Karel Janeček

Karel Janeček (born 26 July 1973 at Plzeň, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech mathematician, entrepreneur, anti-corruption campaigner and author of voting system Janecek Method (D21) and online game Prezident 21.

Karel Janeček
Born (1973-07-26) July 26, 1973
Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
NationalityCzech
EducationCharles University in Prague
Bradley University
Carnegie Mellon University
Occupationmathematician; entrepreneur
OrganizationKarel Janeček Foundation; Janecek Method (D21)
Known foranti-corruption campaign; philanthropy
Partner(s)Lilia Khousnoutdinova (2017–present)
Children4
Websitekareljanecek.com

Education

Janeček graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague in the field of Probability and Mathematical Statistics.[1] He is an MBA in Finance graduate of Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, USA, and a Ph.D. graduate in the field of Mathematical Finance of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.[1]

Academia

During the period 2007-2013, Janeček lectured at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague. He specializes in optimal control in mathematical finance.[1]

Janeček has authored and co-authored several research articles in scientific journals in the area of applied stochastic calculus, where his work has numerous citations,[1] such as "Optimal investment with high-watermark performance fee," SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, 2012; "Futures trading with transaction costs," Illinois Journal of Mathematics, 2010; "Asymptotic analysis for optimal investment and consumption with transaction costs," Finance and Stochastics, 2004; and others.

Business

From 1998 to 2000, Janeček worked as a mathematical analyst for the hedge fund Market Research Ltd, and from 2004 to 2005, served as Researcher in the Austrian Academy of Sciences.[1] On the basis of his experience, he started the firm RSJ Algorithmic Trading.[2]

Anti-corruption campaign
Further information: Corruption in the Czech Republic

According to media reports, by 2013, the Czech government was "buffeted" by a series of corruption scandals that have threatened to bring it down.[3] After Václav Klaus, then president of the republic, in his last days in office, granted amnesty to a number of people accused of corruption, Janeček financed the publishing of online videos and newspaper advertisements urging Czechs to sign a petition calling Klaus to account.[3] The signatures were published on a website called "High Treason" in Czech.[3] The movement convinced 28 Senators to back a proposal in the Senate for the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic to undertake high treason proceedings against Klaus.[4]

Klaus, who was eventually not charged by the Supreme Court, had previously stated he did not regret the amnesty, and on an official visit to Slovakia dismissed the move as "political games."[3]

Political reform

In 2012, he proposed a new electoral system primarily based on a minus vote, i.e. the possibility to vote against a candidate. The idea was promoted as a part of the Positive Evolution project. In May 2013, Janecek created the electoral system Democracy 2.1 or D21[5] which, he argues, will bring about a major improvement comparable to "an upgrade from DOS to Windows". The main effect of D21 lies in the use of multiple votes - each voter has twice as many votes than the number of seats available to winners. More concretely, for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies, he designed two-mandate districts in which voters could use four votes, with the possibility to use one minus vote.[6]

Sponsorship

The Karel Janeček Benevolent Fund for Support of Science and Research was established in 2010 (renamed as Neuron Fund for Support of Science in 2013) a non-profit organisation, which promotes the idea of benefactors supporting the science and research in the Czech Republic.[7] Neuron has supported a number of scientists and their projects through grants worth over 13 million Czech crowns.[7][8]

Gambling
SBA floppy disk

Janeček, in the 1990s, and after playing the game in various casinos in the United States and elsewhere, created a simulation software for advantage play in Blackjack, which he marketed under the brand "Statistical Blackjack Analyzer."[9] The sim program has been praised by many gambling researchers.[10][11] He has acted as a consultant for the casino games industry, including the creators of Blackjack Switch, which, before it became operational, was tested by Janeček-created software.[12][13]

Janeček, along with Brett Harris, Mike Canjar, Winston Yamashita, Pete Moss, Kim Lee, and other gambling theorists, contributed to the development of what has become known as "optimal betting theory", and the discovery that it is possible to calculate a true count for unbalanced counting systems in casino Blackjack.[14] He has regularly contributed articles in gambling-research websites, such as Stanford Wong's BJ21.com.[15]

Janeček recommends treating the handling of advantage play "as just another investment".[16]

Personal life

Janeček has two daughters from his first marriage, and a son from his second marriage. Since May 2017, he is in a relationship with Lilia Khousnoutdinova, and they have a daughter. [17]

See also

References
  1. Executive Profile, Bloomberg Businessweek
  2. "Businessman and anti-corruption pioneer Karel Janeček: Whistle-blowing is a brave thing to do", Radio Prague, 28 March 2011
  3. "Foes Want Czech Leader Prosecuted Over Amnesty", by Dan Bilefsky, The New York Times, 27 February 2013
  4. "Karel Janecek, milliardaire et croisé anticorruption", by Martin Plichta, Le Monde, 1 March 2013 (in French)
  5. website
  6. "Billionaire Mystifies Public as He Tries to Fight Corruption with Math", Prague Wandering, 6 December 2013
  7. Neuron Fund for Support of Science
  8. Approximately $ 600,000
  9. SBA website
  10. E.g. Don Schlesinger: "[Janeček]'sStatistical Blackjack Analyzer software was the original, all-purpose simulator, and it has come to be known as the standard against which all other such products are measured." Reviews, SBA website
  11. SBA sample reviews
  12. "Blackjack Switch - interview with Geoff Hall", Professional Poker
  13. See Blackjack Switch at the Wizard of Odds website for the game's analysis
  14. "The truth about unbalanced counts" by Dr Brett Harris, Blackjack Insider
  15. "Certainty Equivalent Analysis" by Karel Janeček, bj21.com
  16. "Fluctuations - A Personal Perspective" by MathProf, bj21.com,
  17. Herrmannová, Nela (4 June 2018). "Karel Janeček má se svou neoficiální ženou dceru, porod byl výjimečný" [Karel Janeček has a daughter with his unofficial wife, the birth was exceptional]. Revue iDnes (in Czech). Prague. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
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