Vladimír graduated from the Prague University of Economics and Business, obtained a postgraduate degree in mathematical statistics and probability from Charles University, and studied at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) in 1978-79. The former Economy Minister of the Czechoslovak Federal Republic and Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic served as President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce from 2014 to 2023. Since 2023, he has been President of Eurochambres, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

He also works for foreign and Czech companies (Meridiam Infrastructure based in France, Medha Corporation based in India and others). He is a member of the governing board of Czech Technical University, several Czech supervisory boards, and the Trilateral Commission.

Previously, he worked for 25 years as an international advisor to Goldman Sachs, an investment bank. From 1997 to 2011 he was an advisor to ABB, a company, and from 2013 to 2018, he worked for Rolls-Royce. Between 2009 and 2013, he served as an advisor to the IMF Managing Director. He has been a member of several sessions of the National Economic Council of the Czech Government (NERV). Until 2022 he taught at Charles University in Prague for more than 20 years.