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The trajectories of our life and career journeys can be straightforward, or they can be convoluted, with many sharp turns, nooks and crannies, and detours along the way. The changes and challenges that life has in store for us can be great. What matters most is that they eventually lead to a happy and fulfilled life – and not just in career terms. The following stories of personalities from among AMU graduates illustrate this statement.
Can a person with musical education become the boss of a cryptocurrency business? Do you find such a life journey a bit strange? Matěj Žák, who graduated from the Prague Conservatory in guitar and then from HAMU in music management, has certainly travelled such a path. One of the stops along the way was the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he also studied production/management. While still being an active musician, Matěj has also been deeply interested in another field since high school – information technology. “Having graduated, I tried to form two IT businesses of my own. The experience eventually led me to attend a job interview at Trezor, since I had always found the company’s focus and activities interesting,” recalls Matěj who will soon celebrate his fourth anniversary with the firm. He first started out as a product manager and now he is at the helm. He says that studying at HAMU allowed him to gain his most important experience in project management. “Thanks to the current Rector, I was given the opportunity to organise quite a large festival on Střelecký Island that brought together all AMU Faculties and UMPRUM in my first or second year. There were a lot of people, a lot of equipment, and a lot of things that could go wrong including the weather,” says the music management graduate, adding that this was his formative professional experience in terms of project management. Matěj’s professional scope is one of the things that he enjoys and is proud of. In addition to music, he has other interests, which are more or less adventurous. He flies a paraglide, climbs mountains, and skis. “What I like about music in particular is how it can pull me out of my working world and lets me play a club with a wonderful atmosphere and alongside friends who are professional jazz players. You cannot experience the emotions that music brings up in any other way. I am really happy to have this opportunity. Music gives me balance in life and makes it varied,” he explains. Today’s Trezor CEO is very grateful for his musical education, even though he experienced moments when he was not so sure about his choice. “When I was a student, I had this feeling a few times that I was missing out on something, that I should have rather studied economics or a similar field. Looking back, though, I’m really happy that I was allowed to study such a specific discipline and gained perspective as a result. I think experiencing the art school environment has allowed me to be quite creative. I am very grateful for the experience – which may seem paradoxical since that’s not what makes my living now,” concludes Matěj Žák.
