News Article career Crestyl Czech Republic Prague
by Property Forum | Career

For the first time in almost thirty years of the development group Crestyl, the person in the position of international CEO is changing. Simon Johnson, who has held the position of COO of the group for the past 14 years within Crestyl and also acted as executive director for the Czech Republic, is taking over the management of the entire group.


The founder, owner and current CEO of the Crestyl Group, Omar Koleilat, is moving from an executive position to the role of a strategic consultant and remains the owner of the company.

"I built Crestyl from the beginning in such a way that it could develop and was not dependent on me as the founder. As the company grew, the transition to professional management became a necessity, and entering the Polish market three years ago only accelerated this process. But one cannot do these things from day to day. The appointment of Simon to the position of CEO of the entire group is thus a formal confirmation of the steps we have been working on within the company for the past few years," says Omar Koleilat, founder of the Crestyl Group. "As the founder and owner, of course, I do not lose influence on the operation of Crestyl, I will be a partner for discussions on further strategic direction. I am convinced that with an experienced management team led by Simon, Crestyl will continue to develop successfully."

"We first worked with Omar at the end of the nineties, so we know each other well. I appreciate his trust all the more. At the same time, it should be emphasised that this is not only about me as the CEO but about the entire team and the four-member management of Crestyl. In addition to me, this also includes the director of corporate affairs Magda Pokorna, sales director Viktor Peška and financial director Jozef Ďurík. We have been working together in Crestyl for many years, so nothing has changed in the way the company is run and directed," says Simon Johnson, the new CEO of the Crestyl Group.

Simon has 35 years of experience in the field of real estate development and has been significantly involved in the development of commercial real estate, primarily in London, Prague and Bratislava. Since 2011, he has been working as Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the entire Crestyl Group and later expanded his role to include the position of Executive Director of Crestyl in the Czech Republic. He has been in Central Europe since the 1990s, for example, he participated in the development of the Eurovea Centre in Bratislava and Palladium in Prague. Being a native English, he speaks fluent Czech and Slovak and has Czech citizenship. His interests include sports, cooking and good wine.