The creator of Orlen's success or a scapegoat of the Polish media? Daniel Obajtek

Obajtek argues that 'big business can be managed by crazy people'. If a CEO thinks only about fear of audits and the prosecutor, 'you won't make any decision'. He describes how during the pandemic he decided not to freeze investments and refinery production, despite uncertainty. Similarly in the price crisis – Orlen under his leadership conducted hedging of gas and CO2 certificates, on which it earned billions, but individual transactions could bring losses. In his opinion, Poland lacks understanding that this is standard business practice, not acting to the company's detriment.

Obajtek describes his approach to talks with contractors: 'I will come, enter, slam the door, say what I think about someone and say that if you don't change within two weeks and correct your actions, I will simply fall flat on my face and that's the end of the conversation.' In the context of sponsoring sport, he said that associations had to meet conditions regarding allocating funds for youth and training, because 'either you adapt, or up a tree'. He admits that this is not a style of 'political correctness', but believes that in business only such an attitude brings results.

Obajtek reveals that he never attended any sports event, even though Orlen under his rule spent hundreds of millions on sport and was the main sponsor of many associations. The exception was one meeting with a disabled person, which he organized discreetly. He said that 'sport is timeless and it must not be politicized under any circumstances', and his presence at ski jumping or speedway would make the participants be considered 'PiS supporters'. For the same reason, he never appeared at Formula 1, even though Orlen was a sponsor and that's where 'business is done'.

Obajtek explains that in childhood his observation skills sharpened and he feels when someone is deceiving him. But 'when I listened to my heart, I was wrong' – meaning when he made a decision out of pity, it ended in a mistake. He said: 'Sometimes such a brutal negotiator, with whom you wouldn't want to go to a desert island at all, is the best for business.' So he tolerated some employee flaws, because 'sometimes they lied to me in minor things, but you have to look at how much he brings to the business'.

Obajtek describes that audits commissioned by the next ruling team are ordered from 'friends of the rabbit' and written to a political thesis. The prosecutor's office, due to lack of funds, relies on these audits instead of commissioning its own analyses. In his opinion, the company 'if it is harmed, should pursue civil lawsuits', and not use criminal institutions to destroy predecessors. Despite this, he himself took the risk, because 'you think about the company, about the nation, and they think about how to bury you'.

Obajtek emphasizes that in 'core business, theorists had no place with me'. People with practical experience 'were not afraid' to take risks, e.g., gas hedging or CO2 certificates, which brought Orlen billions in profits. In his opinion, 'this requires the courage of brave people', and theorists are only inclined to administer.

Obajtek explains that hedging is standard practice in international concerns, but in Poland it became the subject of attacks: 'This gas could have gone down. We could have lost minimally, but we took the risk.' They earned billions in total (CO2: '2 billion or so'), which shows that the approach was effective. The current management board, in his opinion, 'is afraid of everything' and does not take such actions, causing the company to lose income.

Obajtek counters that it was the media and political attacks that created him. He says: 'Daniel Obajtek was not created by Daniel Obajtek, but Daniel Obajtek was created by these opposition media.' He emphasizes that Polish society has a tendency to solidarity with people attacked by the media. In his opinion, the actions of the prosecutor's office and investigative committees are absurd, because they concern business decisions that normally should be resolved before a civil court, not a criminal one. He points to hypocrisy – the current management board boasts about investments for which he himself was supposed to be prosecuted.

Obajtek describes in detail the mechanism of 'blending' Russian oil in other countries (e.g., Turkey, India) and importing petroleum products to Europe. He claims that Russia 'created an excellent network for selling its oil and gas', and Germany and France are doing well trading with Russia. In his opinion, Polish services block such actions, while 'French and German services do not block'. He calls it 'hypocrisy' and claims that 'Poles are losing very heavily on this'.

Obajtek calculates in detail: 2.5 million gross annually, of which 54% taxes, so 1.2 million remains. He compares this to a director in an international concern 'half smaller', who earned more. He emphasizes that 'the greater the responsibility, the greater the earnings', and in Poland there is 'Bolshevism', meaning giving everyone equally. In his opinion, low earnings combined with legal risk mean that no one wants to make decisions. 'That is no reason to be threatened with a prosecutor, because then you won't make any decision.'

Obajtek says: 'I had honor and did not want to politicize athletes.' He also asked athletes who wanted to publicly support him not to do so, because 'sport is timeless, they will politicize you immediately, they will terminate your contracts.' He points out that his secretaries were summoned by the prosecutor's office to explain their participation in Formula 1, while that's exactly where business is done. As a result, he never appeared even at the Monaco Grand Prix.