Speakers

Mr. Andrej Zajec graduated from the Faculty of Organizational Sciences and IT Management in Kranj. He started his career as SAP developer in Telecom Slovenia and currently works as technical sales executive in the company LS Retail.

Some of the companies, where he gained his experience and participated in ERP implementation projects are: Violeta, Energija Plus Maribor, Energetika Ljubljana, Studio Moderna, Cablex Group. He optimized his performance and extended his knowledge of different types of ERP systems - D365, MS AX, MS NAV, SAP, which helped him specialize his retail skills.

“Brede Bjerke, VP Sales @ Dynamicweb, has a background from large B2B companies, where he has been responsible for building and developing international Sales- and Marketing organizations.

During his 20+ year career Mr. Bjerke has been in the lead of both mergers and acquisitions, branding, redesign and repositioning processes and also organizational transformations involving implementation of large IT projects to support ongoing sales and marketing activities. In this respect Mr. Bjerke has a thorough knowledge of both possibilities as well as pitfalls when implementing complex enterprise solutions. Both on an organizational level as well as on a commercial level.

Prior to joining Dynamicweb in 2012 Brede Bjerke worked as CEO for a printing company where his responsibility was to grow revenue and expand the geographical marketspace opening sales offices in more markets.

Brede Bjerke holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Danish Institute of Exports (DDE) 1996.”

He was born in 1979 in Ogulin, where he attended both elementary and high school. He graduated in 2004 from the Faculty of Kinesiology of the University of Zagreb. Since 2011 he has been living in Varaždin with his wife Tihana and their three children (Josip, Magdalena, and Tadej). Ever since childhood he has been a member of several folk dancing ensembles, and he achieved significant success while dancing in the National Folk Dance Ensemble “LADO”, and Student Cultural and Artistic Association “Ivan Goran Kovačić”. As an outsourced associate of the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb he has been teaching the Dances and Methodology of Kinesiology Recreation classes since 2004. In 2007 he became a gym teacher in the XVIII Lyceum in Zagreb, he also became a folk-dance teacher in the Ana Maletić Contemporary Dance School. From 2012 he has been working for the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin as a senior lecturer in the field of social sciences and kinesiology. In 2014 and 2015 he participated in the international project “Dual International Volunteering Exchange & Research in Sport Education” in London, and in 2021 and 2022 in the Erasmus+ KA131 project in Vilnius (Lithuania). He is the organizer and head supervisor of the international Nordic-walking Festival held in Varaždin in 2019. He is a member of the organisation board of the professional conference “Computer games” held in 2018 and 2019 in Varaždin. He completed different courses, including a course for ski instructors, Nordic-walking instructors, tourist animators, folk-dancing group supervisors, tour managers, and the winter course of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service. He has been involved in research work for more than 20 years, and has published scientific and professional papers, including online games among the student population in the university of Zagreb, their influence and duration.

In the last ten years he is the head of all sports sections on the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin, and FOI students have achieved special success on different e-sports competitions and have become recognizable competition participants in the whole region as well as in the University of Zagreb.

Due to his great contribution to the development and promotion of student sports in the Republic of Croatia, in 2022 he received the annual award of the Croatian Academic Sports Federation for best gym teachers in higher education in the Republic of Croatia. In 2023 he presented his doctoral thesis, named - The connection between the time spent playing online games and kinesiologic activities, self-evaluating life satisfaction and the intensity of emotional states, and received a PhD in science, specifically in social sciences, i.e., kinesiology.

From 2002 he worked in controlling, and from 2008 he worked as a business advisor and consultant for investment projects and EU funds. He successfully conducted many EU tender applications, as well as other loan and restructuring programs for the public and private sector.

From 2016 he has been working for the Croatian Chamber of Economy as a manager of the Department for Preparation and Implementation of EU Projects. He is a member of the head team for implementation of the Digital Chamber and the Digital Business Transformation of the Croatian Chamber of Economy project, and he is conducting training courses for the business sector regarding EU project preparation.

He is a member of the Monitoring Committee for the Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme 2021-2027, and of the Integrated Territorial Programme 2021-2027. He has a degree in the postgraduate specialist study programme Entrepreneurship and EU Funds, and a PhD in Media and Communication in the field of ICT science.

Klaudija Bubalo is one of the best Croatian female handball players ever, still holding a record of 769 goals, a victory in the French championship and in the Metz cup. She was also declared best player in the championship and the winner of the Yugoslavian cup while playing for the RK Lokomotiva team. In 1989 she won fourth place in the World junior championship in Nigeria while representing Yugoslavia. She won her first gold medal while playing for the Yugoslavian national team on the Mediterranean games in 1991 in Athens. She also competed in the Mediterranean Games in 1993 (Languedoc-Roussilon) where she won gold, and in 1997 (Bari) where she won silver while representing Croatia. In 1994 she was declared the best female handball player in Croatia. During the same year she participated in the European championship in Germany, in 1995 she participated in the World Handball Championship in Denmark, and in 1996 in the European Handball Championship in Hungary, during the same year she reached the finals in the EHF Cup Winners' Cup. It is also worth mentioning that in 1997 she participated in the World Handball Championship in Germany, and in 1998 she was a finalist of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup. She is the president of the Association of veteran and recreational athletes, a member of the Management Board of the DSVR Foundation, and the manager of one of the most award-winning female handball teams, RK Lokomotiva from Zagreb. She received the Rector’s award for her thesis “The analysis of scoring and receiving a series of goals in handball” (1996/1997), and the State Award for Sports "Franjo Bučar” in 2019, the acknowledgement of the highest level awarded by the Republic of Croatia for exceptional achievements and significant contribution to the development of sports in Croatia.

Mila has a long experience working as an EU project manager, she is regularly keeping up to date with Croatian legislation as well as EU conventions and directives and has a certificate in governments purchasing from the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.

She makes project applications for both European and national funds, and city and county level tenders (Business study preparation, procurement plan preparation, preparation of documentation for public procurement and procurement procedures for Entities not subject to public procurement, preparation of financial reports, project advancement reports, preparation of low-significance amendments and grant agreement amendments, preparation of yearly reports after the realization of the project, etc.)

Up to now, she managed more than 80 projects (tenders: E Impulse, ICT phase I and II, Internationalisation phase I, Innovations in newly-established small and medium size businesses, E Impulse, B Light, Eureka, ISO standards, and many more from the OPKK programme, and from the rural development programme, she was the project manager of projects related to measures 4.1.1., 6.1.1., 6.4.1., and the Wine Envelope project, as well as on Cross-border cooperation projects, Interreg Croatia-Hungary, etc.

Ever since she was six years old, she was an active dancer (classical ballet, jazz dance, acrobatic rock’n’roll, free style), and from 1997 she is also a vocal soloist, author, and performer. She participated in many projects related to music together with various other musicians.

Nermin Montel is an IT Specialist with extensive experience in leadership and management and a proven track record of years of work as a successful organizational strategist in the fields of finance, production, construction IT implementation, oil industry and retail. He has a great deal of expertise in managing a comprehensive wholesale industrial branch.

Nermin has over 25 years of thorough and diverse experience in IT, ranging from his position as management consultant over IT Director to CEO of his own company. As the Managing Director of Technology Management he is ultimately responsible for the strategy as well as the operations of the company.

Nermin is in charge of the day-to-day running of the business, which includes supervising and organizing the management, support, consulting and sales teams. He enjoys most when he can use the knowledge he has gained from his 25-year long experience to devise strategies that solve his client’s business issues through processes that are driven by reliability, efficiency and profitability.

His successful implementations of Microsoft Dynamics (Attain, Navision, CRM) an other professional verticals show that he is a strategic thinker and a change and transformation leader.

He has managed international ERP implementation projects for global companies all over the world, from Europe, China, Australia all the way to South America.

Pero Kuterovac, PhD., Coach of the Croatian national swimming team, and top-quality fitness trainer for the Croatian national water-polo team, and for many other Croatian top athletes. Croatian sports can be proud of the amazing contributions and results (Olympic, World, and European medals from 2004 and later) that Pero Kuterovac achieved while coaching top female and male athletes (Croatian national water-polo team, Croatian national handball team, Damir Martin, Filip Hrgović, Borna Čorić, RK Lokomotiva Zagreb, and many others) from sports such as: water-polo, handball, swimming, rowing (skiff), box, tennis, football, etc. It is definitely worth noting that his coaching became recognized by leading and top sports institutes from the US, Australia, and other countries, and that he participates in their events as a guest lecturer. He received many awards and recognitions for his results at the highest-level competitions, and the most remarkable ones out of them are: 2011 – best swimming coach award by the Croatian Swimming Association, 2012 – best fitness trainer award by the Croatian Fitness Trainer Association, 2017 – best fitness trainer award by the Sports system of the City of Zagreb, and 2020 – State Award for Sports "Franjo Bučar”, the acknowledgement of the highest level awarded by the Republic of Croatia for exceptional achievements and significant contribution to the development of sports in Croatia.

Representing TRIMIT is Lars Lindal, Partner Manager at TRIMIT.

On a daily basis Lars focus is on making the life as a TRIMIT partner easier and more profitable. By being Partner Manager Lars will assist TRIMIT partners in whatever need that they have from being present at pre-sales or customer meetings to weekly sparring or creating new business opportunities.

Lars has been working with sales and communication within IT for the last 8 years with a special focus on companies within the manufacturing industries.

Don’t be afraid to stop by and have a chat with Lars, but please don’t mention the 2018 Football World Cup match between Croatia and Denmark…

Sonja is a Business Analyst and Project Manager with extensive experience in business analysis, as well as preparation and implementation of projects in various areas (AgriTech, HealthTech, Blockchain). As a Business Analyst in IT industry Sonja identifies business areas that can be improved to increase efficiency and strengthen business processes, while as a Project Manager she is looking for fundings that can achieve that. In short - Sonja helps companies to develop and implement EU funded projects and establish sustainable growth. In free time, Sonja likes gaming (board, RPG, strategy), reading and traveling.

Nenad is an experienced manager and business consultant, as well as a business skill coach with more than 30 years of professional experience.

Led by the idea that knowledge can only reach its true value when shared and used in a useful manner, in 2008 Nenad opened his own company for business consulting, primarily focusing on working with small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs. This helped him share his rich business experience, gained through working on high managing positions in different industries, supported with a wide palette of business knowledge and skills adopted through various manager education programs.

From the very beginning of his business career, Nenad has been involved in working with innovative entrepreneurs in two different roles – as an evaluator for more than 4,000 project applications for numerous national and international co-financing programmes, and also as an active participant in defining, making and executing several dozens of those projects.

NIKOLA BRALIĆ is the most successful Croatian rowing coach. He was born in 1952 in Dicmo (Prisoje) near Sinj. As a high school student he was rowing in VK Gusar in Split. When he moved to Zagreb to study in the University, he continued rowing for VK Trešnjevka, where he started working as a coach. After coaching beginners for 6 months, prof.  Laštovica invited him to join HAVK Mladost, and he stayed there from 1974 until today, and coached rowers of all ages for 46 years. After graduating on the Faculty of physical education in 1977, he began his ongoing professional career as a coach.

It is worth mentioning that during his career he achieved many top results as a coach: The Olympics – 3 medals (2 gold, 1 silver), World championships – 11 medals (6 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze), World cups – 30 medals (25 singles’ victories, 4 second places, 1 third place, 7 total victories, 4 total second places), European championships – 9 medals (7 gold, 2 silver), U23 – 6 medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), Mediterranean games – 2 medals (bronze). It is interesting to mention that he achieved top results as a coach with more than 20 rowers in different categories like – lightweight women's single sculls, heavyweight senior single sculls, double sculls, quad sculls, coxless pairs or fours, coxed fours, and eights.

Nikola Bralić has excellent coordination, and is a very quick learner of athletic moves, which is a very important trait for a coach. Even though he is specialized in rowing, in University he quickly adopted boxing, skiing, table tennis, and tennis techniques. Thanks to his great knowledge of physiology (he was a demonstrator of the Faculty of Physical Education in Zagreb for years, and participated in testing all Croatian top athletes), he is able to plan tranings accordingly, and his rowers show optimal progress and achieve top shape in time.

One of his teams is currently a record holder for double sculls, and coxless pairs in the Henley event.

He won several prestigious awards, like:

• Best coach in the world for 2015 from FISA,
• Annual State Award for Sports “Franjo Bučar” in 2022,
• “Honorary coach-lecturer” award on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of kinesiology,
• Order of Danica Hrvatska with the figure of Franjo Bučar,
• Best Croatian Coach award in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021 from HOO,
• Medal of the Order of Prince Branimir with a necklace, and
• Best Coach Award in 2016 by Sportske novosti.

In 1996 he graduated from the FISA Academy and became a rowing coach, while continuously furthering his education via FISA Coaches Academies, and networking with some of the most successful global coaches.

He was a guest lecturer on 15 seminars in Croatia, several seminars in Slovenia, one seminar in Serbia, and one seminar in Vancouver (FISA).

From 2005 to 2016 he was the coordinator for scull rowing of the Croatian Rowing Federation.

Tarik Filipović is an actor, TV host and film producer. His career in television and film developed simultaneously to his career in theatre – apart from his career as a TV host and as an actor, he has been a member of the acting crew of one of the most visited Croatian theatres Kerempuh in Zagreb for over 30 years.

During the 30 years of his career the actor has acted in a number of films and plays and he has received a number of regional and international awards for his work in television and in theatre. In South-East Europe he is most known for presenting the quiz “Who wants to be a millionaire?”, which to this day has stayed the most successful project in Croatian television. Apart from that he is well known for his roles in regional sit-coms like “Bitange i princeze”, “Lud, zbunjen, normalan” and most recently “Konak kod Hilmije”. Not to forget his most memorable and praised roles in theatre – from Hamlet and Julius Cesar to three of his own shows – Magic Act Show, Spektakluk and Ćiro and two new shows currently in the making, which Tarik is involved in as actor and creative producer.