A year at SMS finance, the arrival of Stelar Holding and four days of AI

The past month was so packed with events that I never got round to writing regular updates. So it turned into one big summary that I want to share. Three major milestones are behind me.

1. A year with SMS finance, a.s.

It is exactly a year since we started developing and modernising the company's internal systems. My balance after twelve months is more than positive.

Not only in IT do you come across all kinds of approaches, from projects where ego mattered more than results, or where the basic prerequisites for leading people were simply missing, to genuinely healthy environments. That is why I appreciate the current setup all the more. There is excellent organisation here and leadership built on the abilities of people who really have what their roles require.

2. The arrival of Stelar Holding, a.s. and a new era

The big turning point came at the conference marking the company's 25th anniversary, where the launch of Stelar Holding, a.s. was announced. At the same time, SMS finance, a.s. became fully part of the new holding as Stelar Advisory a.s.

For our IT team this was initially a big unknown and, honestly, a bit of a scare, mainly because of the ties to the EAG group and its strong technical team. But the reality of implementation is often different from the first presentation. Instead of a threat, this change opened the door to new ways of looking at our work, to new technologies and to interesting challenges.

3. An intensive four-day AI workshop

It was all rounded off by a team AI workshop. Each of us presented our own methods and showed how we actually use AI tools in everyday work. We brought the team's know-how to a common level and created an internal playbook.

At the end we met representatives of the EAG group. They shared their practical experience from implementing AI, which is a valuable source of inspiration for us and will help us steer our further development in the right direction.