From policy analysis at the Czech National Bank to corporate finance at Morgan Stanley — and founding one of Prague’s most beloved study cafés — our alumna Iva Martonosi’s career reflects a rare balance between analytical precision and creative drive. In this interview, Iva shares insights on agile management, lessons learned from her experience in central banking, and why critical thinking and curiosity remain the foundations of her work.

Connecting a Diverse Career Path

You’ve had such a diverse career—from central banking to entrepreneurship to corporate finance. When you look back, what connects these experiences for you?

That’s a great question. I used to view my career as an oscillation between two strong personality traits: the need for deep analytical rigor and logical precision—which drew me to the world of central banking and economics—and the need to create, act quickly, and see tangible results, which led me to entrepreneurship. I never thought to try and connect these poles in some way. 

But now that I’m thinking about it, the real unifying force is a fundamental commitment to making a positive impact. Whether it was enhancing national economic stability at the Czech National Bank, a goal I firmly believe the CNB is dedicated to, or creating a dedicated physical space to encourage students to maximize their learning potential, the goal was always to move the needle for the better.

Ultimately, corporate finance represents the ideal synthesis. It’s a field where I can leverage analytical thinking while enjoying the speed and clear-cut, real-world outcomes of a highly results-driven environment. My career has been about finding new and better ways to combine rigorous thinking with meaningful action.

You spent 6 years at the Czech National Bank. What was the most rewarding part of that work, and what lessons stayed with you?

When I reflect on my years at the Czech National Bank, the most rewarding aspect was undoubtedly the exceptional quality of the team and the strong professional bond we shared.

I felt privileged to work alongside incredibly talented colleagues. The true reward wasn’t just being part of the process but seeing their profound commitment and benefiting from their mentorship. There was a genuine pride in knowing our work—the detailed analysis and evidence-based recommendations—helped inform Bank Board decisions that ultimately proved beneficial for the Czech economy and its citizens’ economic wellbeing. It was a sense of collective, impactful service.

My time there distilled two critical lessons that have been invaluable across my subsequent career. First, audience-centric communication is paramount. It’s not enough to have the technically correct answer. You must tailor your presentation not only to the audience’s level of expertise but also to their perspective and context. Second, anticipating and communicating the cost of change: I learned that even positive, necessary changes involve an initial cost of pain. Whether adjusting an analytical system or implementing a new policy, there is always friction, resistance, and a short-term struggle. The lesson is not to avoid this friction, but to anticipate it, quantify it, and communicate it transparently. Acknowledging the temporary pain is essential for securing buy-in for the long-term gain.

At Morgan Stanley, you now serve as a Fleet Enablement Lead in FP&A. What does “agile management” look like in practice at such a large financial institution?

When you look at agile management inside a massive financial institution, it can seem daunting, but it’s actually the only way we manage to build things effectively.

Imagine a giant team—we’re talking thousands of brilliant people, each an expert in a different niche, and a huge audience of stakeholders all needing updates. Agile isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity.

For us, it looks like a highly disciplined way of cutting through that complexity. It’s about taking those huge, multi-year objectives and breaking them down into actual, doable steps. This approach allows us to distribute the work to the specific “squad” of experts who can best handle it and, critically, prioritize among the countless things we could be doing. We need that clear process to maintain accountability and keep everyone—from the software engineer to the executive—on the same page and focused on delivering value, one small, successful step at a time. It’s the engine that lets a big ship turn quickly.

Life Beyond Finance

Beyond finance, you are also the founder of Cafedu, a unique coffeehouse and nonstop study space that has become Prague’s most favorite place, not only among students. What’s the story behind its founding, and what inspired you to create such a space?

The founding of Cafedu stems directly from an observation I made while studying abroad: the immense value of being surrounded by inspirational people and a culture that encouraged rigorous study. My classmates really motivated me, and I spent many nights in a nonstop university library and deeply missed that environment upon returning to Prague.

At the same time, I recognized a growing appetite among Czech students to be more open and proactive about their learning—the time was ripe for a dedicated hub. My vision was clear: an accessible, nonstop study room that would be a magnet for motivated individuals.

The challenge was scaling that vision into a sustainable enterprise. Given my financial constraints, the coffee house was strategically integrated to ensure financial viability and cover the substantial operating costs. This necessity, however, created the project’s most unique feature. The café became the cozier, more social, and “louder” workspace, synthesizing the focused rigor of a study room with the energetic comfort of a coffee shop. It was a steep learning curve, as I had no prior business or hospitality experience, but the initial inspiration has carried the venture forward.

Budapest has been your home for a few years now. What’s life like there for you compared to Prague?

Budapest has been a wonderful place to call home, and surprisingly familiar. Despite the language difference, I always say (you are not the first to ask :)), the Hungarian and Czech cultures feel remarkably similar. I attribute this to our shared history—from the long period under the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the decades spent under the Communist regime. I never felt I was in a vastly different or “exotic” country; the fundamental rhythms of life are very recognizable.

My initial experience was complicated by timing, however, as I moved there in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic and as a new mother. Becoming a parent is a seismic shift on its own, and moving amplified that change, cutting me off from much of my established pre-parent life in Prague.

That said, on a day-to-day level, the quality of life, the pace, and the overall feel of the city are quite comparable to life in Prague.

Lessons That Last

Looking back at your CERGE-EI days, which experience or aspect of your training turned out to be most valuable for your career?

While the rigorous Macroeconomics and Statistics curriculum provided the indispensable technical toolkit that formed the backbone of my early career at the central bank, another class offered the most significant lesson: Experimental Economics.

Although perhaps the “easier” class, it taught me a crucial, universal lesson: always approach data with a deeply critical and skeptical mindset. It highlighted the profound impact of sampling and showed me how different statistics can be subject to inherent biases and limitations. Knowing how data is generated and understanding the source of information is vital. My CERGE-EI training equipped me not only with the analytical models but also with the necessary skepticism to evaluate them effectively, a skill crucial across every facet of my career.

As an alumna yourself, how do you see the role of the CERGE-EI alumni community? In what ways can alumni support current students or each other?

The CERGE-EI alumni community is unique because of its small size and exceptionally high academic standards. Even without having met every graduate, you know the intellectual investment and commitment they made to complete the program. This intense, collective experience creates unusually strong professional bonds that larger, more diverse institutions simply cannot replicate.

I think we can best support current students through mentoring, career guidance, and sharing our experience. Alumni are uniquely positioned to help students navigate their first career steps, advising them on what skills to emphasize and where to focus their specialized training for maximum impact.

The community serves as a powerful network of mutual endorsement. Because we can confidently vouch for the strong critical thinking, analytical skills, and robust mathematical background inherent in every graduate, we can reliably recommend fellow alumni for demanding positions that require these core attributes.