Dominik Čipera

* recorded in the personal card:

• born 3. 8. 1893 in Prague
• education – Business Academy in Prague
• foreign language skills – German, French, Polish, Russian, Bulgarian
• hired by the company on 1. 11. 1919
• residence – Březnická 636, later Burešov

For almost nine years, he worked as an accountant in the Lviv branch of the Prague Credit Bank and gained valuable experience in finance. Then his marriage to Tomas Bata step-niece brought him closer to the Zlín company. He accepted a job there, proved himself very quickly and became Tomas Bata closest collaborator. He worked during the halving of prices (1922), participated in the introduction of the system of profit participation and self-management of workshops (1924). In 1925, Bata sent him to the USA to gain experience, and in the same year Čipera was appointed as the company confidential clerk, that is, the authorized representative of the boss. After the death of Tomas Bata in 1932, he was immediately elected mayor of Zlín and, together with Jan A. Bata and Hugo Vavrečka, belonged to the three-member management of Bata concern. He served in both of these positions until 1945. As Minister of Public Works (1938-1942), he was responsible for starting the construction of the Prague - Brno highway and also for other important constructions. After the communist coup in 1948, he fled to the West and joined the associates of Tomas Bata junior in London. He died on September 3, 1963 in Trenton, Canada.

Čipera's memory of the first meeting with Bata: I came to the Villa at half past six in the morning. Tomas Bata, fresh and smiling, accepted me as an old acquaintance. He did not waste much time with formalities. Right at breakfast, where his wife was also present, he started talking about finance, which he knew was my field. The discussion turned into a long national economics debate, which in its scope and thoroughness was equal to a state exam. My host did not allow the conversation to dwell on theoretical considerations. He immediately applied my suggestions to the conditions and needs of his plant.

Dominik Čipera, 1935 (SOkA Zlin, o. č. 404, p. č. 1)