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The winners of the Pearls of the Polish Economy in ‘Companies with an income over PLN 1 billion’ category are: Stalprodukt SA (steel producer), Grupa Żywiec S.A. (brewery) and Polkomtel S.A. (telecom); in the ‘Companies with an income between PLN 100 million and PLN 1 billion’ category are: Dom Development S.A. (construction and development), Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. (digital satellite TV) and Zakłady Górniczo – Hutnicze Bolesław S.A. (mining and metallurgy).
According to analyst, the Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking positions companies in an objective manner, as the assessment is based on a methodology and indicators evaluating the whole spectrum of their activity. The place on the ranking list is not only dependent on the size of the enterprise based on overall income, but also on its effectiveness, dynamics and financial liquidity. About 1,000 enterprises with incomes over PLN 100 million are evaluated in the ranking.
The Pearls of the Polish Economy Gala Award ceremony was attended by Professor Michał Kleiber – President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Elżbieta Radziszewska – Secretary of State at the Prime Minister’s Office, Ewa Juńczyk–Ziomecka – Minister at the President’s Office, Rafał Baniak – Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Economy, Tomasz Merta - Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, professor Jerzy Duszyński - Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Marian Zalewski - Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other high-ranked officials representing public administration, members of parliament, artists, scientists and representatives of over 250 companies.

These pearls are real
‘The ratio between the effect and expenditure is the simplest indicator of effectiveness in the economy: what result was achieved based on available sources – the capital, staff and tools? Polish Market calls the most effective companies ‘Pearls’. These pearls were not bred using the tricks of ‘financial engineering’’, Krystyna Woźniak – Trzosek, Polish Market President and Editor-in-Chief said opening the awards ceremony. One of the ranking patron’s, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Professor Michał Kleiber said that ‘similar objective rankings and awards are needed in Polish society. It has put a lot of efforts in abolishing the previous sanctioned beliefs. Now it needs new, reliable models’.
Rafał Baniak, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economy, representing the second patron of the Gala said: ‘Pearls, as a material used in jewellery, are lasting and resistant to fouling. The economy is facing rough times, but I believe that the Pearls of the Polish Economy will demonstrate proper resistance and thanks to them Poland will remain a leader in the CEE region”.

We know the value of our companies, the winners say

The Ranking and the Award Gala usually enjoy a great interest among businesspeople, economists, employers’ organizations and media. Despite the signs of recession and first symptoms of economic slowdown entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs shared the optimism of the organizers and representatives of state authorities. They sounded confident about the strength and value of their companies. Piotr Janeczek, president of the first-award winning Stalprodukt S.A. said: ‘Our strong position as the leading highly-processed steel producer and exporter, own distribution network, modern management system and successful restructuring are the effects of the development path we embarked on, based on Polish capital and Polish technological thought’. Grzegorz Szczepański, Public Relations director at Grupa Żywiec S.A.: ‘We are in the midst of global economic turbulences. Żywiec is among the few companies which trade above the level of WIG20, Warsaw Stock Exchange index of blue chip companies. We are doing fine.’ And Grzegorz Dylewski, deputy president of Polkomtel S.A.: “This is a meaningful award and the ranking process is crucial. This is not an “economic beauty contest”, but the companies need to have more essential assets and outstandingly manage with purely market parameters.’
The same optimism is shared by the winners in the category of smaller enterprises.
Grzegorz Kiełpisz, chairman of the Supervisory Board at Dom Development S.A.: “The construction and development market was struck by the crisis first, so I hope we will also be the first sector to get out of it. Receiving the award at this time is very empowering for the company.’ Dominik Libicki, chairman of the Board at Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. DTH TV provider also seems confident: ‘Our shares are holding strong at the WSE and we hope to bring more money to those who trusted in us, our shareholders. Today’s award proves our hopes are not in vain’. Piotr Zieliński, Sales Manager at Commercial Union PTE: ‘The award is a confirmation for us that as a leader on the Polish pension funds market we are heading in the right direction and we are doing everything we should for our clients.’

Polish Market Honorary Pearls
Apart from the Pearls of the Polish Economy, the results of the Honorary Pearls competition were also announced. They are awarded to prominent Poles who might be referred to as the ambassadors of Polish values. This year’s Honorary Pearls were awarded in the following categories: economy – Professor Janusz Steinhoff; science – geneticist and oncologist Professor Jan Lubiński; culture – opera singer Małgorzata Walewska; promotion of Polish tradition and patriotic values – British historian Professor Norman Davies; and in the category of promoting social values – TVN & Bożena Walter Foundation ‘You are not alone’ and the Foundation for Supporting the Development of Polish Pharmacy and Medicine set up by Włodzimierz Kuźmierkiewicz.
Minister Elżbieta Juńczyk-Ziomecka who represented the Polish President told Polish Market she supported the choices made by the Chapter. ‘The heritage that we have here is not only history, but also current events and people whose achievements go beyond Poland’s borders to become the heritage of Europe and the whole world. People like the famous opera singer Małgorzata Walewska, who sings in Vienna, in the US, anywhere in the world where people appreciate music, or historian Norman Davies, who writes about history in the way everyone can read. The stereotype is that business only concentrates on material things. It’s not true. Today’s event is an example that business supports culture. It supports people who have talent and who need the support of business. Businessmen enjoy culture. Together it fits very much’ Minister Juńczyk-Ziomecka said.
Tomasz Merta, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, thinks along the same lines. ‘The distance between economy and culture should not be too great, because culture needs continuous support and attention from the economy and the economy could use some cultural inspirations. The Honorary Pearls are a bridge linking both. I think it is marvellous that such award an exists.’
The winners of the Honorary Pearls took the opportunity to analyze the broader context of the award. Former Deputy Prime Minster Janusz Steinhoff active in the field of the economy said: ‘I am very happy that during my 20 years in public administration and parliament I have managed to work towards the transformation of Polish economy. Poland is a completely different country now than it was before 1989. We are a member of NATO and the EU. This means all our dreams, as anti-communist oppositionists, came true’.
Norman Davies, the historian and writer who explains Poland to the outside world spoke about what attracted him to Poland: ‘I came to Poland 46 years ago with a group of students who had been refused a Soviet visa entirely by accident. I was immediately struck when I came to Poland that I knew nothing about this country. Nobody had told us anything about Polish history. I realized that there was a big subject waiting for someone to explore. A lot of people in the West who have poor knowledge of Eastern Europe think that all countries in the region are small places. Poland is a middle-sized country now. It used to be the biggest country of Europe at one time. It was interesting that a country of this size could first be destroyed and then be reborn and that it could be forgotten. That’s really what interested me. Why so many of my colleagues writing about European history weren’t aware of Poland being more important that Estonia or Luxemburg. If what I do serves Polish interest in some way that’s OK by me. Poland is not doing enough to show itself to the outside world. There is in the world a competition for information. Who shouts loudest and who has the most sensational news. Poland’s competitors are large and vocal. Traditionally most news about Eastern Europe has reached the West via Germany or Russia, both of which were very hostile to Poland. Poland didn’t even exist as a country when the world learnt about its history. Poland has at least 200 years of information backlog to get over. But it’s getting better. Some Poles are doing it better than others.’
Others emphasized their satisfaction with the fact of being awarded a prize by an economic magazine. Geneticist Professor Jan Lubiński said: “For me this award is a sign that thinking about the economy we are not forgetting about something as important as research. I deeply believe that it is critical to make improvements based on progress achieved first in research, then protection of intellectual property and finally by commercialization based on these rights. In our research we have been able to show that the there is no cancer without genetic background, which was shown using a model of Polish breast cancer patients. This means that DNA testing detecting all kinds of abnormalities in genes is probably an extremely useful tool in prevention, surveillance and treatment. There are more and more examples of how contemporary medicine is completely changed when such information is used.” Opera diva Małgorzata Walewska couldn’t disguise her surprise: “I am touched. This is my first award from an economic magazine, which apparently remembers art’. Bożena Płatos, of the Foundation for Supporting the Development of Polish Pharmacy and Medicine agrees: “Our biggest achievement is the 40 grants earmarked for the implementation of research projects and the scholarship programme for young scientists. The Pearl awarded to the Foundation means that our endeavours have been noticed outside the academic environment for whose benefit we work’.

Alior Bank, BSH Household Appliances and Kłos – Modern Bank Technologies were the sponsors of this year’s Gala. The breath-taking interiors of the Royal Castle, hundreds of politicians, businesspeople, representatives of culture and science, and the highly-objective project itself were what reassured the sponsors their money was well spent.
Cezary Smorszczewski, deputy president of Alior Bank said: ‘Alior Bank is a new entity which appeared on the market exactly 5 days ago. I am proud we had the opportunity to become the sponsor of the 6th edition of the Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking. We could see that the Pearls are awards for excellent business results in the last few years. I wish to congratulate all the winners. And I promise we will be one of them in the future’.
Konrad Pokutycki, president of BSH Household Appliances said: ‘ We gladly received the offer to become a sponsor of the Pearls of the Polish Economy. Business effectiveness which is promoted by the ranking is a value we share’.
Zbigniew Kłos, president of Kłos – Modern Banking Technologies was also satisfied: ‘Being a sponsor of the Polish Market Gala feels like returning to the beginnings of our company. 40 years ago we were the company to provide secure locks to the Royal Castle, the venue of today’s event. We are happy that being a sponsor we can find ourselves with the best performers in Polish economy’.
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Commenting on the gala Polish Market chief economist Jan Sosna said ‘It seemed like the looming economic slowdown didn’t drag the mood down. The optimistic tones of Polish Market’s guests should be carefully listened to as the winners are experts in Polish and global markets who successfully lead their companies through the turmoil. Next year should be lucky, after all, the 7th lucky edition of the Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking will take place. ‘