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 working in the management of various hotel companies, I felt that the highlight of my career was working as a board member of Valamar H&R, the largest 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 in order to gain additional knowledge and fill in the gaps and create the necessary “networking”. 

The experience with the EMBA program for me was another confirmation of the importance of lifelong learning and improvement, but also the importance of interconnectedness with the management structure of the most respected companies in the region. Great professors and a great atmosphere have greatly contributed to my extra personal development and confidence building. 

As good things usually does not come alone, even before completing the COTRUGLI EMBA program, I received a very challenging offer from my current employer, a firm that was in a very difficult condition at the time 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, modernly–organized hotel, which over the next few years will become a recognizable hotel brand and a respectable employer and partner. 

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, the speed of realization of accepted ideas – which is in my opinion far easier to accomplish in smaller, flexible companies and environments. 

That is why, at every moment of your life and career, it is important to choose the team you understand the best, 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.