* personal profile:
He was born from his father's second marriage as the eldest of Tomas Bata’s half-siblings. His personality was said to be very similar to Tomas's brother Antonín (1874), just as he was considered an attractive man with a great character. He was very gifted and was also the only one of his siblings who studied at university. He was inclined towards the natural sciences, he chose the field of teaching. He spent two semesters at the university, then he was assigned according to the laws of the time to the artillery regiment in Přemyšl. During the war, he was struck by the news of the death of his half-brother Antonín. He did not return to university studies and after completing his military service, he listened to the appeal of his half-brother Tomas and joined the company. In the company, he was engaged in accounting, he reorganized the entire accounting department. He followed up on his experience, which he already gained during his high school studies, when he helped out at the company during the holidays. He managed to change the company's accounting system to such an extent that it was finally possible to see how the individual departments were doing each day. As soon as Leopold managed to put the Accounting Department in order, which started to run smoothly, Tomas reassigned him in 1912 to the Commercial Department, which included sales relations with customers and traveling salesmen - by 1914, he managed to systematize this department as well. In the same year he returned to his regiment, in 1917 he was promoted to first lieutenant. In October 1918, he fell ill with the Spanish flu, and was treated for several months. Subsequently, he tried to return to the running of the company, but it was difficult, there were injuries from the front line, and not only the physical ones. He was very fond of music and was an excellent violinist. He loved books, he read in every free moment. He influenced people with the strength of his personality, no one allegedly ever heard him scream, yet everyone respected him and achieved quality results under his leadership. Tomas Bata had great support in him, he took his advice and admired his systematic approach to work. He probably never came to terms with his death. Leopold Bata died prematurely, on July 1, 1920, he ended his life by jumping from the top floor of a psychiatric hospital in Prague - he was unable to live with the traumas from the front. He was survived by his widow, Marie Leopold Bata, who also connected her life with the Bata company.
Leopold Baťa, 1918 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 3067, p. č. 1)
