. 3.7 billion ($880 million) in 2000. Seven months later Capiga says the road to recovery is within sight. "To make my 'patient' better I first had to bring him to a state of stability, which involved safeguarding our production technology and coming to an arrangement with our principal creditors," he said.
Past notes:
1977 Graduated from Silesia Polytechnic with a degree in production management
1979 Began work as an economist for Huta Katowice
1990 Received a postgraduate degree in banking
1992 Moved to Bank Slaski
2001 Appointed chairman of Huta Katowice
Word of advice:
"In my post, the most important thing is just work, work, work. Nothing will fix itself, every problem has to be properly diagnosed, assessed from a number of points of view."
