Your success is our success

Always actively looking for new challenges and exploring new ideas is the basis for education and personal growth. It is the only way to keep up with the fast-changing business and social environment. The routine was always something I avoided with all effort. I need constant change, new knowledge, new surroundings, colleagues, friends, new business partners and clients, and new business opportunities. Hence, the MBA program was on my to-do list for quite some time since I felt I could get everything in one place. And I was not wrong.

After having been on the domestic market as a sales director for six years, building the system from scratch, the time came to go forward. As our company was growing intensively, and we were already looking toward potential export markets, I was able to enroll in the Cotrugli Executive MBA program through an “MBA challenge” organized in Ljubljana. I grabbed the opportunity and got it. I also got the full support from my company, which was crucial to getting the most out of the theoretical part of the program and transferring it to our real business.

It was a life-changing experience, as I like to say it in one sentence, and what every individual can expect from thE program is that it will open your mind even further. One's mindset will broaden if only you are prepared to grasp and objectively accept all the knowledge and information presented by the faculty and, most importantly, from your colleagues. I must say it was the best team of so many different individuals I ever met, and I loved working with every single one of them since all were full of ideas and different but positive perspectives. We became not just colleagues but friends for life. With some of them, we also became business partners since we started and managed a small business together as a derivate of our final graduation project.The region we all work in is relatively small but also quite strong. Mixing nationalities from our Balkan region, also working with the Serbian generation, and combining modules with older and younger generations was one of the most important and smart things Cotrugli has offered us.

Through this, we all received a powerful network of colleagues and friends from all business segments and regions. This is something that cannot be “priced. ” What was my most important takeaway from all of this?  It is hard to say. Today I am managing successfully a fast-growing segment of export sales inour company.  We are present all over the European market and entering overseas markets already. I achieved this with a sort of personal ease and calm. Nothing can surprise you. You easily cope with different tough situations every day. You have all the answers in your pocket. You have the upper ground on every situation and every interlocutor.

This is the foundation that the COTRUGLI Executive program strengthened for me. I have full control over myself and business development topics. Years go by quickly, but knowledge and friends stay. Following alumni, activities keep me in touch with all that was so positive and unforgettable. It is not just networking… we are a community of so many exciting and positive individuals.

As part of my Executive MBA journey at COTRUGLI Business School, I had the incredible opportunity to spearhead an ambitious initiative called SAVEN, alongside a talented team of seven MBA alumni. Born out of an Entrepreneurship course, SAVEN quickly evolved into a powerful venture focused on pioneering green technologies, driven by the enthusiastic support of COTRUGLI and its tech-savvy partner, HashNet.

HashNet's impressive track record with EU-funded digital projects like SEED, ThinkXR, TRUBLO, EDIH, VECTOR, TRACE4EU, DOME, and IPCEI-CIS has been instrumental in providing us with a robust network and cutting-edge technological insights. Our mission at SAVEN is to revolutionize energy storage through the innovative use of sand batteries. In response to the significant environmental and safety concerns associated with lithium batteries, we have chosen sand batteries as a sustainable and efficient alternative.

These batteries, heated to a remarkable 600°C using electricity from solar panels, promise a safe, eco- friendly, and cost-effective solution for energy storage. This technology not only facilitates the seamless integration of renewable energy sources but also addresses the pressing need for large-scale storage without the environmental toll of lithium extraction. In my role as a leader, I have been dedicated to steering our team towards key objectives: seamlessly integrating renewable energy with groundbreaking storage solutions, expertly navigating the funding landscape for green technologies, gaining hands-on experience in designing and commercializing these innovations, and cultivating entrepreneurial, management, and leadership skills within our team.

To propel our project from the MVP stage to a fully marketable solution, securing EU funding is essential. We are proud to have garnered commitments for research, development, and distribution from esteemed companies such as Suncontract, Sonce, KSI, Koncar, A1 ,and colaborating with University FER and IRB.

The journey through the EMBA program, has been nothing short of transformative. It has significantly sharpened my leadership abilities and deepened my entrepreneurial insight. As I approach the culmination of our EMBA program in December, I am confident that COTRUGLI’s unwavering support will continue to propel us forward, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of green technology innovation.

2010 was a crisis year for professionals in public relations and marketing, with most of us working extraordinarily profitless in these industries. In doing so, I saw no opportunity for professional and personal development. With the help of half COTRUGLI scholarship, I decided to quit my job at the well-established Public Relations agency and take a year off from work to focus on getting my MBA.

Personally, this was a tough decision to make because I moved from being a PR adviser to unemployed MBA Student. Looking back today, I know this was one of my best life decisions. I learned a lot of useful and applicable knowledge through real-life examples and contemporary classes held by top professors.

Since I received my master’s degree from the Faculty of Political Science, most of the economic concepts were new to me. Still, through teamwork and quality lectures, I managed to master them in a fun and interesting way. What impressed me most were the students at the school.

Everyone attending the MBA program was smart and wonderful, professional, friendly, and willing to collaborate, even if they were from different countries or professional backgrounds. That is why I can say that apart from great professors and quality school, I learned a lot from the students themselves. The MBA program was a unique opportunity to ask questions to those who knew the right answers.After graduating from the MBA program, I made the decision to tackle what matters to me in life. I took a leap of faith and opened my own Public Relations agency, started a family, and found a perfect and happy work-life balance.

For the last seven years, my company ELEMENTA Communications, which focuses on communication consulting and education, has secured my job career in the profession and quality time for the family. Looking back, that year of MBA program helped me reach my professional dreams and made me happy to date.

At the beginning of my career, I found out that knowledge gained at Law University is not enough to conduct my everyday tasks. I had to understand the business processes so I could really. I had to learn. So, I try to soak up the knowledge and experience of any colleague willing to share. As a corporate lawyer, I built experience through various job roles in several leading Croatian companies. I always tried to broaden my knowledge so I can be better in what I do.

During my career, I have been appointed mediator at several institutions and an Honorary Judge and arbitrator at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. I am a certified internal auditor for multiple ISO standards. I become also a member of the Lawyers’ Club of the Croatian Employers’ Association and a member of the Presidency of the Association of Corporate Lawyers. Then, I received an opportunity to be a part of the Cotrugli MBA. MBA shows me that the old saying: „I know that I know nothing.“ is true. The learning journey started and what a journey it had been. Two years of intense learning, growing self development and building connections that will last for a life time.

I finally got that holistic, comprehensive, end-to-end picture of business I had been searching for. Not only that, but I started to connect the dots and see the interconnection between departments in some companies and the logic behind them. The most important staff still hadn’t come from great, exquisite, international teachers and tutors but from my fellow colleagues. Interactive, up-to-date, and interesting lectures were mixed with socializing and networking with now-friends from the whole of Southeast Europe.

Now, when I’m reminisced with a smile on my face, I strongly believe that an MBA (the knowledge I gathered and the way of thinking I adopted) directed me to the position where I am today. Now, as Compliance Officer, I’m helping to create a transparent and highly ethical corporate culture in HT Group (part of Deutsche Telekom Group), a company that is making the foundations for the digitalization of Croatia, leading to better opportunities for all of us.

Executive MBA program at COTRUGLI Business School was a transformational experience. When enrolled in the program, I had 16+ years of experience in different industries, mostly services, ranging from real estate and facility management to accounting and tax advisory. Working for different local, regional, and global companies from an early age gained me valuable and diverse experience. So, I already experienced both a great success and a painful failure, followed by business stabilization after restructuring, when my drive for constant learning and commitment to personal development brought me to COTRUGLI.

Why COTRUGLI?

The program covers the needs of middle and top executives and gathers people from SEE, creating a unique networking platform. After working a few years in the Adriatic region as a CFO of a major International service company, that was just what I needed. I decided to enrol COTRUGLI to widen the horizon and give my profile additional dimension. At the same time, when I started the program, I took new challenge of a new job and joined a company in a different industry. That was tough but allowed me to grow exponentially and apply newly acquired knowledge. The program fulfilled my expectations. I consolidated my existing knowledge, learned many new things, and improved various skills. But the opportunity to share experiences and learn from peers on real examples and case studies makes this program so attractive.

The biggest impact the program had on me is in the area of leadership skills. Boosting my awareness of myself and of my impact on other people surrounding me was the biggest eye-opener. Confirmation for this I received in three consecutive years being recognized as Personal Leadership Ambassador by my peers and managers. I have discovered my passion for leadership through the development of people, so I created Finance Acumen Training in the SEE region.This form of leading without authority is the best example of a personal leadership one could be recognized for. My passion for lecturing and teaching was also recognized by Vern University, where I held lectures in the Business Communication module. My passion for continuous development pushed me to enroll in a Certified yoga teacher’s training as mindfulness is one of the most precious virtues.

The benefits of mindfulness are very much needed in today’s dynamic environment. Finding a purpose in life also makes leadership meaningful. I have discovered mine in combination of mindfulness and leadership. I am truly grateful to all my colleagues who have unselfishly shared their experiences. Many thanks also to our teachers, most of all to Prof. Mike George, prof. Davide Sola and prof Anthony J. Evans. I must also point out Terence Tse, a guy who can explain the most complex finance in a very simple way, and to Prof. Nicolas Kfuri for rounding this journey with Advanced Management Module.

In the end, I would conclude that the COTRUGLI Business School EMBA program has equipped me well for all the challenges that are yet to come. I added to my experience the capability of running a business globally. I developed my leadership style and continued to work on my inner strengths. If my story inspires at least one person to go for personal development and to enroll in the program, I would be really happy as I have positively impacted one life – someone’s whole world.

For many years, I listened to my senior colleagues and mentors talking about their MBA experiences and how they changed their personal and professional lives for the better. They were remembering their experiences with a special kind of passion, and that got me curious over time even more. So, I decided to put an MBA on my will-do list. I was aware that getting through the MBA program would not be an easy undertaking, so I did not rush it and was waiting for a good opportunity. I always considered myself a „product person“, fascinated by any kind of product that was showing original problem solving and innovation, so I directed my career to always be near product topics and I was for years, but in a role of expert.

I joined Vipnet in 2011 and got the opportunity to form and run a small product development team. I jumped on this opportunity and started my transformative journey from product expert to manager and leader. In late 2014, I was offered to run the whole Product and Device management team in Vipnet, and at the time, I considered it a great privilege and opportunity. I was thrilled I would be working with a team of fifteen product experts and accepted this challenge. Very soon, I realized there was a gap in my knowledge and skills, so I started to seek advice from my past mentors. One of them asked me – “why don’t you consider COTRUGLI Business School?” and so I did.

I remember the day of the scholarship competition and how I was so pumped and determined to win it. I applied and won one of six executive MBA scholarships for 2015, and my learning MBA experience was outstanding. It was truly a life-changing experience. I remember my excitement when every new module was nearing. I looked forward to talking with fellow students, exchanging ideas, working together on practical tasks, and applying newly acquired knowledge.I discovered I have a passion for finance, marketing, and economics and that personal development and developing others is crucial to succeed in business – new areas that my engineering mind did not consider much in the past.

After every module, most of them lasting 3 or 4 and some of them lasting even 5 consecutive days, I was not tired but filled with inspiration, energized. Every new learning MBA experience was filling me with energy, and I was impatient to share my new knowledge with my team at work and apply new techniques and ways of looking at things on everyday business situations. I look forward to transforming this knowledge into value for my company and team. One of things I learned and started practicing was – we set vision for ourselves and design how things will unfold, that focus and setting priorities are important, that commitment and teamwork bring great results, that friendships are valued above all else and that learning never stops. I am convinced that the COTRUGLI experience led me here and helped me be a better business professional and a better person. I am thankful to COTRUGLI professors and faculty for all my experiences so far and wholeheartedly recommend my friends and colleagues to set off for this life- changing learning experience.

After time spent at this School, I get to view my choices and experiences with the clarity that only hindsight provides. COTRUGLI Business School was the right place for me. From its exemplary focus on general management to its culture, COTRUGLI fulfilled all expectations I had from the business school.

At COTRUGLI I found genuine friendships that forged not only through common experiences, but also through common aspirations. From 2005 to 2009 I worked in the civil society sector, as the General Manager of a nongovernmental organization. I was responsible for set-up of a Youth Forum nongovernmental organization; development and marketing, coalition and networking among international, national and other relevant authorities. Having work experience before taking Executive MBA education, certainly adds on to the efficiency and capability to learn more and perform better.

After the first year at COTRUGLI I have started to work as professional consultant with experience from grassroots towards corporate level and this is one of the most important things that makes EMBA special, proving new jobs and new life opportunities. The first question most people will ask is “Was getting an EMBA worth it?”. On a personal level, it was a truly great experience. It has given me a lot of confidence, motivation, purpose, and energy. On a business and learning level during the two years journey I have

had the chance to work and play with an extraordinary group of talented, intelligent, and well-rounded individuals. I launched a new stage in my professional career, and managed to expand connection to most influential network of experts and authorities from the whole SEE region. Moreover, I had an opportunity to learn from outstanding international faculty from top business schools and from the world’s leading  companies.

Finally, COTRUGLI Business School provided me with key variables for success and at each stage increased my leadership capacity and created opportunities to have access to best practices and business knowledge. Moreover, I had an opportunity to learn from outstanding international faculty from top business schools and from the world’s leading companies. Finally, COTRUGLI Business School provided me with key variables for success and at each stage increased my leadership capacity and created opportunities to have access to best practices and business knowledge.

Regardless of the fact that we are just passive observers or active participants in the process, we cannot ignore the fact that the present time constantly requires some new attitudes, abilities and knowledge. Furthermore, we are not just becoming a knowledge-based society – we are already there. And for anyone, who is not convinced of the fact that the oncoming time requires constant education and development, I would not bet on the survival.

So, at one point of my life, I started considering the educational environment, which would have offered me capacities to achieve extra business knowledge and support my personal development. There was no doubt that I found it in COTRUGLI Business School. It is a great feeling to find yourself in an environment where you are surrounded with dozens of like-minded people, equally eager to obtain the same – competences and expertise that count in today’s globalized business world. The pace of COTRUGLI lectures, activities and tasks were so well lined up that I had no any difficulties in meeting the obligations.

And even if I had missed something, at any point of time I could have counted on my Executive MBA colleagues and a support of school staff. In overall, I would call that business par excellence. And this is exactly what we were taught and one of the things that we learned.

The major point of the Executive MBA program that I attended was that it balanced perfectly between offering deep business functions’ knowledge and the art of personal development. The latter one helped me immensely to establish equilibrium between material and spiritual. Without that there is no a success today. And we graduates from COTRUGLI know very well today what the success means: it is for sure an achievement and an acquisition of wealth but NOT without an increase of quality of life. Without any doubts the whole process of education at COTRUGLI Business School added immensely to the quality of my life.

They say that the best thing you can do for yourself is to become an entrepreneur and start your own business. Well, that might be true, but when you are working for the officially “the best employer in the world”– Cisco Systems, like I do, it does interfere with your motivation to start your own business. However, the best employer also wants to have the best employees, so if you want to stay there and move up in your career, it is crucial to keep working on your set of skills and knowledge and improving yourself continuously. The best way to do that is to enroll in the Executive MBA program.

I started my COTRUGLI EMBA at 52, and many people asked me: Why now, at your age? Learning is a lifetime process, and we never stop learning. At a certain age, people fall into the false feeling they know everything. That is usually because they have limited themselves into their “comfort zone,” and in there, they usually know almost everything, but there is so much more to know and learn outside of their “comfort zone”

This knowledge gives you a feeling like stepping out onto the balcony from the crowded room with stale air, seeing the whole world outside, and taking a big breath of the fresh air. It makes you want to see, do, and learn more. It boosts energy because it works two ways: it gives you knowledge and skills, but there is another, not less important, benefit. Like a smile, learning works both ways. When you are in a good mood, you smile, but when you are feeling down, if you force yourself to smile in a few minutes, you will feel much better. Learning is usually connected to young people because we all learn while young, and less so when we get older.

But if you continue to learn in your mature years, you will feel rejuvenated, re-energized, and full of confidence to take any challenges put ahead of you. My Executive MBA helped me significantly to see events, numbers, people I work with, and opportunities from various perspectives, which gives me better grounds for making decisions to see the "bigger picture". It improved my ability to see things from "other people" positions and a better understanding of their actions and motivations. It made me a better manager in general.

Take my advice: At any age, enroll and learn, you'll never regret a single second of doing it, plus you'll meet some of the best people in your life.

Before going to MBA courses I was on a very good medium management position in a local FMCG company. A desire to complete COTRUGLI Executive MBA for me started with a very simple question: Can I do better than I already do? That precise moment all my rational thinking strived to reach one goal – my personal maximal potential. In order to achieve it, I decided that an EMBA courses could be the bridge to cross to my personal success. There are two reasons for that. The first is that you need to be constantly surrounded with people that would force you to think harder in order to be on their level or even better. The second is that those people that you are among are the ones who are also on great positions in their companies and will eventually recognize your positive sides which will result in moving up on corporate level whether in the same company or the next one.

There is also one bonus attribute of going to EMBA class and that is that you will overcome fear of loss and achieve higher level of confidence in creating your own value in business world, meaning becoming an entrepreneur if this intrigues you. My path after completing Cotrugli EMBA, with Valedictorian honors, started with moving to another company to a better paid and more mind challenging position. I even changed industries completely, moving from FMCG to Pharmaceuticals and believe me I fear no fear.

By completing EMBA I feel confident today running business development projects in current company or managing luxury spaceflights to moon tomorrow. It is important to think out of the average scope and you will find endless possibilities out there because future is now and you are it. To me now, every day is a victory in a business and personal sense and I will not stop any moment soon. For me the journey just began completing Cotrugli EMBA – and where does yours start?

Let’s go back 20 years. It’s the end of 1999; I had just started journalism college, and at the same time working as a young journalist in the most prominent national newspaper, Večernji list. A couple of months later, Croatia is in political turmoil, the opposition comes to power, society is changing, and my only dream is to cover these events as a journalist. As years passed, my career shifted towards management in 2005. I took the role of executive editor in the new national newspaper 24sata, in 2009. I was back on the Večernji list as deputy editor-in-chief, and four years later, I left the editorial (content production) and shifted to business as a Digital Development Director.

After the first couple of years in management, I began to realize that everything I knew about leadership and business in total, I learned on the go, by myself, and that is not enough. It was time for the next big step. I joined the COTRUGLI Executive MBA in 2011, and it really helped me improve my knowledge and skills but also inspired me, opened me to new perspectives, and gave me a chance to spend time with amazing, smart people. By listening to them, I grew as a person and leader. CBS prepared me for the next level, and soon after graduation, my career continued in the role of Digital Media Director at 24sata, and four years later, I was asked to join the company Board. The two most valuable takeaways from CBS are: that learning never stops, and leadership is all about humility and helping your people grow. If you follow these rules, results will come.

When you have been growing in one company for 10 years, like I was, the next natural step is to find out what’s going on in the business world. At that time, I was Head of Residential Sales at Iskon Internet with countless reorganizations and new roles behind me, so I just wanted to learn more about business management besides my company. I was curious, wanted to see different strategies and presentations, hear challenges outside the known market, get to know different companies, and, of course, eager to learn new things.

COTRUGLI was perfect mix of something new, old and borrowed. I've heard new theories and examples through case studies in every class, which opened my mind and still influences my decision-making today. Good old classics of entrepreneurship are always nice to hear, to remind yourself and practice more what you already know in theory. The borrowed part was my favorite. I was fortunate enough to be in a big EMBA group, so I borrowed from COTRUGLI a few amazing people who became my dear friends. Last month I was at the wedding ceremony in Slovenia of one of my colleagues from the group. That’s what you can take from COTRUGLI, but you need to treasure it and bring it back to School at least once a year at our reunions.

Don’t get me wrong; you’ll be tired after a hard working week and crazy about so many literature and assignments that you somehow need to squeeze in your already tight schedule. But when that working weekend comes, you enter a different world. Besides learning, having fun, and gaining priceless experience, you have a chance to hear international professors, debate with amazing successful people, work in a teamwork, listen to different perspectives, cultures, regulations… All that in just one weekend with COTRUGLI.It will be hard, demanding, and moments that you will not like (just like in business) – but it will be a tremendous learning process – about yourself and the successful people around you. Most valuable lesson for my personal growth was: detach. I was growing up professionally in my company, and the hardest part of my learning process was to detach. Now, when I’m Director of Residential sales, I remind myself every day that detachment is good for the company and for me. Richer for knowledge, friends and amazing experience, I’m staying to grow few more years in Iskon.

I have over 30 years of experience in tourism, mainly in management positions, and my specialty is hotel sales, marketing, and revenue management. After years of managing various hotel companies, I felt that the highlight of my career was working as a board member of Valamar H&R, the most prominent Croatian hotel brand. However, after leaving the VHR, I began my independent consulting career and, upon the recommendation of a previous-generation colleague, enrolled in the Executive MBA program at COTRUGLI Business School to gain additional knowledge, fill in the gaps, and create the necessary “networking”.

The experience with the EMBA program was another confirmation of the importance of lifelong learning and improvement, as well as the importance of interconnectedness with the management structure of the most respected companies in the region. Great professors and atmosphere have contributed significantly to my extra personal development and confidence building. As good things usually do not come alone, even before completing the COTRUGLI EMBA program, I received a very challenging offer from my current employer. This firm was in a problematic condition then and needed to be revitalized and returned to the tourism market in the short term. I accepted the offer because the shareholders gave me full confidence and discretion.

Therefore, I had the opportunity to realize the vision of creating a new, organized hotel that will become a recognizable hotel brand and a respectable employer and partner over the next few years. In this part of my professional career, I have fully realized the true values of business success.The satisfaction of being creative in a creative environment, the dedication and compactness of the team, and the speed of realization of accepted ideas – which is, in my opinion, far more accessible to accomplish in smaller, flexible companies and environments. That is why, at every moment of your life and career, it is vital to choose the best team you understand, create a motivating work environment, and persist in stimulating new ideas and acquiring new knowledge. The experience gained through the COTRUGLI EMBA program is invaluable to me in this regard.

As a young manager, I was included into an internal educational program designed as a “Mini MBA” for young potentials of my company, aimed to build core competencies and management skills in key business areas. Having participated in the program only confirmed my determination to complete my “real” MBA, as I wanted to complement the expertise in my business area with a broader business view.

My wish was realized in 2007, when I enrolled the Executive MBA at COTRUGLI Business School. I would describe my EMBA experience as a thrilling 2-year journey, very motivating and challenging. What I respected from the very beginning of the program was the challenging environment, there was no way one could “sit back & enjoy” since all the modules were very interactive, requiring solid pre work and preparation, in order to be able to participate.

From today’s perspective, when I try to summarize my COTRUGLI experience, I would say that first class speakers and well-composed modules are surely not the only value of the program. The network of knowledge and experiences are a lot wider, and they spread well beyond the “official” part of EMBA. I think I learned in equal terms both from professors and my fellow students. Different people, different businesses and life experiences – all this was really enriching for any participant.

Executive MBA has helped me a lot to build my business confidence, and to have a broader view on company’s issues and challenges in these demanding times for any industry. I am now able to look further and propose solutions that sometimes are out of my standard “jurisdiction”, covering only fraction of what company does on everyday basis. On the personal side, I have acquired many good friends and wide network of business contacts during my COTRUGLI years, and I am quite sure that we will continue to build this network together further on.

With an academic background including PhD and Associate Professor titles in plant breeding and genetics, I was appointed to the CEO position of the public research institute ten years ago. Being at the top position of an academic but predominantly self-financed and market-oriented institution for some time, I realized I should acquire more knowledge regarding managerial economics, strategic management, and brand positioning. Thus, despite significant academic achievements, an insufficient level of near-market education was a primary “culprit” when I decided to enroll in an Executive MBA program at COTRUGLI Business School.

The two-year program of the COTRUGLI study provided me with paramount business knowledge and skills such as interpretation of financial documents, creation of adequate market strategy, embracing changes, and negotiation process rules. This know-how is essential nowadays for reaching better off in any industry. Moreover, COTRUGLI helped me to close the gap between theoretical academic and more practical, hands-on knowledge. Such completed and implemented attainments eventually paid off in more than doubled production and sales at the institute. So, from my experience, it is the COTRUGLI Business School where the rubber meets the road!

Here, I also wish to credit exceptional lecturers who were carefully selected by the COTRUGLI. Many of them justified their top reputation by conveying their widely useful and concrete proficiencies to us.As a professor myself, I was highly influenced by their “focus on actions rather than theory” approach. Such a moment of impact significantly boosted my own performance in the academic environment. In addition, and apart from pure education – this journey meant a lot to me in terms of introducing a whole network of people from various industry branches. Open minded discussions during and hanging up around after classes kept me clear-headed and approachable to new ideas and business possibilities.