We managed to catch up with Kathrin Mihalus-Dianovski during a particularly busy period in her life. She has just started in a new company, ServiceNow, that was named to the prestigious Fortune 500® list in 2023. At the moment, Kathrin spends a lot of time balancing onboarding, learning about the team, understanding the market and customers, and getting familiar with the company overall. However, despite the demands, she says she is really enjoying the experience so far - and we are grateful found the time for our interview. She is still living in Neuenkirchen, a small town located very close to the French border. However, it’s the proximity to Frankfurt’s international airport that counts, as her role now covers Switzerland, Austria and the Central and Eastern European markets. But what led her, after more than two decades with the FMCG giant Coca-Cola, to take on the role of Area Vice President at a technology powerhouse like ServiceNow?

Meet Ante Mandić, a Master of Pharmacy with an Executive MBA degree from IEDC, who began his four-year term as President of the Management Board of Petrol Croatia in June 2024. He started his career in 2001 as a medical representative at Wyeth and continued at PharmaSwiss d.o.o. as Sales and Business Unit Manager. In 2009, he became the General Manager at Mandis Pharm Group, and in 2011, he founded the company Hamapharm. He has also served as a member of the Executive Board and President of the Croatian Employers' Association - Pharmacy Association and as a member of the Executive Board of the Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists. We were happy to catch up with him and ask him about his transition from pharmaceuticals to the energy industry. We discussed his strategic vision for Petrol Croatia, talked about the balance between profitability and sustainability, the importance of company culture, lessons from his EMBA studies, and how entrepreneurship has shaped his leadership approach. Read more in the interview below.

Meet Ms. Danijela Govorčinović Šimunović, our EMBA alumna 2012, a People Director at The Heineken Company and a seasoned HR professional. In the interview, Danijela offers valuable insights into her journey from discovering her passion for HR to leading organizational people strategies. We asked her to reflect on the evolving role of HR, the key challenges she observes in the field, the impact the pandemic had on work culture and which practices have stayed with us up to this day, as well as the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. While Danijela completed her EMBA studies long time ago, back in 2012, she shared with us her personal experiences from the program. Moreover, we've asked her about her views on balancing a career with family life, and her vision for the future of HR, especially in the age of AI and technological advancements. On a lighter note, we also explored how Danijela starts her day, discovered the priceless career advice her son gave her, which band her musical heart belongs to, and what kind of treat brings back childhood memories. Enjoy the read!

Meet Vita Godec, our EMBA alumna, whose career trajectory is a testament to her passion for scientific advancement and innovation. Her decision to move from the academic realm to the pharmaceutical industry was driven by her appreciation for the fast-paced, application-oriented nature of industrial research. Nowadays, she is a managing director of a Lenis farmacevtika, a full-service regional distributor of niche and specialty Rx medicines in the CEE. In this interview, Vita shares insights into her motivations, experiences, and the challenges she has navigated, offering valuable advice for aspiring professionals in the field. Enjoy the read!

Meet Rok Pandel, Head of Quality in Production at Hella Saturnus Slovenia and also the Chief Commissioner of the Slovenian National Scout Association. Rok is a very busy person and it is not surprising, as scout movement plays a big role in his life, or we better say, it is his life. Nevertheless, he found time for the interview and shared with us what he is up these days, how he manages volunteering, regular job and all other obligations and whether YMP program takeaways came handy juggling all the tasks! What we can say for sure, Rok's positive and proactive attitude is contagious! Enjoy the read! 

»THERE IS A LOT MORE TO SUSTAINABILITY THAN ONE MIGHT EXPECT. THIS IS BEING REFLECTED IN EVERYTHING: IN THE MATERIALS USED, IN THE PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION AND IN THE APPRECIATION OF THE EMPLOYEES.«

»Managers who fail to adapt to new technology risk becoming obsolete, similar to those who resist using computers or phones today.«

Panta rei, an expression attributed to heraclitus that translates to »everything flows« - really resonates with me. Nothing is fixed or predetermined, and we can shape our lives and our world through our actions and intentions.

»WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT BUSINESS IS DONE ON A “HUMAN-TO-HUMAN” RELATIONSHIP BASIS AND THAT WE NEED TO BE RESPECTFUL TOWARDS EACH OTHER. ONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE, THE BACKGROUND, NEEDS AND GOALS OF THE OTHER PARTNER.«

"SEEING MY TEAM GROW ON A PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LEVEL, THROUGH JOINT WORK AND EFFORTS, MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING AS A LEADER AND AS A MANAGER."

»I BELEIVE IN VALUE OF EDUCATION«

LEA WEYERMANN LOZAR: » TODAY, I PRIMARILY SUPPORT BUILDING CONSCIOUS AND HEALTHIER ORGANIZATIONS, ONE INDIVIDUAL, ONE TEAM AT A TIME. THIS IS WHAT I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT.«

Danijela Milić: »I had a wish to make a bigger contribution to society for quite a while, and I wanted to continue my professional development in an organization where my skills could be used to make a more significant impact on the development of my country.«

DANIJEL LEVIČAR: » MANY PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF FLYING BUT AT THE END IT IS THE SAFEST WAY TO TRAVEL. IN THE SAME WAY NUCLEAR IS THE SAFEST WAY OF PRODUCING ELECTRICITY.«

Read an interview with a new President of the IEDC Alumni Club Slovenia and our EMBA alumnus Mitja Kolbe, Digital Advisor at Microsoft Slovenia

Ms. Željka Šulc, our EMBA alumna from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was among the three winners of the General Alumni Achievement Award 2020. While plenty of our alumni are thriving in the business world, Željka chose a very different path. For the last 8 years she has been working at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Why what she does is so important to her, we have asked her in the interview.