EMBA 21 Graduation Ceremony: Speech by Zvonimir Šimić

As part of the EMBA 21 Graduation Ceremony, Zvonimir Šimić, General Director at Optika Anda and valedictorian of the class, delivered a speech during the diploma award ceremony. The speech is presented in full below.

First, I would like to thank Dražen, the COTRUGLI Business School, all the professors, all the staff, and, of course, all my colleagues. This journey has truly been filled with challenges and was quite a long one. Two years have flown by, but when we look back module by module, this journey had its share of obstacles. First and foremost, balancing private and professional calendars, and then managing school obligations.

In all of this, I must agree with Ognjen, our families helped us immensely. During all those weekends we could have spent walking in nature, their support and motivation were crucial for why we came to COTRUGLI. This team and this group were certainly a big part of that motivation, at least from my perspective, and I believe for all of us as well.

Yes, the modules, the ideas, the desire to learn, and the ambition to progress were significant; that’s why we enrolled in this program. But month by month, we developed very strong relationships and reached a point where we’ve all become one big group of friends and one big family. I sincerely thank all my colleagues for this entire program.

What several speakers have mentioned, and I would like to emphasize, is that our journey is just beginning—both together, as we will likely meet through work and often in private gatherings. One thing I would particularly like to highlight is how this business school has personally helped me in my career development. During my studies, I was promoted to General Manager of Optika Anda, and I would like to thank my employer, my company, and my team for their support and, perhaps, for their patience. There were moments when I was more focused on passing an exam than on an Excel sheet you were presenting at the time, so I thank them for their understanding.

And as the cherry on top, I want to thank my wife, Ivana, and my three children, Mia, Leona, and Marko, who are here today. They have been a tremendous support to me in this program, in my work, and in my personal life. I look forward to all our future meetings, and thank you all.