Education
He emigrated to Switzerland in 1979 and studied law there.
He emigrated to Switzerland in 1979 and studied law there.
In the 1970s, he was played basketball for the teams Baník Most and Slavoj Vyšehrad. After completing his studies, he began working in an international consulting firm that advised small and medium enterprises in management, strategy and organisation. In the 1990s, he represented the Swiss company Investenergy South America in the Czechoslovakian Republic.
This company also purchased the shares of Mostecká uhelná společnost, a.s.
(MUS) for Appian Group. In 2003, together with Marek Čmejla, he coordinated the strategic entry of Appian Group into Škoda Plzeň, which company, following Lubomír Soudek’s era, was in a state of clinical death.
Appian Group purchased a part of the company for 350 million Czechoslovakian crowns from the State and the remainder from the receiver in bankruptcy for 450 million crowns. Appian’s entrance into Škoda Plzeň saved this traditional industrial manufacturer from demise.
The company then underwent successful restructuring, and today is a leading producer of transportation systems
In 2013, the court of first instance in Bellinzona sentenced him to 46 months in prison for fraud, money laundering and falsifying documents. He was to have committed these crimes when Appian purchased a minority share in MUS from the Czechoslovakian State in 1999. He has appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in Lausanne (or, more precisely, he is preparing his appeal to the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne).
In the period 1998 – 2002, Jiří Diviš was a member of the Supervisory Board of MUS. Since 2003, Diviš has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Škoda Plzeň.
