In the previous Village Hilmar Mulder from the Dutch Grazia asked Frank Hitzert, publisher from a.o. the oldest magazine in the world (Kvety, 175 years old in 2009!) whether his earlier career as a journalist makes him better at his current job.

Frank Hitzert (1961) is Publisher & Business Development Director at Sanoma Magazines Praha. He is married to Monique van der Vlugt. They have three daughters, Zoey (14), Bo (12) and Floor (10). Together they live in Prague, Czech Republic.

1. What kind of magazine or website is Frank Hitzert?
Have a look at www.oddee.com - and I think that will say it all. From nice to know to unbearable nonsense.

2. What is your ‘desert island book’?
‘The Hand-Sculpted House’ by Michael G. Smith. It’s a guide to work with cob - a structural composite of water, straw, clay and sand. Though born with two left hands, I’m still more practical than romantic, especially on desert islands.

3. What is the brand or line extension that is most appealing to you?
Web TV, in fact, to invite all your readers to a live broadcast of a birth, done by the Dutch weekly Margriet a few years ago. Great idea! And a clear, direct and yet warm way to catch even the most intense women’s emotions in a 360 degrees approach.

4. Describe Sanoma Magazines Praha in one sentence?
Well, three words will do: Luctor et Emergo.

5. What does a Publisher in Prague do all day?
That could be even shorter, in three characters: ICQ. Inspiring, Challenging, Questioning. Managing ideas I consider as my main job, managing time and money as my side job. I like order, the basis of planning. But disorder, the basis of creativity, I like even more. Creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity no progress. Journalism taught me to recognize the invaluable value of disorder.

6. What kind of work would you be doing if you didn’t have your current job?
I would be touring again deep down south, as the only white musician in ‘Magic Frankie & The Alabama Blues Brothers’, probably as the surprise act of my favourite B.B. King. Though I’m not sure whether my vocal cords will still manage the whole 90 minute set.

7. Who would you like to sit next to in a plane and to what destination?
Ben Verwaayen, the departing CEO of British Telecom. To me he seems one of the best examples of management by inspiration, and a compelling story teller. He doesn’t have spin doctors, he closed the elevator which was previously for the use of the CEO only, and he democratized the executive dining room. And being Dutch, he will probably even fly economy class. About the destination I don’t care. About the airliner I do. It should be JAT, Jugoslavian Airlines, the only airliner where it’s still possible to smoke on board.

8. What success are you most proud of?
To be co-responsible for giving the green field operation of Sanoma Magazines Serbia-Montenegro in Belgrade a great start, that I succeeded without offering nor receiving any bribe, and that most of the key people who I hired as of January 2005 are still with the company, creating growing revenues for all and building great careers for themselves.

9. Describe your biggest failure?
To lose weight during six successful diet days - and on the seventh day to start to dream about goose liver again. In fact, it’s the story of my life: a few highlights and for the rest managing the damage. But, ok, you lose some, you goose some.

10. What is the one thing that everybody should know about you but nobody does?
That, before I became a singer, I was a successful ballet dancer.

Frank Hitzert tags Marina Kosanovic-Stefanovic, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE in Belgrade, Serbia, to answer our questions next. Will Marina ever witness the Kosovo edition of ELLE?