After the tragic demise of Eastern Europe’s wealthiest man in a helicopter crash, few recognized his wife’s identity. However, nearly three years later, Renata Kellnerova has become synonymous with the family’s conglomerate—a Prague-based entity spanning telecommunications, media, financial services, and e-commerce, employing 61,000 individuals across 25 countries.
In the region, PPF stands out as the owner of private television networks in six Eastern European nations and one of the Czech Republic’s largest telecommunications firms.
With assets totaling $43 billion, PPF has emerged as a key beneficiary of the Czech Republic’s post-communist transformation—a triumph that Petr Kellner, Renata’s late husband, capitalized on by expanding into dynamic markets like Russia and China. However, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing upheaval in geopolitics and commerce, numerous firms, including PPF, are now focusing on growth closer to their origins.
Renata Kellnerova with her late husband Petr Kellner in Prague, in 2020.Photographer: Roman Vondrous/CTK/AP
In her inaugural public dialogue with Bloomberg News since assuming control of PPF, Renata Kellnerova reflected on the formidable task of acquainting herself with the company’s intricate operations following her husband’s sudden demise.
“Securing PPF’s stability was paramount, followed by revitalizing our business,” she affirmed. “I realized that PPF holds personal significance for me, and my duty is to groom our children for potential leadership roles within the group.”
Taking charge at 56, Kellnerova has left an indelible mark on the company. She orchestrated a strategic shift away from Asia—formerly a pivotal revenue source—redirecting focus towards western markets. Appointing a new CEO and parting ways with some of her late husband’s confidants underscore her commitment to charting a new course. By consolidating family ownership and inducting herself and her daughters onto the board of a new holding entity encompassing all their assets, she has stamped her authority.
Now regarded as the region’s wealthiest woman, with the family’s fortune estimated at approximately $11.8 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Kellnerova has intensified her involvement in critical investment decisions. Collaborating closely with PPF CEO Jiri Smejc, a former investment ally of her husband, remains pivotal.
“We pride ourselves at PPF on being highly adaptable in seizing investment prospects, capable of swift decisions when necessary,” she remarked.
Under Kellnerova’s stewardship, PPF concluded several significant transactions, notably agreeing to a €2.15 billion sale of a majority stake in telecommunications operations across Eastern and Central Europe to Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. Additionally, the company’s consumer finance arm, Home Credit Group BV, finalized the sale of its Philippine and Indonesian branches in deals valued at approximately €615 million ($669 million) in 2022.
This resurgence propelled PPF’s profitability to pre-pandemic levels, evidenced by a first-half net income of €709 million in 2023—a stark contrast to the €406 million loss incurred the previous year, primarily stemming from the costly disengagement from Russia.
InPost SA postal lockers in Warsaw, Poland.Photographer: Lukasz Sokol/Bloomberg
While there is no definitive timeline yet for the complete withdrawal from Asia, Kellnerova emphasized that “the primary focus of our business has shifted westward over the past three years.”
With surplus cash available and the impact of higher interest rates affecting valuations of privately-held and publicly-traded assets, PPF is actively exploring opportunities in Europe for potential acquisitions. Among its notable recent investments is a stake in InPost SA, a Polish e-commerce company known for its self-service delivery lockers, and a strategic investment in German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE.
Similar to her late husband, Kellnerova maintains a low public profile and closely safeguards her family’s privacy. She declined to disclose specific investment targets that her company is currently monitoring or may consider in the future. PPF intends to uphold its four primary investment pillars – financial services, telecommunications, media, and e-commerce — while remaining open to smaller, opportunistic investments.
As the group does not operate as a conventional investment fund with a predetermined timeframe for holding assets, Kellnerova emphasized their capacity for patience. “That’s why short-term returns are not the primary consideration when evaluating investment opportunities,” she explained.
PPF, now a complex network of enterprises, began its rise shortly after the collapse of communism. Kellner laid the foundation for the company in the early 1990s, leveraging the privatization wave in Czechoslovakia, which offered citizens vouchers to exchange for shares in companies or invest in funds.
In 1991, Kellner established a fund to acquire stakes in 202 companies, managing one of the largest portfolios of assets available at the time. This initiative marked the genesis of PPF Group. Over time, PPF amassed a significant 20% stake in Ceska Pojistovna, the country’s largest insurer, laying the groundwork for Kellner’s wealth. He divested his interests in 2013, selling the insurance assets to Italy’s Generali in a $3.3 billion transaction.
While Kellner expanded his empire, his wife dedicated her efforts to the Kellner Family Foundation, one of the Czech Republic’s earliest philanthropic endeavors. The foundation, which has contributed nearly 2 billion koruna ($89 million) to social initiatives and scholarships, reflects the couple’s commitment to community welfare. Kellnerova brings this ethos to her current role, emphasizing PPF’s “social responsibility that extends beyond the realm of business.”
PPF’s headquarters in Prague.Photographer: Katerina Sulova/CTK/AP
Beside PPF, the wave of post-communist privatizations also propelled several other affluent Czech families, including real estate mogul Radovan Vitek, a major player in European real estate investment, and energy tycoon Pavel Tykac. Companies owned by billionaires residing in the Czech Republic now employ tens of thousands of individuals across the continent and have significantly contributed to the region’s economies.
However, they have also attracted scrutiny. In a late last year interview, former Czech President Milos Zeman criticized the privatization process for exacerbating wealth disparities in the former communist nation. Nevertheless, Zeman was a staunch supporter of Kellner, even bestowing upon him the highest state honor after the tycoon’s tragic demise in a helicopter crash during a trip to Alaska.
“I deeply respected Petr Kellner, and we had a productive collaboration,” remarked Zeman.
PPF faced criticism from the local investment community when it opted to delist the country’s largest publicly traded telecommunications company from the Prague stock exchange, reducing its market capitalization but consolidating control within the group. This transition was finalized in 2022.
While most former associates and employees have remained silent about PPF’s new leadership, Ladislav Bartonicek, a former minority owner of PPF, shared his perspective in an interview with the country’s leading business daily, Hospodarske Noviny, in September.
“The accountability for Renata, who is actively engaged, and for the second generation, differs,” he remarked to the newspaper. “It’s no longer a single-person enterprise — in a positive sense. Shareholders will adopt a more cautious approach. The question remains about the family member who will play the most pivotal role in the future.”
Anna Kellnerova at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.Photographer: Carolyn Kaster/AP
Kellnerova’s past and present business associates opted not to participate in this narrative. Among her three daughters, only Anna, a 27-year-old equestrian athlete who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, maintains a public presence.
PPF has long prided itself on fostering a close-knit environment, and Kellnerova’s aspiration is for the family to retain majority ownership of PPF for generations to come. As her children navigate different stages of life, she aims to provide them with opportunities to gain insights into the company’s operations.
“When they are prepared, I will entrust them with primary responsibilities with a clear conscience,” she affirmed. “I am not apprehensive about the future, as they are already involved to some extent in overseeing our enterprises.”