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=Aleš Michl=

Aleš Michl (born 18 October, 1977, Prague) is a Czech economist and the fifth Governor of the Czech National Bank (ČNB). He has been a member of the Czech National Bank's board since December 1, 2018, and was appointed Governor by the President of the Czech Republic, effective from July 1, 2022, for a six-year term, succeeding Jiří Rusnok. Michl contributes to various newspapers and journals, and has written several books on economics and investments.

Education
Michl earned his Ph.D. in Finance from the Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE) in 2020, having graduated with an MSc (Ing.) degree from the same institution in 2002. His academic pursuits also include studies at the London School of Economics and the Wharton School.

Michl is an admirer of Alois Rašín, a key figure in the establishment of Czechoslovakia's economic policy and the first Czechoslovak Minister of Finance.

Career
Professionally, Michl worked as an economic journalist, advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister for Economics Martin Jahn, and as an economist and investment strategist at Raiffeisenbank.

He founded Michl Fund Management s.r.o. in 2016 and served as an external economic advisor to the Czech Ministry of Finance and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, specialising in macroeconomic analysis and government debt stabilisation.

Governor
Since assuming the role of Governor of the Czech National Bank in July 2022, Aleš Michl has led the institution through a period of significant economic challenges. When Michl took over, inflation in the Czech Republic was at a staggering 17.5%, peaking at 18% a few months later - the highest rate since the transition to a market economy in the 1990s. Additionally, the bank was dealing with the largest loss in its history, prompting the need for rationalization and cost-cutting measures.

Michl's primary goal upon his appointment was to bring inflation back to the target level of 2%, a task he projected would take two years. By spring 2023, the ČNB achieved the strictest monetary conditions in two decades, with the Czech koruna reaching its strongest level in history. This appreciation allowed for cheaper imports of expensive raw materials and goods, while also tightening monetary conditions for large firms that had previously bypassed high ČNB rates by borrowing in euros.

In February and March 2024, the ČNB successfully brought year-on-year inflation down to the targeted 2%, a level not seen since December 2018. This achievement marked the restoration of price stability, aligning with the bank's legal mandate. Michl emphasized the need for maintaining higher interest rates than those observed over the past decade, advocating for an economy based on savings rather than debt.

Under Michl's leadership, the ČNB initiated the first-ever external review of its monetary policy, aiming to refine its forecasting and modelling capabilities. This review involves three teams from the University of Economics in Prague, Oxford University, and Queen Mary University of London.

Financially, Michl inherited an institution grappling with a record operational expenditure growth. In response, 2023 saw a comprehensive rationalization effort, which included reducing the top management team from seventeen to fourteen directors and decreasing the total number of positions by 5.1%, the first such large-scaled reduction in a decade. This streamlining enabled wage increases without a corresponding rise in operational costs. As a result, the ČNB ended 2023 with a profit of 55.1 billion CZK, partially offsetting accumulated losses from previous years.

Books

 * MICHLiq - průvodce ekonomií a investicemi (A Guide to Economics and Investment), 2014
 * Jestřábi a holubice (Hawks and Doves), 2019
 * Reset ekonomiky (How to Reset the Economy), 2021
 * Matematické hádanky guvernéra ČNB (The CNB Governor's Mathematical Puzzles), 2024

Working Papers

 * Tomáš Adam, Ondřej Michálek, Aleš Michl, Eva Slezáková: The Rushin Index: A Weekly Indicator of Czech Economic Activity.
 * Tomáš Adam, Aleš Michl, Michal Škoda: Balancing Volatility and Returns in the Czech National Bank's Foreign Exchange Portfolio.