Paweł Walicki

President of the Management Board of CMP Medical Center

Nowadays, more and more often company managers put emphasis on the fact that their organization fits into a broader social context and undertakes initiatives related to corporate social responsibility. What does responsible leadership mean to you? 

I think that this is not a trend resulting from the times in which we live, but rather from the maturity of managers / owners. Running a business can, of course, only serve to make money. More often, however, with the increasing maturity of the owner, it becomes a way of life. A company should start with a dream. If only these puzzles can be properly arranged and the picture becomes clearer and more legible, then there is also a need to do something more. The need to leave a concrete, tangible social footprint after one’s company – and I would see this as the source of responsible leadership. This need can affect inwards and outwards.

In the first option, we form a company space in which people – our employees – are important. We are building a common place where people come back every Monday morning with a smile. A place where our employees can be happy, what’s more – we care about this happiness. The participation of managers in creating such a working atmosphere cannot be overestimated.

In the second option, managers want to go even further. We observe changes in the world and strive to implement a responsible company policy. As the CMP Medical Center, we are entering the paperless era, renewable energy sources, electric cars, but we also undertake social and educational activities. We organize many preventive actions that save people’s lives. We support social actions – such as the Noble Box – and it gives us a lot of joy. We are also the organizer of a nationwide social campaign #ODWOLUJE #NIEBLOKUJE. Its aim is to minimize the number of uncancelled visits, which should translate into queues and availability of specialists. The campaign is run by our marketing and PR specialists. We make patients aware of the scale of the phenomenon and explain why a doctor’s visit should be treated as a resource that we should not waste, especially considering that in Poland there are 2.38 doctors per 1000 inhabitants. 

More and more investors and financial institutions choose as their partners those organizations that operate in accordance with ESG recommendations. Do you think that is right? How does the company you manage go beyond the so-called business as usual? What is it doing for the climate, local communities, diversity or what would you like to implement in the near future?

Going beyond, as it has been called, business as usual, is extremely important. Commitment and implementation of change – among others for the good of the climate – is inextricably linked to conscious, wise leadership and modern company strategy. At the Medical Center, we consistently and systematically implement new solutions in many areas in which – as we believe – there is still a lot to do.

From 1 January this year, the main supplier of electricity in CMP branches is a company – a seller of energy in 100% from RES. We reduce emissions to 550,888 kg of CO2 per year. This is a very big step towards climate concern. In addition, we decided to install photovoltaic installations on the roofs of the branches in which we operate. Currently, we are waiting for the launch of the first of them in the branch in Józefosław, we are negotiating consents with the owners of further premises in Warsaw. Unfortunately, not every location gives the opportunity to set up such an installation. In most places we are tenants, so our decisions depend on the decisions of building owners, communities or cooperatives. This does not change the fact that we are conducting intensive analyses regarding such a possibility in several more locations. We have electric and hybrid cars, we are considering the purchase of more. This is an idea close to us, but a full fleet replacement takes time.

Of course, health is a key value for us. Civilization diseases, the situation on the labor market, patients’ needs, reports on the health of Poles – they have an impact on the development of new prevention programs. CMP is not only the organizer and executor of the action. As an employer and expert, we also implement such programs among our employees. For many years, we have been creating preventive campaigns in various variants, m.in mammography or breast ultrasound. The main message of such campaigns is the slogan: “Prevention is better than cure”. We make patients aware of how to take care of themselves and their loved ones (e.g. I help course or breast self-examination), perform tests and indicate what elements of health should be paid attention to (e.g. Action Stress, Action Immunity).  For several years, we have also been implementing a project of a free CMP Birthing School, currently in an online version. We are constantly expanding our CSR activities.

We adapt new organizational solutions, i.e. what is referred to as corporate governance. When certain economies of scale are achieved, solutions such as process auditing, risk assessment or cybersecurity are crucial in rational and responsible company management.  It is also important to simply observe your employees and be able to define their needs. We see great potential in our team and the need for commitment on a much deeper level. Volunteering is the best example. We supported and continue to support newcomers from Ukraine – we help them not only through collections, but above all by creating jobs for these people. Another example of a need that a responsible employer must keep up with is the change in employee identity and the need to create space for diversity in professional realities. CMP is a place for everyone, regardless of age, gender, disability or sexual orientation. We try to make everyone feel safe here. At the same time, we are aware of how much there is to do, for example in terms of discussing the acceptance or formalization of equality principles. And we want to take part in this discussion.

Every company creates its corporate culture that embodies the values that customers see externally. Do customers prefer to choose this particular company because it does something good with which the customer identifies or is it mainly price-driven purchasing decisions? What is your opinion, what trends have you observed, is something changing in this area?

Recent years have seen a big change in the style of thinking and awareness of consumers, both in terms of rights, but also their choices. There are more and more of us, consumers, thinking about the resources of the planet and how our decisions are right in this respect. My point is that there are more and more values behind our daily decisions. Undoubtedly, this will not be the most important criterion for everyone – the wealthier the customer, the lower the price weight seems in relation to other aspects. But even for less affluent people, the price alone is not enough, everyone is looking for something special for themselves. Something he could identify with.

The second, extremely important aspect of the company’s culture or organizational values are employees. Their well-being, way of thinking about the workplace and whether they only “sell” their time to the boss, or whether they put their heart into the company – to put it a bit grandiloquently. We have 20 years of experience in managing an organization operating in health care and this experience tells us that the atmosphere of meetings in the office of the president or directors has its continuum behind the door of this office. At the very end, a “package” of these emotions is offered to our patients. In other words – the level of leadership of managers is reflected in the well-being of employees, which in turn directly affects the quality of patient service. So organizational values – yes. We devote a lot of our attention and time to cultivating CMP’s Values: respect, care, commitment and teamwork. We organize workshops, internal campaigns or less formal actions that allow people to feel that values are something real, not just one of many pictures on the wall.

The development of values and ethical principles in many organizations may indicate that awareness in this area is growing. Many managers declare that they put ethics at the center of their activities. Is compliance with the principles of fair play in management a guarantee of stable development of the company?

As an employer, every day we are verified by our employees in terms of honesty towards them and ethics of our actions. CMP is an organization that has been growing dynamically in recent years. People are necessary for development, very often highly specialized experts. In order to keep them in the organization for longer, ethical attitudes towards the employees themselves, as well as towards our contractors and patients, are indispensable. In order not to pay lip service, I can share information about the preparations for the internal ethics campaign. We hope that it will be another step cementing what has been achieved over the years.

 The world needs wise and good leaders who want to have a positive impact on their environment. Was there a moment when you started to look for a deeper meaning in your work, an opportunity to do something good for your communities or country? What has been achieved?

Positive impact on the environment is, in my understanding, an activity that carries something useful and really changes at least a fragment of reality. A good leader is someone who very often asks himself which of these clippings require the most attention. I am lucky that my work – in principle – has a very deep meaning. After all, we care about the most important value, about human health. We also have the resources and means to carry out the additional activities I mentioned earlier.

Returning to the question – a good leader is also someone who is an astute observer; who allows himself to look at the company’s activities with appropriate distance and calm. This is someone who is not afraid of changes on the one hand, and on the other hand cares about the sense of stability and security of his team. Someone who moves with the times and at the same time is constant in their – and their company’s – values. Someone who is aware that his employees are the most important “resource”, and also someone who at least once in a while allows himself to confront all these attitudes with his everyday life and can draw conclusions from this confrontation.


Paweł Walicki – a graduate of the Warsaw Medical Academy (2000), President of the Management Board of CMP Medical Center, passionate about management.

In 2002, he established the first clinic under the CMP Medical Center brand – in Piaseczno, at Pulawska Street (hence the name). The company was founded on the basis of a complex of private offices, where doctors from the Walicki family, their relatives and friends were admitted.

Currently, 20 years after its establishment, under the brand of the CMP capital group, managed by Pawel Walicki, there are 19 clinics located in Warsaw and the surrounding area, as well as several hundred subcontracting facilities throughout Poland.

Privately, the husband of a doctor, father of two children. Travel and diving enthusiast.

Company motto: Rise or fall!

Last Updated on February 1, 2023 by Anastazja Lach

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