How Michal built the fortune
Michal Strnad's fortune comes from Czechoslovak Group, usually known as CSG, an industrial holding company focused on defence. Its origins lie in the business of his father, Jaroslav Strnad, who in the 1990s began buying, repairing and reselling surplus military equipment left over from the Cold War armies of Central Europe. That trade, carried out through a company called Excalibur Army, gave the family expertise in armoured vehicles, artillery and ammunition, and a network of customers abroad.
Michal took over the leadership of the group as a young man and became its owner after his father passed the business to him. Jaroslav Strnad stepped back from operations, leaving the strategy to his son. He reorganized the holdings under the CSG name and set out to turn a collection of Czech and Slovak firms into an international manufacturer. A central step was gaining control of Tatra, the historic Czech truck maker, whose off road vehicles are widely used by armies.
The group's growth accelerated after Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. European governments urgently needed artillery shells, refurbished vehicles and other equipment, and CSG was one of the few companies in the region with spare capacity and an ability to source ammunition quickly. It became a key supplier in programmes, including a Czech led initiative, to deliver shells to Ukraine. Revenues and profits rose sharply, and the company used the cash and new borrowing to buy businesses in Western Europe and the United States.
Companies and holdings
CSG has dozens of subsidiaries. The most important include:
- Excalibur Army, which modernizes and produces armoured vehicles and artillery systems.
- Tatra Trucks, maker of heavy off road trucks for military and civilian customers.
- MSM Group in Slovakia, active in ammunition and the disposal of old munitions.
- Fiocchi Munizioni, the Italian ammunition maker acquired in 2022.
- The Kinetic Group, the American ammunition business behind brands such as Remington and Federal, bought from Vista Outdoor in 2024.
The group also has interests in aviation services, radar systems and railway equipment. In early 2026 CSG listed its shares on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange, raising capital from public investors while Strnad kept control of the company.
Production sites are spread across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, the United States and other countries. The American acquisition in particular gave CSG a large presence in the civilian ammunition market for hunters and sport shooters, which balances the more volatile government orders in its defence business. Strnad has said the group aims to become one of the leading land defence suppliers in Europe.
Early life and career
Strnad was born in Prague in 1992. He grew up around his father's business and started working in it while still a teenager, learning about procurement, trading and the maintenance of military equipment.
By his early twenties he was leading the group, and in the years that followed he concentrated on building professional management, adding manufacturing capacity and widening the customer base beyond former Eastern Bloc countries. His relative youth for the head of a large defence company has made him an unusual figure in the industry, and he has given a number of interviews in Czech media about the group's strategy and about Europe's need to rebuild its defence production.
Philanthropy and public life
Strnad keeps a moderate public profile. He has spoken about the importance of European defence independence and about the role of private industry in supplying Ukraine, while CSG has faced questions from journalists about past arms deals involving intermediaries and about its rapid growth. The company says it complies with export control rules and that all exports are licensed by the relevant governments.
Information about his personal philanthropy is limited. CSG and its subsidiaries support local sports clubs, technical education and community projects in the towns where they operate, such as the Tatra factory town of Kopřivnice.
His growing prominence has made him one of the best known young business owners in the Czech Republic, and his comments on defence spending are widely reported in Central European media.