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SPEAKERS

ABOUT
SPEAKERS

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Pre-event

USA Connect: Unlocking Business and Partnership Opportunities

Ryan Combs

Executive Director at Research Triangle Regional Partnership, Honorary Consul of Canada

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Erin McKelvey

President & CEO at European American Chamber of Commerce Texas

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Vid Habjan

Head of Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Department, SPIRIT Slovenija

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Vid Habjan

Head of Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Department, SPIRIT Slovenija

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Serves as a voice and connector at the Research Triangle Regional Partnership of North Carolina. Ryan works closely with economic development organizations and potential investors, all with the intention to market the competitive advantages of the Research Triangle Region.

A versatile professional, Erin has excelled in association management, business entrepreneurship, and data analysis.

Dijana, with her diverse expertise, helps businesses establish a presence in the US market and offering valuable guidance and support for those seeking opportunities and growth in the USA, specifically in Nevada.

Former Mayor of Akron who served 28&1/2 years and received numerous awards and recognition for innovative work, especially in Economic Development. Past President of US Conference of Mayors.

Assists small and mid-sized enterprises to establish their business activities and permanent establishments in the U.S. and Germany and to comply with German and American accounting and reporting, tax, human resources and regulatory requirements effectively and efficiently.

Official Opening of the Slovenia Business Bridge Conference™

“Beyond Borders: Why Big Business Matters for National Prosperity?”

Mr. Bese is committed to enhancing growth, customer experience thus shareholders’ value creation of OTP Group’s retail business lines across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He is responsible for monitoring and supporting the performance of the retail business lines of OTP Group member banks across 11 countries. OTP Group is one of leading and one of the fastest-growing banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe with a market capitalization of more than EUR 10 billion.

 

Bartosz Ciołkowski was appointed Mastercard Divisional President for South Eastern Europe in 2023. Before that, he was General Manager for Poland, since January 2014, and he took over additional responsibility for managing the company’s business on the Czech and Slovak markets as of September 2019.

With extensive international experience in the construction industry, Mr. Černila has held key positions at international companies, demonstrating his expertise in sales, marketing, branding, business organization, restructuring, and management.

Ms Črešnar Pergar is the AmCham Slovenia Board Member &Co-Chair of the AmCham Investment Committee. She is a renowned businesswoman who consults and helps investors.

Mr. Denhof has led the bank's transformation through internal changes and a five-pillar strategy, making it one of Slovenia's top financial institutions. With a rich professional background spanning thirty countries, he emphasizes the value of embracing challenges and prioritizing employees and customers.

With 17 years of experience in leading pharmaceutical companies, Mr. Hammam has excelled in developing and implementing marketing strategies, running successful projects, and identifying business opportunities in the pharmaceutical market.

Mr. Ljoljo, an executive in the pharmaceutical sector, leverages his expertise in managerial roles and delivering impactful projects in IT, Supply Chain Management, and Procurement. He helped attract one of the most significant investments of Sandoz to Slovenia.  

Business Leaders & Investors Dinner

“Life is Like a Box of … Opportunities”

Mr. Brodnjak currently holds the esteemed position of President at AmCham Slovenia. His exceptional expertise in the field of finance has been instrumental in successfully overseeing the privatization of one of Slovenia's most prominent bank and establishing one of the most important regional finance institutions.

Borut successfully upgraded their family-owned company Labena and transformed their molecular biology lab into a center of excellence. Their expanded capabilities, including GMO testing, have led to successful development projects in Europe and the US.

Maša is a leading figure in Slovenia, known for connecting art with robotics. She teaches about social and creative robotics, conducts practical education, and founded the Katapult Robotics section in the Katapult incubator.

Luka, an IT entrepreneur from Serbia, started his career in 2017. He is now the co-founder and head of engineering at Connect The Dots, an American-Serbian company.

Experienced international manager and leader with a demonstrated history of successful projects, organizations and companies.Former Chairman of Outfit7 Limited , one of the fastest-growing multinational family entertainment companies with more than 9 billion downloads. Passionately connecting knowledge from business and non-profit, expertise on empowering best talents, cross-cultural cooperation, digital transformation and creating projects and organizations for social changes.

AmCham Business Breakfast

“Legacy and Innovation: Unveiling the Importance of Family Businesses in Slovenia”

Mr. Boscarol, the founder and CEO of Pipistrel, gained prominence through Pipistrel's successful participation in NASA Centennial Challenges, including the historic win of the 2011 NASA Green Flight Challenge, where the aircraft showcased groundbreaking performance criteria. He successfully sold his company to an American company, Textron Aviation.

Dr. Orešković is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, President of the Centre for the Research of Best Health Practices, Director of the WHO Collaborative Centre for Strategic Information, and a Principal Investor at M+ Grupa, a leading independent CX & BPTO company serving multinational corporations across 62 countries worldwide.

Nuša Pavlinjek Slavinec received the Slovenian Economic Oscar for leading ROTO Slovenia, part of the ROTO Group, on a path of internationalization, digitalization, and green transformation.

Mr. Podkrižnik serves as the Executive Director of Podkrižnik Group, and despite his exceptionally young age, he has already become an integral part of the family business. His involvement has been instrumental in driving the company's growth and fortifying its operational capabilities to new heights.

Smart com d.o.o., in operation for 32 years, maintains its founders' vision under the management of Jure and his brother Filip since 2016. Their unwavering commitment revolves around tackling intricate IT challenges through the creation of secure, dependable, and user-friendly solutions and services, thereby contributing to the digital transformation of businesses and critical infrastructure.

Klemen Šešok is a financial executive with expertise in mergers and acquisition, real estate development, financing and turnaround management. In 2015 he joined Iskra d.d., leading Slovenian provider of intelligent industrial solutions (highways, railways, telecommunications and energy), and cutting-edge electrotechnical products. Since then he holds the position of a Chief operating officer.

Before joining AmCham Slovenia, Ms.Vodnik started her media career and, as an entrepreneur, cofounded and managed a TV station. After a successful exit, she finds her passion in the AmCham community in Slovenia and in 44 countries, as Slovenia holds the seat of the umbrella organization AmChams in Europe, uniting 46 AmChams.

Roundtable

“Green Heart of Europe: Hub for High-Tech and Innovation”

Mr. Bartos, a professional, joined Innova in 2004 as Head of Office in Warsaw after working in investment banking at Commerzbank Group and the Polish Development Bank. His portfolio includes significant involvement in numerous IPOs, equity financings, and privatization advisory projects.

Mr. Filipič is the co-founder and partner at KF Finance and  ALFI Funds one of the largest private fund management companies in the region.

Mr. Irving is an esteemed M&A and private equity partner, co-chairing the Firm's Europe Corporate group. Since 1991, he has led groundbreaking transactions across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), South-Eastern Europe (SEE), and Turkey.

Marko Ketler is a Senior Partner and has strong expertise in advising clients in a wide range of corporate transactions, including M&A, private equity, joint ventures, equity investments, restructurings, acquisition and project financings. Marko regularly assists domestic and international corporations with various matters related to Slovenian corporate and banking & finance law, often involving multiple jurisdictions and complex structures and relations.

Mr.Mikuž is the founder of Slovenia's first VC Fund, securing funds from prominent Slovenian companies like Gorenje, Kolektor, FMR, and others. Jure currently holds the position of Managing General Partner at South Central Ventures, the largest VC fund in the region.

Mr. Pichler has 20+ years of experience in CEE's private equity and structured finance. He's a Managing Partner at BlackPeak Capital, leading fundraising for fund II and investing in SMEs in Southeast Europe from Vienna.

Mr. Škrubej is an accomplished asset manager and financial advisory professional boasting a wealth of expertise, encompassing a remarkable 15 years of regional mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experience.

Matjaž is the firm’s founding and managing partner, specialized in corporate and commercial law and recognized as a leading expert in M&A and financial transactions. He has, for over 10 years, advised major Slovenian and international clients with respect to their domestic and global corporate and financial transactions. Matjaž is renowned in the legal market for his strategic approach and negotiations skills.

 

Mr.Mikuž is the founder of Slovenia's first VC Fund, securing funds from prominent Slovenian companies like Gorenje, Kolektor, FMR, and others. Jure currently holds the position of Managing General Partner at South Central Ventures, the largest VC fund in the region.

Mr.Mikuž is the founder of Slovenia's first VC Fund, securing funds from prominent Slovenian companies like Gorenje, Kolektor, FMR, and others. Jure currently holds the position of Managing General Partner at South Central Ventures, the largest VC fund in the region.

Mr.Mikuž is the founder of Slovenia's first VC Fund, securing funds from prominent Slovenian companies like Gorenje, Kolektor, FMR, and others. Jure currently holds the position of Managing General Partner at South Central Ventures, the largest VC fund in the region.

Roundtable

“Synergizing Humans and Technology; The Power of AI for Future of Innovation and Business.”

Martin Baeuml is a Senior Staff Engineer at Google, leading the infrastructure team for Google Bard in Zurich. He has been with Google since 2014, working on Voice Search, Google Assistant, and now Google Bard. Before Google, Martin received his PhD in Computer Vision from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He is passionate about using technology to make a difference for people everywhere around the world, and excited for the immense opportunity ahead with AI.

Mrs. Golcer Hrastnik is an expert in the field of molecular biology and the CEO of Biosistemika, a company with digital solutions for laboratories.

Mr. Jošar is the President of the Management Board at Triglav Skladi, d.o.o., one of Slovenia's largest asset management companies, and also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of the Slovenian Association of Management Companies.

Mr. Mrndže has held high-level positions within prominent interaction companies, but his current passion lies in the realm of AI and Google.

Dr. Mitja Pirc is a director at Kearney. For more than 15 years, he has been working in the field of business consulting, strategic and operational areas, and the development of new business and marketing concepts. He advised more than a hundred leading Slovenian, regional and European companies from the trade, consumer goods, telecommunications, insurance, banking, energy, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors.

Jaka Repansek is focused on supporting Slovene and international TIME (telecoms, internet, media & entertainment) companies and organizations. Repansek chairs the Strategic Committee on Digital Regulation and Environment of the Slovenian Digital Coalition and is a member of several international organizations and an active panelist at various business and educational seminars and conferences.