Our person of the day is Tomáš Masár, Business Development Director at CETIN Networks Slovakia

 

For this People Beyond the Network series, we meet with Tomáš Masár, the Business Development Director of CETIN Networks Slovakia, to explore the behind-the-scenes of his career path and growth, and current work priorities, but also exclusive industry insights, and the personal motivations that drive his work.

7 questions with Tomáš Masár. 7 insights into the tough challenges, bold opportunities, and the culture shift reshaping Slovakia’s B2B segment.

Tomáš, what has been your career path leading to your current role at CETIN Networks Slovakia?
My background is much closer to business development than to classic commercial work, and that strongly shapes what I do today. In Slovakia, our setup is slightly different compared to other CETIN countries. We have a highly experienced, dedicated sales and commercial unit: O2 Business Services, a company that focuses on selling products to B2B customers. My role is to develop new areas, support their sales team, and ensure that whatever we envision commercially can actually be delivered technically. In practice, I guide new product development and help my colleagues to turn opportunities into real, deliverable solutions.

I actually began my career in banking, working first in product development for private banks in the UK and later in Geneva, Switzerland. From there, I moved into strategy roles in the Czech Republic, where I eventually joined the telco industry at Eurotel.

My very first project there was already linked to business development: Since 2006, I’ve been deeply involved in building the third mobile operator in Slovakia: O2. I therefore started with O2 from its very beginnings, helping to build the network and acquire the first customers, before moving into project management, product development and, eventually, strategy.

One of my long-term priorities, even back in 2012 as Strategy Director, was to find a partner in the Slovak market to share infrastructure and join forces. I spent nearly a decade searching for the right opportunity until, in 2021, we finally secured a partnership with Slovak Telekom. I was determined to see this deal through to the finish line. At that exact same time, O2 was spinning off its infrastructure into CETIN. Because I wanted to personally complete this massive network-sharing project, I decided to shift from operator-side strategy into the world of infrastructure and join CETIN. It felt like the natural step toward completing the goals I had been working on for years.

Which project or initiative are you most excited about right now, and why does it matter for CETIN Slovakia’s commercial strategy?
I look at this from two angles: the tough challenges and the exciting opportunities.
Right now, we have a great ambition to enter a very busy and competitive B2B ICT space. We’re in the middle of a massive shift from being a 'telco' to becoming a 'techco.' It’s fascinating, but it’s also challenging because it requires our own internal transformation. CETIN Slovakia originally started as an internal support unit. To become a strong player on the external market, we need to do much more than just change processes and develop products. Because we are now delivering much more complex solutions, our technical colleagues at CETIN need to be deeply involved in direct discussions with customers to design these tailored solutions. This requires a complete shift in our mindset, the way we think about customers and the skills we bring to the table. The journey to becoming a fully customer-focused organization is still ahead of us.

What genuinely excites me, though, is the emergence of AI. We’re on the cusp of doing things we were simply not capable of doing before. It’s a huge shift for the whole world and for our industry specifically. Being part of the generation that gets to live through and actively shape this transformation is incredibly exciting.

You participated in the e& Emerging Talents program in 2025. How has this enriched you professionally, and what are your top takeaways?
The program was valuable on many levels. First, it allowed me to meet people from across the group to understand what they do and how they approach their work. That alone was eye-opening.

Second, it pushed me to reflect deeply on leadership. It took me years to get comfortable with delegating. Because delegating means attaching your name to the work your colleagues deliver, you have to truly trust them. I always thought this trust was the highest level of leadership, but also one of the hardest to achieve.

One of the most interesting lessons from the leadership training, however, was that delegation isn’t always the best approach. Even very senior people can sometimes feel overwhelmed by certain tasks, and in those specific cases, they need more hands-on support. It’s not just about overall seniority; it’s also about their confidence and skill level for a specific task. That insight changed the way I work. I learned the importance of situational leadership - adjusting your approach based on how ready someone is for a given challenge. For example, a highly experienced technician might lack experience in customer interaction. In that scenario, they need a more detailed, directive approach to guide them, whereas a purely technical task would call for full delegation.

Another major takeaway relates directly to our company’s future: if we want to build customer-facing programs or develop customer-oriented teams, we first need to address our internal culture. We need stronger soft skills across the organization, especially since we work with networks that we are offering to someone else. Respecting our customers’ expectations and ways of working is absolutely essential.

What is one challenge in your work that people often don’t realize, especially in the B2B segment?
One of the biggest challenges is making our teams realize that when a colleague comes in with a signed deal, that’s when the real work actually begins. From that moment on, we need incredibly fast reactions, adapted communication patterns, and a completely different way of handling the customer’s evolving requests. It is just as much a cultural challenge as it is a professional one.

What hobby or interest helps you stay balanced and energised outside of work?
I’m a big fan of nature, especially remote places where perhaps no one has ever been before. While I enjoy team sports, I usually try to avoid crowded environments, so I gravitate toward outdoor activities like mountain biking, climbing, and even caving.

I’ve been caving since my teenage years. It keeps you in nature, and you get to genuinely discover places where no one has ever been before. It’s technically complicated to reach these spots, often involving very tight spaces, so not many people can get there. 

But the experience is absolutely worth the effort and the exhaustion at the end! 😊

 

What is your favorite aspect of working at CETIN Networks Slovakia? 
I’ve been here from the very beginning, so in a way, the company is my baby. I genuinely enjoy the people I work with—they are fun to be around, great to debate with, and excellent at solving multi-layered issues together.

I also appreciate that we’re part of a larger organization capable of creating a massive impact. If you are an entrepreneur in your own smaller business, your influence often stays relatively limited. At CETIN, you get to work in a manageable, human-sized team, while contributing to something that positively affects a huge number of people.

What advice would you give to young professionals entering the commercial field in 2026?
I would say the most important skills to develop are your soft skills. AI holds the promise to help us with almost everything technical, but it cannot replace real human interaction. In commercial work, relationships matter more than ever. My advice is to learn how to work with people, how to manage yourself, and how to communicate clearly and respectfully. If you can master that, the machines will support you with the rest.