Episode 38: Leon Jakimic (Lasvit), Hong Kong

YPO member Leon Jakimic grew up in the Czech Republic with the dream of being the world’s top tennis player. But at 17, he realized that his childhood dream might not be attainable, so he turned his focus to academia instead. His initial volley paid off when he received a tennis scholarship from Loyola Marymount University in California. Jakimic packed his bags and came to Los Angeles, where he took business and economics classes. His first full-time job was with a Czech crystal company, taking him to Hong Kong where he received an MBA from the Kellogg-HK University of Science and Technology.

In 2007, Jakimic founded Lasvit, a company with the mission to transform glass into breathtaking light and design experiences. Lasvit delivers bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations made from hand-blown glass. The company has collaborated with the world’s renowned designers and artists such as Nendo, Ross Lovegrove, Daniel Libeskind, Maarten Baas, and Czech legends Rene Roubicek and Borek Sipek. In this episode, Jakimic shares how he runs his company in the Czech Republic from Hong Kong while empowering artists, engineers and project managers to work harmoniously together and create the world’s most breathtaking light and design experiences.

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