Ruža Ristanović, new Executive Director of alliance international media (aim)

New Executive Director of alliance international media (aim), Ruza Ristanović (33), came to the position after four years spent at Ringier Axel Springer, Publishing Company Ltd. in the position of Marketing and PR Director, responsible for market research, PR and promotional activities of all print and online products in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Ruža Ristanović graduated in Economics - Marketing from Belgrade University. Miss Ristanović who joined aim on the 1st August is expected to further develop aim’s corporate businesses.

Siniša Isakov, new Managing Director of Radio and Television Vojvodina (RTV)

Siniša Isakov is the new Managing Director of Radio and Television of Vojvodina, following a decision made by the station’s managing board. Isakov is an electronics and IT engineer. Before this engagement, he worked as an assistant to the Provincial Secretary of Economy and also held a position at RTV. He worked as technical staff in RTV from 1980 to 2003, and is one of the most prominent members of the League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV).

Predrag Jovanović, new re-appointed Director of the Public Procurement Office

Predrag Jovanović has been re-appointed to the position of Managing Director for the Public Procurement Office, after a decision made by the Serbian Government. The government decided to pick Jovanović out of severalcandidates for the job due to the fact that he has been working in the Procurement Office since its establishment. The first time he came to this position was in 2002 and the Office became operational in January 2003.

Aleksandar Antić, re-elected President of the Belgrade branch of the Socialist Party of Serbia

The President of the Belgrade Branch of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) has been reelected to the same position. This was decided at the party election conference in Belgrade. 
Aleksandar Antić was the first ever member of SPS in eleven years to be appointed Speaker of the Belgrade City Assembly which also marks the return of SPS to the capital city’s political scene. He was born in Belgrade on 7th of May 1969. Antić is an agronomy engineer. As an SPS member, he was an MP in the local assembly in Zvezdara for a duration of two terms. Since 2004 he has been the Head of the SPS’ caucus in the Belgrade City Assembly. Antić is also a member of the Executive Board of the Belgrade branch of SPS.

Miloš Đurković, new President of AmCham

Since 2010, Mr Đurković has been the managing director of Hewlett Packard Serbia following more than 16 years working in the IT industry in Serbia and neighbouring countries. He was the general manager of IBM Serbia, as well as the head of the Representative Office of CISCO Systems, in charge of the markets of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. His previous positions  included a number of managing and sales jobs in several companies and institutions in Serbia.
Mr Đurković graduated  from  the University of Belgrade Faculty of Electrical Engineering. He was member  of  the Managing Board of NALED  and  still  is member  of Association  of Serbian Corporate Directors  and member  of  the Managing Board  of  the Rowing Club “Red Star”. He is married and a father of two children.

Marko Jovanović, new Managing Director of Ilirika DZU Beograd

Marko  Jovanović  got  his  Masters  Degree  from  the  Bocconi University, Milan, majoring  in  finance and banking. He graduated  in 2002 also from an Italian university, majoring in international finances. He began his career at Lehman Brothers in London, and, in 2005, he got a job in Delta Bank’s tresury. In 2007, he was appointed partner in Atlas Group and was engaged in setting up an investment fund management company.  In 2009, he went back  to  the Delta  Investments company for investment fund management in the capacity of a portfolio manager. Following the successful acquisition of Delta Investment funds,  Ilirika DZU  takes  the  leading  position  at  the  investment  fund market.  In early September 2011, Jovanović was appointed director of Ilirika DZU a.d. Beograd.

Snežana Jovićević, Director General of Belgrade Pharmaciesp

Following a decision made by Belgrade City authorities, Snežana Jovićević was appointed the new director general of Apoteke Beograd (Belgrade Pharmacies). Born in Bileća in 1957, she finished elementary  school  and  a  gymnasium  in Sremski Karlovci. She  graduated from Belgrade Faculty of Pharmacy in 1984. She has 25 years of experience, with 20 years of experience working in Belgrade Pharmacies alone, as a pharmaceutical engineer. In the period from 2001 to 2010, she was the general manager of the latter pharmacy. In June 2010, she was appointed  the general manager of Lipov Lad pharmacy  followed by director general of Belgrade Pharmacies.
Ms.  Jovićević  is  a  member  of  the  Belgrade  Pharmacies’  Expert Council and is not politically affiliated.

Nina Bulatović, new Chairwoman of the Management Committee at KPMG d.o.o. Belgrade

Nina Bulatović has over 31 years of professional experience, with the last fifteen years spent as a partner in two out of the four most eminent audit and consultancy companies.
Following  her  graduation  from  the  Belgrade  Faculty  of Economics,  she  got  a  job  at  the  Social  Accounting  Services where  she managed  to  get  promoted  to  a managerial  position. Subsequently,  she went  to work  for  the  Payment  and  Financial Supervision Services.  In 1996, she became a partner at Coopers & Lybrand d.o.o. Beograd, and after Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse merged into PricewaterhouseCoopers d.o.o. Beograd, Nina Bulatović remained at her managerial position until 2001. Her next job was at KPMG d.o.o.

Elmer Geisler, new General Manager of Porsche SCG d.o.o

As  of  1st October  2011,  apart  from Manolito Vujičić, Porsche SCG d.o.o. has another general manager – Elmer Geisler. Mr. Geisler studied economics at the Leopold Franzes University, Innsbruck, and at  the Ramon  Llull University  in Barcelona. He  graduated  in  2002 and has extensive experience working  for Porsche Group where he got a  job  in 2000. Mr. Geisler started his career at Audi’s Marketing Department, and, in 2003, he moved to Porsche Inter Auto. The same year he was given an opportunity  to manage dealerships  in  the U.S.
From  2005  to October  this  year,  he was  regional  director  for East European countries namely  the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania.

Miloš Bugarin, re-appointed Chairman of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce

Miloš Bugarin has been re-appointed the Chairman of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce at the first constitutional sitting of the Chamber’s Assembly by a unamimous vote. Miloš Bugarin was born in Bijelo Polje, in 1962, where he completed his high school education. He graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Agriculture in 1988. His first job was in the Belgrade Agricultural Combine (PKB) in 1989 where he had various managerial duties. He was appointed the CEO of PKB in 2011. In his capacity as the CEO of PKB, he received several presigeous awards.

Miroslav Miletic, new Chairman of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s Supervisory Board

CEO of Bambi Corporation, Miroslav Miletic (53) has been appointed Chairman of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s Supervisory Board. He graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Law and began working for Bambi in 1982. In October 1995, he became the company’s CEO. Today, he is the President of the Bambi Concern. In September 2007, Miletic was elected Chairman of the Assembly of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce. Miroslav Brkovic, CEO of the Ratko Mitrovic Company, was appointed Miletic’s deputy. Ljubiša Jovanovic, Chairman of AIK Bank’s Managing Board is the President of the Financial Affairs. Commission, while his deputy is Managing Director of FAP Corporatio a.d. Priboj, Mirko Stojovic.

Michael S. Rhoads, new Vice President and General Director of U. S. Steel Serbia

Michael S. Rhoads has been appointed vice president and general director of U.S. Steel Serbia effective as of July 1st. Rhoads will be responsible for overseeing all the activities of U. S. Steel Serbia. Michael Rhoads (37) joined U. S. Steel in 1994 as a co-op employee at the Clairton Coke Plant. In 2007 Rhoads advanced through several positions and was appointed Plant Manager – Keetac Iron Ore Operations, until his most recent appointment as Division Manager of Steel Making and Casting at Gary Works in Gary, Indiana in 2009. From this position he came to U. S. Steel Serbia. Rhoads graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and completed his master’s degree in business administration at Duquesne University in 2002. Michael, his wife Heather and their two children will relocate to Serbia.

Georg Grassl, new Managing Director of Henkel Serbia

Georg Grassl was appointed as the Managing Director of Henkel Serbia on the 1st June 2010. His new position as the General Manager of Henkel Serbia comes after working as the Supply Chain Director for Laundry & Home Care in Central and Eastern Europe for almost six years. He was also a member of the company’s Board of Directors in Hungary. For the most part of his career, he lived and worked in Vienna (which is his birthplace), Budapest and Barcelona.

Živomir Novakovic, acting director of Galenika

Following radical changes within the management of state-owned pharmaceutical giant Galenika, Zivomi Novakovic is appointed as the acting Director of the company replacing former director Nenad Ognjenovic, who was relieved, together with the most of the company’s management, by the Government. Zivomi Novakovic graduated in Economics from Belgrade University and has a wealth of experience in financial operations.

Zeljko Vujinović, New General Director of IBM Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania

In his new role Mr.Vujinović brings over ten years  experience  from  management  and  consulting  positions  in  the  IT  industry.  He  joined IBM in 2007 as a senior consultant for Internet Security Systems - for customers and business partners in the Adriatic region.  He was responsible for defining security strategies for different users in order to comply with safety standards. From 2010, Mr.Vujinovic worked as a senior security consultant in Central and Eastern Europe.

In April 2011 he was appointed as manager of Global  Technology  Services  (GTS)  for  Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania.Zeljko   Vujinović   graduated   Electrical Engineering from Belgrade University.

Rolf Reidinger, New General Manager, LEONI Wiring Systems Southeast

Mr.  Reidinger  joined  the  LEONI  group  six years  ago  and  successfully  contributed  to  developing  his  already  extensive  professional career.  Before  his  commitment  to  the  LEONI group Mr. Reidinger spent 12 years working for a Japanese company.
After  five  successful  years  as  Director  of Operations  at  BU  BMW  of  LEONI,  he  has  also been appointed General Manager of LEONI Wiring  Systems  Southeast  doo. On the1st October Mr. Reidinger began the additional challenge of leading the LEONI – Serbia plant. Rolf Reidinger is also responsible for the LEONI BU  BMW  plant  sections  operating  in  Slovakia, Romania, Egypt, Tunisia and Mexico.

Boris Madžarević, New Executive Director of Nordic Business Alliance in Serbia

Following  his  graduation  at  the  economics department  of  Corvinus  University  in  Budapest, Mr.  Madžarević  obtained  a  masters  degree  in Business Administration,  also  in  Budapest.  Mr. Madžarević  began  his  professional  career  at Societe Generale bank in Belgrade and, after two and  a  half  years,  decided  to  continue  his  studies, during that time he was employed by Finpro Hungary, Finland Trade Center- export and internationalization promotion agency of Finland. Since then, until appointment in Nordic Business Alliance, Mr.  Madžarević  has  worked  as  a  Consultant/Western  Balkans  Business  Specialist.

Through everyday work with Nordic companies, and close cooperation  with  Finnish  embassies  in  Belgrade and  Budapest,  he  acquired  a  vast  knowledge  of Nordic values, business culture and people.

Stefano Sannino, new Director-General of the European Union’s Directorate General for Enlargement

Italian diplomat, Stefano Sannino, who has held important positions in Belgrade during his career, commences his latest role on 1st July, 2011. He is currently the Deputy Director-General. The Italian diplomat served as Deputy Head of Mission in the Italian Embassy to Belgrade from 1993 to 1995, and from 2001 to 2002 he was the Head of Mission of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the Federal Republic Yugoslavia. Mr. Sannino began his career in Belgrade in 2002 as a foreign affairs and trade advisor in the office of the then Commission President, Romano Prodi. From 2006 and 2008 he worked in Italian government in Mr. Prodi’s office, after which he returned to the Commission as the Latin America Director, and in 2009 he became Deputy Director-General in the External Affairs section. He came to the Directorate General for Enlargement in 2010 as Deputy Director.

Vuk Jeremic, new President of the Union of Serbian Tennis Professionals

At the founding assembly of the Association of Serbian Tennis Professionals (UTPS) on 20 May, the Serbian Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, was elected as the inaugural president of this organisation. He has been working closely with tennis players since April this year when Serbia’s best players were presented with ‘diplomatic passports’, following his participation in a charity football match against leading tennis players. The new President of the UTPS was a guest of Novak Djokovic’s last month in the VIP lounge during the final match at the Madrid Masters.

Darko Bajic, new President of the Board of Directors of the Serbian Film Centre (FCS)

Movie and TV director Darko Bajic was born in Belgrade in 1955. He graduated in 1982 with the feature film ‘Live Broadcast’. Nis television series ‘Gray Home’ won the Monte Carlo and Cinzano Termo awards in 1986, and his motion picture ‘Forgotten’ won two significant awards at the Rio de Janeiro festival in 1988: the Gran Prix for the female lead and male lead. In 1986, Mr. Bajic began working as a trainee- assistant at the Department for film and TV direction, he then became an assistant, then assistant lecturer, and has since been working as Associate Professor and Vice-Dean.

Ms. Stella Karl Cosic, new General Manager of Sekopak

Stella holds a BA in Economy and has many years of extensive experience in all aspects of management and marketing. She came to Sekopak from the position of GM at Soko Štark. Her track record includes various senior management positions in several companies operating in the Balkans. Stella joined Sekopak in March 2011, and with her appointment, a new organisation structure has been implemented, which has led to some additional promotions.

Kurt Bock, new President of BASF headquarters

Kurt Bock (52) started his BASF career in the finance department in Ludwigshafen, Germany in 1985. From 1992 to 1997 he worked for Robert Bosh GmbH in Stuttgart and Brazil. He returned to BASF in 1998 as the Director of Finances of the North American office, and was named Logistics and Informational Services President in 2000 in Ludwigshafen. He was appointed as a member of the BASF headquarters as the Director of Finances in 2003, and since 2007 he has been both the President and Executive Director of the BASF Corporation in New Jersey. He is married and has three children.

Dejan Racic, new Development Vice-President of Delta Holding

Dejan Racic was born in 1969 in Belgrade. He gained his first work experiences in Dubai, and since 1995 he has held important posts within the Delta M Group, the biggest privately owned company in Serbia. Since 2000, as director of Delta Invest, he has managed the processes of the development, construction and adaptation of various projects in the areas of retail, bank and insurance companies’ subsidiaries, as well as auto and logistics centres for the needs of members of Delta Holding. Prior to his appointment as Development Vice-President of Delta Holding, he held the function of Delta Real Estate Director.

Svetlana Kisic Zajcenko, new member of the Board of Directors of UniCredit Bank Serbia

Svetlana Kisic has been an advisor at the Economic Institute since September 2007. She graduated and earned her Masters’ degree at the Faculty of Economy, University of Belgrade. Through further professional development, she earned her MTM analyst license (Swedish Institute for Organisation of Work, Stockholm). She began her consultant career in 1987 at the Faculty of Economy in Belgrade, and then continued it from 1994 to July 2007 at Deloitte, as Director in the financial consulting sector. In her career as a consultant’s she has worked on over 80 projects, noting that she independently managed over 50 of them for clients who represent our biggest companies in all fields.

Slobodan Milosavljevic, new advisor in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS)

Slobodan Milosavljevic was first elected as Minister for Trade, Tourism and Services in 2001 in the government presided over by Zoran Ðindic, and performed that function until DOS lost the republic parliamentary elections in December 2003. In April 2004 he was appointed as the Director of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS), and was named PKS President in December of that same year. He remained in this role until 15th May, 2007, when he was elected as Minister of Agriculture in the new Serbian government. He was elected as Minister of Trade and Services on 7th July 2008, and remained in this position until March this year when the government was restructured.

Božidar Đelić, head of the negotiating team for Serbia’s EU integration

Božidar Ðelic, Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister, was born in Belgrade in 1965, and graduated from HEC business studies and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris, in 1987. Božidar Ðelic was the Minister of Finance and the Economy in the Serbian government between 2001 and 2004; from May 2007 until July 2008 he was the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration; and was then the Minister of Science and Technological Development until March 2011.

Dragana Milićević Milutinović, new State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Information and Information Society

Dragana Milicevic Milutinovic is new State Secretary responsible for information and media. She was born in 1956 in Belgrade, where she graduated from the criminal justice department at the Law School. She speaks Russian and English, and uses Spanish. From 1991 until 1997, she was a journalist, editor of the editorial board and editor of Studio B programmes. Between 1997 and 2002 she was editor at PG ‘Mreža’. She was employed in the capacity of Editor-in-Chief and General Director of Studio B from 2002 to 2007, and was the General Director of ‘Jugodrvo Holding’ from 2007 to 2011.

Svetlana Ristić, new member of the Executive Board of Piraeus Bank and member of ALCO

Mrs. Svetlana Ristic has been officially appointed by the Executive Board of Piraeus Bank as member of the Executive Board and member of ALCO. Mrs. Ristic commenced her successful managerial career in 2003 at the National Bank of Greece, based in Belgrade, where she was engaged in the position of Corporate Banking Department Manager between 2003 and 2006. Following this she worked at Volksbank, Belgrade, as the Head of Department for major international corporate clients. During this time, she also became a member of the loans committee. Since 2008 Mrs. Ristic has been employed at Piraeus Bank Belgrade in the capacity of Credit Department Director.

Dragan Đilas, new president of the Basketball Association of Serbia

Dragan Ðilas, the Mayor of Belgrade, was born on February 22nd 1967 in Belgrade. He graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Faculty, in the air force department. He has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2004. Dragan Ðilas has been a member of the Executive Board and the Main Board of the Democratic Party. From 2004 until the establishment of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in 2007, he served as the Director of the Serbian President’s People’s Office. From May 2007 until July 2008, he was a minister in the Serbian Government and was in charge of the implementation of the National Investment Plan.

Žarko Trebješanin, new member of the Board of RTS

Žarko Trebješanin was born in 1950 in Belgrade, where he graduated in 1974 from the department of psychology in the Faculty of Philosophy. He currently works at the Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation in Belgrade. He was elected as an assistant for the General Psychology with Psychology of Personality course in 1982, as an associate professor in 1992, and in 1995 he became the emeritus professor. He also teaches Psychology of Personality at the Faculty for Education of Teachers in Belgrade.

Mirko Cvetković, Prime Minister and new Minister of Finance

Mirko Cvetkovic was born in Zajecar and graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Economics where he also gained his MComm and PhD. He was employed at the Mining Institute, then at the Economics Institute, after which he worked as a consultant at the advisory and research firm CES Mecon. He has also previously been employed as an external consultant for the World Bank and the UNDP. From January 2001 he was the Deputy Minister of the Economy and Privatisation, and from 2003 to 2004 he was the Director of the Privatisation Agency and in 2005 he became the special advisor at the Intercon consulting agency. Mirko Cvetkovic was the Minister of Finance from May 2007 until July 2008, and since that time he has been the Prime Minister of Serbia and is now also the Minister of Finance. He ismarried, and has two children.

Dušan Petrović, new Minister of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management

Dušan Petrovic completed elementary and high school in his hometown of Šabac, and graduated from the University of Belgrade’s Law School. From 1992 to 2000 he worked as a lawyer, and from 2000 to 2004 he was the mayor of Šabac, as well as a deputy in the House of Citizens in the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the National Assembly of Serbia, where he was elected in the 2003 elections he held the position of Chief of DS Deputy Group, and between 2003 and 2007 he was the Vice-President of the Assembly. Mr. Petrovic was also the Minister of Justice from 2007 until 2008.

Nebojša Ćirić, new Minister of the Economy and Regional Development

Nebojša Ciric was born in Bor in 1974.He has a BSc in Management from London School of Economics and Political Science (1996), an MBA from HEC University, Paris - Faculty of Economics, Belgrade (2005), and Corporate Finance qualification, from the London Institute of Chartered Accountants (2006). His career has included such positions as: Special Foreign Investment Advisor at the Ministry of International Economic Relations (2001-2002), Director for Financial Consulting at Deloitte, Belgrade (2002-2007), Assistant Minister of the Economy from 2007 to 2008. From July 2008 until now he has been the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy.

Predrag Marković, new Minister of Culture, Media and Information Society

Predrag Markovic was born in 1955, in Cepure near Paracin. He graduated in 1980 from the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade, and later studied history and culture in Madrid and Barcelona. He is one of the founders of G17 Plus. He held the position of the President of the Parliament of Serbia between March 2004 and February 2007. He is one of the initiators and the author of the Programme of the political union of the United Regions of Serbia (URS). Predrag Markovic is a holder of the Royal Order of the White Eagle of the first degree; he also formed the publishing company Stubovi Kulture in 1993.

Verica Kalanović, new Deputy Prime Minister

Verica Kalanovic graduated in 1977 from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, where she also gained her master’s degree in 1980. From 1980 to 1993, she worked in Prva Petoletka in Trstenik. From 1993 to 2003, she was a professor at the post-secondary technical school in Trstenik, and from 2003 to 2006, she was head of G17 Plus caucus in the parliament of Serbia-Montenegro. She was the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development from 2007 to July 2008, and on July 7, 2008, she was elected as the Minister for the National Investment Plan. Ms. Kalanovic is married and has two children.

Zoran Stanković, new Minister of Health

Mr. Stankovic graduated from the Medical Faculty in Nis in 1980 and completed graduate studies in forensics in 1988 at the VMA. In 2002 was appointed to head the VMA, a position which he held until April 2005. He was appointed to replace the deposed Prvoslav Davinic as the Minister of Defence in 2005 and remained in this role until May 2007. After his departure from the office of Minister of Defence, he continued to work in a teaching role at the Police Academy and College of Home Affairs.

H.E. Alexandre Addor Neto, new Ambassador of the Fed. Republic of Brazil to Serbia

The career of the new Ambassador of Brazil to Serbia has included roles in the Ministry of External Relations in Brazil such as Advisor-Asia and Oceania Department (1989), Director-Immigration Division (1990), Executive Coordinator-Economic Department (1991), Chief of Cabinet-Under Secretariat of Economic Affairs (1992), Chief of Cabinet- Under Secretariat of Political and Economic Planning (1993), Ministry of External Relations (2005-2006). His diplomatic and consular postings have included Minister-Counsellor (Deputy Chief of Mission)-Embassy of Brazil in Moscow (1993-1995), Ambassador of Brazil to Angola (1995-1999), Consul-General of Brazil in Chicago (1999-2005), Secretary for Multidimensional Security at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington (2007-2010). He has also worked as a journalist, a university professor and a project analyst.

H.E. Carmen Ibanez, new Ambassador of the Republic of Chile to Serbia

The new (non-resident) Ambassador of Chile to Serbia is also currently the Ambassador of Chile to Greece and is based in Athens. H.E. Carmen Ibanez has previously been the Deputy of the political party ‘Renovación Nacional’ (RN), District 13 (2001-2005); as a parliamentarian she was a member of the standing committees of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Mining, and Energy, as well as of Family Affairs and at the special committees for Youth and Tourism Development. Between 2001 and 2004 she was the Vice-President of RN, and as a Social Communicator she worked at Radio Agricultura, as Director of Communications and for ‘Cosas’ magazine. She has also worked in the agricultural field in the Aconcagua Valley.

H.E. Iurie Renita, new Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova

After presenting his credentials to Serbian President Boris Tadic on 17 February, H.E. Iurie Renita became the new (non-resident) Ambassador of Moldova to Serbia. H.E. Iurie Renita was born in Abaclia in 1958 and was part of the first graduating class of Moldovan students at the Bucharestbased National School of Administration and Political Sciences. During 1996-1999 he was counsellor at the Moldovan Embassy, Washington, D.C., after which he served as advisor to Foreign Minister Nicolae Tabacaru. He also worked for several years with the OSCE Mission to Croatia and was a manager of British American Tobacco, Moldova. He is also currently the Ambassador of Moldova in Romania, and has held this position since June 2010.

H.E. Gagik Ghalatchian, new Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia

Previous foreign service postings of the new (non-resident) Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Serbia include: Second Secretary, Embassy of Armenia in the Hellenic Republic (1997-1999), Head of Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1999-2000), Head of Military-Political Cooperation Division, Arms Control and International Security Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia (2000-2001), Counsellor at the Armenian Embassy in Russian (2001-2004), Member of the Permanent Council of the CSTO (2003-2004), Director, Asia-Pacific and Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia (2004-2007) and Director, External Relations, Administration of the President of the Republic of Armenia (2007-2009).

Ivan Šramko, new representative of Banca Intesa’s Managing Board

Ivan Šramko will represent Intesa Sanpaolo in the Managing Boards of Banca Intesa Belgrade, Hungarian CIB Bank, Privredna Banka Zagreb, Banka Koper from Slovenia and Intesa Sanpaolo Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Šramko was appointed as the Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia on 1st January 2005, and three years earlier, was named as the Vice Governor. In addition, in February 2010, he was appointed as a standing representative of Slovakia in the OECD in Paris.

Marija Draškić, new Vice-President of the Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court judge, Prof. Dr. Marija Draškic has been appointed as the Vice-President of the Serbian Constitutional Court. She was born in Belgrade in 1954 and graduated in 1976 from the Belgrade Faculty of Law magna cum laude. Ms. Draškic worked briefly as a legal intern at the Second Municipal Court in Belgrade, and in 1978 she was appointed as a teaching assistant trainee in family law at the Faculty of Law. Ms. Draškic received her PhD in 1987 and was hired to work as a university professor in 2000. She was appointed as a Constitutional Court judge in November 2007. She is married and has two children.

Aleksandar Nikitović, new coach of BC Red Star

Aleksandar Saša Nikitovic was an assistant to the national basketball team coach Dušan Ivkovic at two important championships in Poland and Turkey, as well as the coach of Serbia’s cadet basketball team. Three years ago, Mr. Nikitovic coached the BC Red Star’s junior team when they became the champions of Serbia. He graduated from the Junior Basketball College where earned his coaching degree and became a basketball coach in 2004.

Marina Jovićević, new Serbian Consul General in Herceg Novi

Mrs. Marina Jovicevic graduated from English language in 1995, and enrolled into PhD studies at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences in 2007. She worked as the First Secretary in the Ministry’s OSCE and Council of Europe Directorate in 2002 and 2003. In 2008 and 2009, she was at the helm of the Directorate for Regional Initiatives in the Foreign Ministry. As of May 2009 she has been an Assistant Foreign Minister and Director General of the General Directorate for the European Union in the Ministry. She is married and has three children.

Andrea Simoncelli, new Chairman and CEO of Delta Generali Insurance

Andrea Simoncelli was born in Rome, and has a law degree from the University of Rome, an economy degree from the University Luiss of Rome and a postgrad from the London School of Economics. His early career (1983-1996) included various Managing Director roles at Fiat, and in 1996 he was made responsible for Foreign Operations at Toro Assicurazioni S.p.A. and Le Continent Assurances, Guardian Vie in France, Benefia in Poland, Phenix Seguradora in Brasil and Toro Targa Assicurazioni in Italy. In 2001 he became the CFO of Toro Assicurazioni Group, and in 2009 when Toro Assicurazioni and Alleanza Assicurazioni merged into Alleanza Toro S.p.A., he became the Deputy General Manager.

Marko Mrzel, Gorenje Management Board member in charge of finance and economics

At today’s meeting, Gorenje Supervisory Board appointed Mr. Marko Mrzel as the new Gorenje Management Board member in charge of finance and economics. From 2003 and until his appointment to the Management Board, Mr. Marko Mrzel was the director of Gorenje’s sales subsidiary in Belgrade. His career at the Gorenje Group started in 2001 when he was appointed head of complementary program. After completing the university studies, he earned in 1999 the title of Master of Science in Business Administration.

H.E. Alain Kundycki, new Ambassador of Belgium to Serbia

H.E. Alain Kundycki began his role as Ambassador of Belgium to Serbia in February, 2011. Previous roles have included Head of Desk for Eastern Europe (1972-1973), Head of Desk USA-Canada (1975-1978) and Commercial Attaché in Atlanta (1978-1982). As a career diplomat his postings have been at the Brussels Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1982-1984), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (1982-1987), Mexico (1987-1991), Ottawa (1991), in Montreal as the Representative of Belgium on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (1991- 1995), Director for Subsahara Africa for the Brussels Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-1998), Ambassador to Bolivia (1998-2002), Consul General in Montreal (2002-2004), Deputy Chief of Staff of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Brussels (2004-2006), and Ambassador to Luxembourg (2004-2011). H.E. Alain Kundycki has one son and one daughter.

Dragiša Slijepčević, new President of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia

Judge Dragiša B. Slijepčević (55) the new President of the Serbian Constitutional Court was born in Sečanj, Vojvodina. After gaining his Law Degree, he was employed at a high school in Sečanj. In 1980, he was appointed as judge at the Sečanj Municipal Court and, ten years later, as a judge at the Zrenjanin County Court. Subsequently, he was appointed at the Zrenjanin Commercial Court in 1992, and four years later, he was employed by the High Commercial Court in Belgrade. Judge Slijepčević was previously a member of the High Council of Justice, and is currently a member of the Bar Exam Commission.

Major General Miodrag Jevtić, new Rector of the University of Defence

The new Rector of the University of Defence, Major General Miodrag Jevtić, was born in 1956 in Smederevo. He graduated from the medical school in 1981, specialised in general surgery in 1992, and was awarded the title of Doctor of Medical Sciences in 1997. He has served as the Chief of the Military Medical Academy (www.vma.mod.gov.rs) since April 2005.

Stephen Fish, new Secretary Treasurer at AmCham Serbia

Stephen Fish started his career in his native England, before moving to the Middle East. He then lived and worked in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Slovenia before he moved to Croatia in 2008 to head up the Ernst & Young (www.ey.com) country practice.

Last year he also took on the practice in Serbia and moved to Belgrade. As a Partner in Ernst & Young, he is currently in charge of coordinating the firm’s services in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Major General Milan Bjelica, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces

Major General Bjelica was appointed as the Deputy SAF Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces by the decree of the Serbian President Boris Tadić on 15th February. He was born in 1956 in Stolac, He graduated from the Military Academy (www.va.mod.gov.rs), department of infantry in 1979, completed General Staff School in 1995, and General Staff training in 2001.

He was appointed as the Chief of the Minister of Defence Cabinet on 31 October 2005.

Miloš Đurković, new Second Vice-President of AmCham Serbia

Miloš Đurković is the Managing Director of Hewlett Packard Serbia (www.hp.co.rs). He has spent more than 16 years working in the IT industry in Serbia and neighbouring countries. He was the General Manager of IBM Serbia as well as the Head of the Representative Office of CISCO Systems, responsible for the markets of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. Mr. Đurković graduated from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

He was a member of the Managing Board of NALED (The National Alliance for Local Economic Development), and is still is a member of the Association of Serbian Corporate Directors. He is married and has two children.

Colonel Marijan Novaković, the newly appointed Head of the Military Medical Academy

The new Head of the Military Medical Academy (www.vma.mod.gov.rs), Colonel Marijan Novaković, was born in 1957 in Vučitrn.

He graduated from medical school in 1982, specialised in plastic surgery in 1988 and became a Doctor of Medical Sciences in 1998.

He had been the Chief of the Clinic for Plastic Surgery and Burns, at the Military Medical Academy since 30 June 2004.

Young Woong Lee, new Regional Executive Director at LG

Young Woong Lee (51) from South Korea, has been appointed as the new Executive Director of LG’s Hungarian branch (www.lg.com/hu) which covers nine countries in Central and South Eastern Europe. He has worked for LG in the U.S. and Japan. Mr. Lee graduated from the state university in Seoul. He has worked for LG for 25 years and has a substantial amount of experience in business management, marketing, finances and product management. Young W. Lee succeeded Sang Yong Lee as the Executive Director who has been transferred to Italy in the capacity of the Director of the Italian branch of LG.

Slavica Denić, new State Secretary in the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights

The Ministry for Human and Minority Rights (www.ljudskaprava.gov.rs) has announced the appointment of the new State Secretary of this ministry, Slavica Denić, who is the first Roma to be appointed to this function. Slavica Denić is a Professor of Philosophy, a member of the Regional Education Council, was a journalist of RTV Vojvodina, the President of the Board of Directors of the Roma Inclusion Office of AP Vojvodina and a member of the monitoring team for the project of the Regional Educational Secretariat, ‘Mentor work in secondary schools and integration of Roma children’.

Ivan Vujačić, new untitled member of the Board of Governors at AmCham Serbia

Professor Ivan Vujačić is a member of the Board of Directors at Eurobank EFG (www.eurobankefg.rs). He served as the Ambassador of Serbia to the US from 2002 to 2009. As the Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics at Belgrade University, Professor Vujačić is also known as a renowned economist, recognised for his economic projections during the transition and privatisation process. He was a Fulbright scholarship student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (1983-1984), and afterwards gained professional experience by participating in numerous economic seminars.

Colonel Dejan Janković, the newly appointed Chief of Military Police

The Chief of Military Police, Colonel Dejan Janković, was born in 1964 in Kosovska Mitrovica.

He graduated from the Military Technical Academy in 1987, completed command staff training in 2002, and General Staff training in 2007.

He has been at the post of the Chief of the Military Security Agency (www.vba.mod.rs) Support Department since the 24th March 2010.

Nebojša Atanacković, new member of the European Integration Council

Nebojša Atanacković graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering. He is the proprietor of the Centar Boban Company (centarboban.com) and one of the majority shareholders in the Nafta Shareholding Company.

He was Deputy President of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) from 1995 to 2000 and an MP over three separate terms from 1992 to 2000. Mr. Atanacković founded the Serbian Association of Employers (UPS) in 1994 and is currently the Association’s Chairman.

He was the UPS President from 2000 to 2005. Mr. Atanacković is a member of the Republic of Serbia’s Social & Economic Council.

Patrice Filoche, new President of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Patrice Filoche (54) was elected as the new President of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce in January 2011. He graduated from École Nationale Supérieure d’agronomie et des Industries Alimentaires (ENSAIA), Nancy, and has spent his entire career working for major French dairy groups. In 2009 Mr.

Filoche was appointed to the position of General Manager at Somboled doo (www.somboled. rs), the Serbian subsidiary of Lactalis group.

Prior to this position Mr. Filoche spent more than 12 years working in foreign countries such as Mexico, Uruguay and Spain. He is married with one child.

Francesco Fiamingo, new Offer Management Director at METRO Cash & Carry Serbia

Francesco Fiamingo has been appointed offer management director and board member at the wholesale company METRO Cash & Carry Serbia (www.metro.rs).

Mr. Fiamingo graduated from economy at the Sapienza University of Rome in 1996, and he has a strong background in wholesale business. Before starting his career at METRO, he ran his own company in Rome and worked in the sales team of the food division of Nestle Italy.

Mr Fiamingo joined METRO Cash & Carry Italy in 1998 as department manager responsible for various food categories in store operations and later on joined the purchasing team.

Zoran Petrović, new untitled member of the Board of Governors at AmCham Serbia

Zoran Petrović is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board at Raiffeisen Bank (www.raiffeisenbank.rs), where he is responsible for Treasury and Investment Banking. He began his career at the Economics Institute in Belgrade. In 1992 he joined Yugobanka where he spent four years in Corporate and five years in the Treasury Division.

He has worked for Raiffeisen since 2001. Since 2007 he has been the Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board. He graduated from the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Economics, and is a founder of the money market curve in RSD – Belibor & Beonia.

Colonel Duško Žarković, the new Chief of Air Force Staff

The new Chief of the Air Force Staff, Duško Žarković, was born in 1968 in Benkovac.

He graduated from the Military Academy’s, Department of the Air Force in 1990, completed General Staff School in 1999 and General Staff training in 2006.

He was appointed Assistant Commander for Operations at the Air Force Command on 10 February 2010.

Vladimir Ćurgus, new Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Vladimir Ćurgus was born in 1952 in Zemun, and graduated from the Law School in Belgrade. Between 1981 and 1984 he was the Head of the International Department of Social and Child Protection Services and during his rich career he has also been the Deputy Director of the Federal Social Security Institute (1990-1991) and the President of the UNICEF National Committee and Coordinator for Cooperation with International Humanitarian Organisations (1991-1994). Between 2006 and 2011 he was the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Turkey. Mr. Ćurgus is married with two children.

Veljko Lalić, new Editor-in-Chief of the Press daily newspaper

The new Editor-in-Chief of the Press daily newspaper (www.pressonline.rs) was born in Belgrade in 1976 and is a journalism graduate. He began his journalistic career in 1995 by working for the Večernje Novosti. He is the youngest recipient of the annual Novosti Award (1998) and the Serbian Journalist Association Award (2005).

Mr. Lalić is also the recipient of the Man of the Year Award for the best column (2010) and the Miša Anastasijević Plaque for his editorial work for the Press Weekly (2010). He is fluent in English. Mr. Lalić has attended many international courses including the Guardian Course for the Most Talented Journalists in South East Europe which was held in Zagreb, in 2005.

Tomaž Berločnik, new Chairman of the Management Board of Slovenian company, Petrol

The Supervisory Board has appointed Tomaž Berločnik (42), MSc, as the new Chairman of the Management Board of Petrol (www.petrol.eu). His five-year term began at the beginning of February. Mr Berločnik is a previous member of Petrol’s Supervisory Board and is therefore already familiar with the company.

In addition, he is an established businessman with a wealth of experience, which is why he was considered to be the right choice for Petrol’s leadership and to be able to manage Slovenia’s largest energy company in an active and development-oriented manner. Tomaž Berločnik has a master’s degree in economics (MBA). He has also been President of the Management Board of Donit Tesnit.

Brigadier General Goran Radovanović, the newly appointed Deputy Commander of the Training Command

Deputy Commander of the Training Command, Brigadier General Goran Radovanović, was born in 1962 in Zaječar.

He graduated from the Military Academy (www.va.mod. gov.rs), Department of Air Force missile units in 1984, became the Master of Military Sciences from 1998, and finished General Staff Training in 2001.

He was appointed as commander of the Guards of the SAF as of 12 November 2006.

David Banjai, new untitled member of the Board of Governors at AmCham Serbia

Mr. Banjai currently holds the position of Plant Manager with Ball Packaging Europe Belgrade Ltd. (www.ball-europe.com) and is responsible for BPE’s operational performance in South-eastern Europe. He joined BPE in 2004 as the Engineering Manager at the Belgrade facility overseeing the installation and start-up of production as well as the recruitment and training of new employees. In 2006 Mr. Banjai took over the responsibility of Manufacturing at BPE Belgrade as the Assistant Plant Manager, before being appointed Plant Manager in 2008. Prior to joining Ball Packaging Europe, Mr. Banjai spent five years in Hungary in various technical roles at Siemens.

Jelena Kralj, new untitled member of the Board of Governors at AmCham Serbia

Jelena Kralj is been a Senior Consultant and Country Manager for Serbia at Pedersen & Partners (www.pedersenandpartners.com) - a firm operating globally in 41 wholly owned offices - since 2007. Previously, Ms. Kralj was an Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Manager of the Securities and Capital Market Department at the Ministry of Finance of Serbia. She has also served as General Manager and a shareholder at the ‘EFA’ brokerage firm. Ms. Kralj has been a Member of the Board of AmCham Serbia since February 2009, also serving as AmCham’s HR/Task Force Manager.

Colonel Milomir Todorović, the newly appointed Commander of the Guards

Serbian Army Guard commander, Milomir Todorović, was born in 1965 in Vitez.

He graduated from the Military Academy, in the department of infantry in 1990, completed the General Staff school in 2000, and General Staff Training in 2008.

He has been the Deputy Commander of the Guards since 14 July 2008.

Manja Grčić, President of B92’s Executive Board

Manja Grčić was born in 1979 and was schooled in Libya, Iraq, Zambia and Sri Lanka. She graduated with a journalism degree from a prestigious college in the UK. Following graduation, she worked as a reporter for BBC and then returned to Belgrade where she was involved with news programming at TV B92 (www.b92.net). Manja has also worked as a PR advisor for USAID (http://serbia.usaid.gov), after which she went on to work for Pink TV as a director of the Media System Company. Following this position, she was appointed as Deputy Director of Fox TV. Ms. Grčić also worked in Slovenia during 2008 as the Director of the national TV station TV3 Slovenia which is owned by MTG (Modern Times Group).

Matthew Perkins, new First Vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)

The Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (www.amcham.rs) has confirmed the promotion of Matthew Perkins, U.S. Steel Serbia’s General Director, from the position of the Second Vice-president to the position of the First Vice-president of the Chamber. Mr. Perkins was appointed as General Director of U.S. Steel Serbia in March 2008. Between 2003 and 2006 he worked for U.S. Steel in Serbia, after which he returned to the ironworks in Detroit, and was transferred to the position of Vice-president of Slovak ironworks "Kosice" in 2007.

Bojan Radun, new President of the Serbian A ssociation of Managers (www.sam.org.rs)

Bojan Radun began his career during his college days when he joined the family business Nektar (www.nectar.rs) in 1999, where he worked as an assistant on the company’s marketingrelated business. Upon completing his studies at the Faculty of Economy in Belgrade in 2001, he was promoted to Marketing Manager, and in 2004 to Sales Director. He currently holds the position of Executive Director at Nektar, and in 2006 he also became member of the Board of Directors of Radun Group, which incorporates all companies owned by the Radun family.  He has been a member of the Business Council of the Ministry of the Economy and Regional Development since 2007.

Tibor Jerger, Samsung Electronics Adriatic new Senior Regional Sales Director

Mr. Jerger comes with 16 years of experience in the Croatian market, and was previously the President of the ECOS d.o.o. Croatia holding company. Prior to this he was employed at Podravka and Ericsson Nikola Tesla, as the Vice-president of Marketing & Sales and was in charge of professional solutions. He has also been the President of Volvo Trucks Corporation in Croatia, Slovenia and BiH, and moved from Sweden to be the President of Electrolux for Croatia in 1995. He is a member of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce. As Senior Head of Consumer Electronics (www.sva.rs), Jerger will lead the Consumer Electronics sales teams in Zagreb and Belgrade.

Mileta Radojević, new Director of GSP Belgrade (www.gsp.rs)

Mileta Radojević, until recently a member of the Belgrade City Council, has been appointed as the new acting Director of GSP Belgrade. He is a Master of Technical Sciences with lengthy experience in the area of traffic and passenger transport. From 1981 to 1988 he was deputy director in the traffic company ‘Strela Lazarevac’, between 1988 and 1990 he was the Secretary in the association of ‘Janko Stajčić’, and then became the Director and later on the President of the Board of Directors until 2008, Mr. Radojević is a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia.

Michael Rhoads, Executive Director of Operations at U.S. Steel Serbia (www.cs.uss.com)

Mr. Rhoads graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He obtained his master’s degree in business administration from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in 2002. Mr. Rhoads began his career at U. S. Steel in 1994 as a student co-op at Mon Valley Works’ Clairton Plant, the company’s coke making facility located just outside Pittsburgh. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, he was hired as a staff associate at Clairton and progressed through a series of increasingly responsible positions at the facility. In 2004, Mr. Rhoads was named senior process leader-galvanizer, tern and maintenance at Mon Valley Works’ Irvin Plant.

Vladan Mihailović, Plant Manager - Primary Operations at ironworks “Great Lakes Works”

Vladan Mihailović, has been appointed as the new Plant Manager - Primary Operations at Great Lakes Works. In his new position Mr. Mihailović will oversee all iron and steel making operations at the Detroit-area facility and will report directly to Scott Coleman, the General Manager of Great Lakes Works (www.ussteel.com). Mr. Mihailović, 46, a native of Smederevo, Serbia, joined the former Sartid Steelworks in 1993 in the Iron Making Division.

Vladan Živanović, new President of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)

Vladan Živanović, who prior to this latest appointment was the First Vice-president of AmCham (www.amcham.rs) and the General Manager of Microsoft Serbia (www.microsoft.com/sr-latn/rs), has been named  as the Presidentof the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia. Before being appointed as the General Manager of Microsoft Serbia in September 2008, Mr. Živanović was Microsoft’s Sales Director for major companies and state institutions. Prior to commencing his role at Microsoft in 2003, he held leading positions in IT companies, all leaders in the domestic and regional market.

Krzysztof Lipka, new Tax and Legal Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com)

Krzysztof Lipka is a lawyer and tax adviser with almost 20 years experience in the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms. He has practised tax advisory in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and specialises in corporate taxation. He has lead several major cross-border restructuring, tax optimisation, due diligence and transfer pricing projects in Poland, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Mr. Lipka has gained practical knowledge of tax interpretation as well as experience in the application of tax laws with an emphasis on direct cooperation with CFOs, in-house tax directors and legal counsels.

H.E. Michael Davenport, new British Ambassador to Serbia

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Serbia, Michael Davenport was Director for Russia, Central Asia and the South Caucasus in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London. Between 2007 and 2010 he advised successive Foreign Secretaries on Britain’s relations with Russia and the wider region and was responsible for the FCO’s network of twelve diplomatic missions. His first foreign posting as a British diplomat was to Poland in 1990. In the mid-nineties he headed the FCO’s UN Peacekeeping Section and in 1996 became the First Secretary to Moscow. In 2000 Michael returned to Poland as Commercial Counsellor and Consul-General in the run-up to Polish accession to  the European Union and in 2004 was appointed Deputy Ambassador to Cairo. The new ambassador is married to Dr Lavinia Davenport, and they have three children. He is a keen tennis player.

H.E. Charles Sheehan, new Irish Ambassador to Serbia

The new non-resident Ambassador of Ireland to Serbia is also currently serving as the Ambassador of Ireland to Greece.  H.E. Charles Sheehan was educated at B.C.L. and LLB University College and B.L. Kings Inns in Ireland. He entered the Irish Diplomatic Service in 1981 with his first role as the Third Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and then continued his diplomatic career in countries such as Denmark, USA and Italy. In 2007 he became the Director of the National Forum on Europe (on secondment), and in 2009 was the Head of EU Secretariat & Communication, in the European Section. On 28 September, 2010 he became the Ambassador of Ireland to Greece.

Claus Graggaber, co-Director at Erste Group Immorent Serbia

Born in Austria in 1977, Claus Graggaber has a PhD in Law from the University of Vienna. Prior to joining Erste Group/ Immorent in 2005, he practiced law in Austria and the CEE. In 2009 Mr. Graggaber was appointed as the Head of Real Estate Finance within Immorent d.o.o. Belgrade. He was promoted to Managing Director of Erste Group Immorent Serbia in 2011. Mr. Graggaber is fluent in German, English, French and Romanian.

Aleksandra Čupić, co-Director at Erste Group Immorent Serbia

Born in Belgrade in 1972, Aleksandra Čupić holds a degree in Economics from the University of Belgrade and a Certified Accountants degree of Economy and Banking Institutions. Before joining Erste Bank in 2006, Mrs. Čupić worked in the credit departments of several banks within Serbia. In 2008 she was appointed as the Head of the Real Estate and Special Finance department within Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad and in January 2011 she was appointed as the Head of the newly formed Erste Group Immorent Serbia. Mrs Čupić is fluent in Serbian, English and Russian. She is married and has two children.

H.E. Semuel Samson, new Ambassador of Indonesia to Serbia

Prior to his term as the Ambassador of Republic of Indonesia to Serbia, H.E. Semuel Samson has been active in  both the Indonesian political scene and business world. The Ambassador has been engaged in many political organisations and in numerous activities encompassing internal and international affairs. He has been involved with an oil and gas company, a state owned enterprise, and his most  recent political position was as Secretary General (demission) of the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party, a coalition party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-2009 and 2009-2014). Born in Ambon, Moluccas in 1968, Ambassador Semuel Samson was educated at Gunadarma University in the Computer Engineering faculty, and later completed a post graduate programme at the University of Indonesia, in the Faculty of Political Science.

H.E. Abdul Aziz bin nasser Al Shamsi, new Ambassador of the UAE to Serbia

H.E. Abdul Aziz bin Nasser Al Shamsi is currently the Ambassador of the UAE to Italy (since March 2008) and is also the  new non-resident Ambassador of the UAE to Serbia. Prior to this he was the Director of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United Arab Emirates between August 2007 and March 2008 and served as the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations between September 2001 and July 2007. The Ambassador is married and has six children.

Bratislav Dikić, Gendarmerie Commander and new General of Police

Bratislav Dikić, has a Ph.D. in Crisis Management, and is the active General of Police - the only other person with this ranking is Mladen Kuribak. Dikić commenced his role at the head of the Gendarmerie at the beginning of June 2009, before this he was commander of the Nis  police detachments and formations. Prior to joining the gendarmerie, he spent ten years in an elite anti-terrorist Special Unit (SAJ). Dikić is the holder of a medal for bravery, the Order of Merit in Defence and Security of the Country, the Air Force Cross and plaques from the Serbian Orthodox Church and a special plaque for the most noble accomplishment for 2008.

Jelena Sribar, new HR Director at BAT Serbia and Montenegro

Jelena Sribar has been employed as the Head of Human Resources Serbia and Montenegro at British American Tobacco (BAT), effective as of January 2011. She has been with BAT since 2005, when she joined the company as a Management Trainee. She has held various positions within HR, including those of HR Business Partner Marketing and Change Manager in Serbia, as well as various roles in Talent and Organisational Development projects across Europe. She graduated in Psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. Jelena is an alumna of the Belgrade Open School, and is trained in Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy.

Svetlana Glumac, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director at Danube Foods Group

Svetlana Glumac, until recently the New Business Director & Client Service Director at Direct Media, will continue to build her career with Danube Foods Group, as their Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director. Her new position, which she commenced at the beginning of November, comes after working as the development director of all regional Direct Media companies (with offices in Belgrade, Skopje, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Podgorica) for over eight years, where she worked as a key negotiator responsible for representing the agency in public.

In this role her main activities included strategic positioning and annual planning, as well as creating strategies for maintaining the agency’s superior position against the competition. Svetlana has BSc degree in Economics and is well known for her professional approach combined with great personal drive, interpersonal and instruction skills. She is married with two children.

David J. Rintoul, Vice President – European Operations, US Steel Corporation

US Steel has announced the appointment of David J. Rintoul who as of 1st January 2001 will be overseeing U. S. Steel’s two European operations: U. S. Steel Serbia and U. S. Steel Košice in the Slovak Republic.

Mr. Rintoul, (53), joined U. S. Steel in 2007 as General Manager-Granite City Works in Granite City, Ill., after having spent 30 years advancing through increasingly responsible management roles at Algoma Steel Corporation in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; Rouge Steel Corporation in Dearborn, Mich.; Acme Steel Company in Riverdale, Ill.; and North Star BlueScope Steel in Delta, Ohio. In 2008, he advanced to General Manager – Great Lakes Works in Ecorse and River Rouge, Mich. In March 2009, he was appointed President – U. S. Steel Canada Inc., adding management oversight for all U. S. Steel Canada operations to his existing responsibilities at Great Lakes Works.

Vladimir Ognjenovic, Acting CEO of Jat Airways

Vladimir Ognjenovic (42) has, to date, been in the position of Deputy CEO of JAT. He graduated from the Faculty of Transportation in Belgrade, in the Department of Air Traffic. He has worked at JAT Airways since 1995. He has previously been the chief engineer for transport in the Operative Centre, the Assistant Director in Ground Affairs, and the Director of Commercial Affairs in the branch office in Copenhagen.

By the decision of the Managing Board, he was appointed as the Deputy CEO of JAT in July 2009. According to the coalition agreement, the post of the CEO at JAT belongs to the Democratic Party.

Srećko Nakić, Divisional Vice President of Droga Kolinska, Atlantic Group

Srećko Nakić has been appointed as the new Managing Board Chairman at Droga Kolinska and Vice President of Atlantic Group, Droga Kolinska Division, following the merger between the two companies. Mr. Nakić is a manager with many years of experience in managing sales, distribution and brands. He began his career at Atlantic in 1994 and has participated in all stages of the company's development. Initially he was a sales representative in Atlantic Trade, and in 1995 he was appointed as Director of the company's distribution centre in Split, two years later becoming the Director of the distribution centres in Istra and Kvarner.

In 2002, he became the Vice President of the Sales and Distribution Division in Atlantic Group for the Croatian market. As of April 2005, i.e. until the takeover of Droga Kolinska, he was Vice President of the Distribution Division in Atlantic and in charge of managing the company's distribution network in the entire South Eastern Europe area. Mr. Nakić studied at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Split and completed the General Management Programme at IEDC Bled Business School.

Dušan Bajić, New Chairman of the Board at JAT

In early December, Mr. Bajić was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of the national carrier JAT Airways. Born in 1956 in Novi Sad, he had been a member of the Board of Directors at JAT since February 2009. He has had a rich 30-year career of which most of his time has been spent working in the economic sector of utility companies in Novi Sad and also public companies.

Between 2000 and 2004 he was the Director of the Sports and Business Centre of Vojvodina, and in 2002 also served as a City Council member in charge of traffic. Mr. Bajić attended the engineering high school in Novi Sad, and later graduated from the Faculty of Economics.

H.E. Dušan Spasojević, New Ambassador of Serbia to Turkey

Prior to becoming the Serbian Ambassador to Turkey, Mr. Spasojević had held the position of the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence since July 2008, and prior to this in 2005, he was named the Vice-president of the Coordination body for the municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa. He was appointed as the adviser to the President of the Republic in 2004, and subsequent to the democratic changes in 2000, he was employed in the Ministry of the Interior of the State Union, where he, among others, performed the duties of the chief of staff to the minister.

Spasojević was born in 1974 in Belgrade, where he graduated from Law School, and gained a masters degree at the London School of Economy and Political Sciences (LSE). He has published essays in the area of international relations in the expert magazine ’International Politics’. He speaks English, and is married and has two children.

Panagiotis Divriotis, New Branch Banking Division Director at Piraeus Bank

In late October, the Piraeus Bank Executive Board appointed Panagiotis Divriotis to the position of Branch Banking Division Director. Mr. Divriotis is now responsible for the Branch Network, the Branch Network Operations Department, SME Department, Bank Assurance and the Call Centre Department. Mr. Divriotis has been employed at the Piraeus Bank Group since 2002. Within the framework of the ’regional talent pool’, he was expatriated to Piraeus Bank Belgrade in 2006 as the Assistant Manager of the Credit Cards and Consumer Loans Department and was promoted to the position of Department Manager in 2007 and Assistant Director of the Retail Division in 2009.

Alex Brooks, Head of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), British Embassy Belgrade

Alex Brooks has been appointed as the new Head of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) at the British Embassy in Belgrade and as part of his new role is also the second political secretary, covering EU integration and economics, with time being split equally over the two roles. He began at the Embassy on 04 October 2010 and will be in the post for at least three years. Alex joined HM Diplomatic Service and the Government Economic Service in 2008, and previously worked in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on EU economic reform, and prior to that on Latin American economic affairs. Prior to this he spent a year in HSBC Investment Bank’s equity strategy team in Canary Wharf, London between 2006 and 2007. UK Trade & Investment’s role is to assist UK firms and their subsidiaries interested in exporting to, setting up or expanding operations in Serbia, and as part of Alex’s role he will be overseeing the provision of written market reports, the organisation of high-profile receptions or presentations at the Ambassador’s residence, seeking potential local partners, and organising programmes of calls on behalf of UK companies.

Donald MacLaren, New Chairman of IMLEK

Donald MacLaren, (56), was appointed as the Chairman of IMLEK on the 23 November, 2010. After training as an accountant with Thompson McLintock in the City of London he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1978.  As a professional diplomat he specialised in Eastern Europe, serving in the British Embassies in Berlin, Moscow, Kiev and Tbilisi – the latter where he was Her Majesty’s Ambassador from 2004 to 2007. On leaving the FCO in 2008 he formed a partnership called Perfect Pitch, training mainly commercial clients on how to speak persuasively. As a foreign policy consultant, he has also given advice to companies on government relations in Eastern Europe. Mr MacLaren was educated at Oxford and in Scotland, graduating from Edinburgh University in 1977 with a MA Honours degree in Latin, Greek and English. He is married with five children (three sons and two daughters) and a granddaughter. He is the 52nd hereditary Chief of the Clan MacLaren, and enjoys playing chess, rugby and the great highland bagpipe.

Jürg Staudenmann, New Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP

Jürg Staudenmann has been appointed as the New Deputy Resident Representative (DRR) of UNDP. He holds a Masters degree in Environmental Sciences and Engineering (1994), followed by a Master of Advanced Studies on Development Countries from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (2003). After his initial career in Academia and Applied Science in the area of (waste-) water recycling and natural resources management, Mr. Staudenmann joined UNDP Middle East as Junior Programme Officer (Environment) in 2001, followed by a headquarters assignment as Evaluation Specialist (New York; 2003). Prior to his appointment as DRR at UNDP Serbia in September this year, he served as Policy Advisor for Water Governance in UNDP's Regional Centre Bratislava, Slovakia. There, his responsibilities included providing policy and technical advice to UNDP clients and country offices, the development and implementation of multi-country projects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the active facilitation of ‘Community of Practitioners’ in the Water Sector. Besides his technical background and experience, Mr. Staudenmann is experienced in the development of strategies and partnerships with a variety of national and international development partners, and in the provision of innovative tools for knowledge creation and sharing (he is co-founder of ‘WaterWiki.net’). He is married and has a daughter.

Jan Willem van den Broek, New Assistant Resident Representative at UNDP

Mr. Jan Willem van den Broek started in September as the Assistant Resident Representative –Program Development, Support, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for UNDP Serbia. He was previously employed as Donor Relations Adviser for UNDP in New York within the Partnership Bureau, Division for Resources Mobilisation. There he supported UNDP senior management in the mobilisation of core resources by maintaining effective working relations with relevant Liaison Offices and the governments of the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Austria. His first assignment with UNDP was as the Growing Sustainable Business (GSB) Broker for UNDP in Malawi. This programme engages the private sector in poverty reduction through the expansion of employment and livelihood opportunities, and the development of new products and services addressing the needs of the poor. His role in this programme was to broker and facilitate linkages between potential investors, local partners, donors and the government to strengthen and expand the local private sector. Jan Willem van den Broek finished his MBA at INSEAD with distinction in 2004 and prior to that he worked for nine years at Davinci Groep, a small strategy consultancy firm based in Amsterdam.

Oszkar Nikowitz, New Ambassador of Hungary to Serbia

H.E. Oszkar Nikowitz was born in 1949. His previous postings and work experience include the Government Office for Hungarian Minorities Abroad, in Hungary as Head of Department for former Yugoslavia; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary as Senior Adviser, Department for SE Europe, Embassy Counsellor (Perm. Rep. of Hungary at NATO), Brussels; and European Commission, DG Enlargement: National Expert on Western Balkans. He has also been a dubbing editor, translator, interpreter, teacher, and secondary school headmaster. Mr Nikowitz’s education includes the University of Sciences, Szeged, Faculty of Arts, majoring in Classical Languages and Applied Linguistics. He also Speaks Serbian. He is married and has three adult children. His hobbies include chess, tennis, kayaking, and horse riding.

Douglas Lafferty, New General Manager of British American Tobacco

As of the beginning of November the new General Manager of British American Tobacco for Serbia and Montenegro has been Douglas Lafferty; the position was previously filled by Kristian Kornerup. Prior to taking up this new position, Lafferty, who is British, was Head of Finance for South-East Europe in the SEE headquarters in Bucharest. Lafferty started his BAT career in the company's global headquarters in London back in 2001. In the course of his work for BAT, Lafferty occupied several positions, including Finance Director for Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Israel. He is married and the father of one child. “Serbia is a very challenging market, particularly now at a time of transition and intensive changes on its path to the European Union. I'm especially pleased that I'll have an opportunity to get to know your country, and to work together with a talented team in BAT in Serbia,” he says.

Aleksandar Ćosić, New Director at Miele Serbia

Before becoming Managing Director of Miele - now responsible for several countries including Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro - Aleksandar Ćosić was the Sales and Marketing Manager at LG Electronics and the Key Account Manager at Philips Electronics. Born in 1972, he developed his university education in two fields: electro-technical science, followed by management studies. He continued his education at the prestigious Mercuri International in Zagreb and Prague, and Krauthammer International in Prague. Mr. Ćosić develops close professional relationships with business partners and key participants in the market, building networks which not only boosts B2B relations, but which also contribute to many aspects of the economy, business and society as well. He speaks English and German, is married and has one child. His hobbies include water polo, diving, skiing, football and golf, while his interests spread to cars, foreign languages and travel.

Dr. Ivan Vujačic, Independent member of the Board of Directors of Eurobank EFG

Eurobank EFG has appointed Dr. Ivan Vujačic, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics of the Belgrade University, as an independent member to its Board of Directors. The decision on Dr. Vujačić’s appointment was taken by the General Assembly of Eurobank EFG and has been approved by the National Bank of Serbia. Professor Ivan Vujačić served as the Ambassador of Serbia to the United States from 2002 to 2009. Since 1989, he has been an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics at Belgrade University, where he also obtained his PhD, MA and BA academic degrees. Professor Vujačić attended courses while on a Fulbright scholarship at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (1983-1984). He also gained professional experience by participating in numerous economic seminars, and as a guest lecturer at renowned international institutes and universities – University of California, Berkeley, Columbia, University of Virginia, and Harvard among others. Apart from his diplomatic engagement in the Unites States, Professor Vujačić is also known to the Serbian public as a renowned economist, recognised for economic forecasts during the transition and privatisation process. Professor Vujačić also had a leading role in the foundation of the Centre of Liberal Democratic Studies (CLDS). Through his participation at the Board of Directors of Eurobank EFG, Professor Vujačić will offer his analytical experience and his deep knowledge of the Serbian economy, enhancing the Bank’s ability to address the needs of the Serbian business community.

Aleksandar Vuksanovic, New director of the Republic Institute for Health Insurance (RZZO)

Professor Dr. Aleksandar Vuksanović has been appointed as the new director of the Republic Institute for Health Insurance (RZZO) following a decision made by the Institute’s Managing Board. The former executive director at the Institute, Ljiljana Zobenica has been appointed as the deputy director. Dr Vuksanović is a urology specialist and works as the assistant director of the Clinical Centre of Serbia. Over the past five years Zobenica has carried out executive duties at the RZZO, and the Managing Board decided that her experience would be beneficial in advancing the Institute’s operations.

Petar Skundric, New chairman of the Red Star Sporting Society

Serbian Energy Minister, Petar Škundrić, has been appointed as the chairman of the Red Star Sporting Society (SD Crvena Zvezda). Škundrić was the only candidate for this position and was nominated by the Red Star Football Club. Škundrić was born 1947 in Gračac. He graduated and received his Masters degree from the Belgrade Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy. Mr Skundric is also a lecturer at St. Petersburg University of Technology. He has written and published over 200 specialised papers, studies and projects and is one of the co-founders of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and its first Secretary General.

H.E. Mr Christer Asp, New Swedish Ambassador

H.E. Mr Christer Asp’s previous career postings have included the Ambassador to Turkey (2005-2010), Consul General in Thailand, as Head of the Swedish Tsunami Search and Rescue Task Force (Jan-Sep 2005), Deputy Director General. Head of Department of Export Control, MFA, Stockholm (2001-2004), Minister at the Swedish Permanent EU Representation, Brussels. Special assignment in view of the upcoming Swedish Presidency (2000-2001) and Head of Cabinet of the Swedish Commissioner, European Commission, Brussels (1995-2000). In 2008 he was honored with the Medal and Ribbon of the order of the Seraphim of His Royal Highness, the King of Sweden, for services rendered to Sweden in connection with the Tsunami rescue operations. Ambassador Asp has a Masters of Political Science from the University of Stockholm, and a Candidate of Medicine from Karolinska Hospital University, Solna. He is married and has two children.

H.E. Ali Riza Çolak, New Ambassador of Turkey to Serbia

H.E. Ali Riza Çolak was born 1956 in Nallihan, Ankara. He served as Third Secretary at the Maritime and Aviation Department (1979-1981), Second Secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Oslo, Norway (1981), First Secretary in Beijing, China (1984), at the Department of Defence Treaties (1987) in Ankara and the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo, Japan (1988), as Head of Section at the Policy Planning Department (1992) in Ankara, and Deputy Consul General Houston, US (1993). He was subsequently assigned as Head of Departments of NATO and BAB in 1997, First Counsellor at the Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal (2000), Consul General at Frankfurt, Germany (2002), Head of the European Department at the MFA in Ankara, Turkey (2004) and Deputy Director General at the General Directorate of Consular Affairs (2005). In 2008, he was promoted to the rank of Ambassador and appointed as Ambassador to Ethiopia, (2008-2010). Ambassador Çolak graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University. He is married and has a son.

H.E. Charalambos Hadjisavvas, New Ambassador of Cyprus to Serbia

The Ambassador joined the Foreign Service in 1991, and his recent postings include the Ambassador of Cyprus in Libya - and also accredited also to Mauritania (2006-2010), Counsellor A, Political Division, Department of Middle East and North Africa (2005-2006), Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Cyprus in Lebanon (2001-2005) and Counsellor, Protocol and Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1999-2001). His studies include the French language from the University of Sorbonne (1979-1980) and Diplomas on Arab and Turkish Studies, University of Paris III (I.N.A.L.C.O.) (1980-1987. The Ambassador has been previously awarded the ‘Commander of the Order of Phoenix of Greece’ (bestowed by the President of the Hellenic Republic) and the ‘Holy Cross of St. Mark the Apostle and Evangelist’ (bestowed by the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle). H.E.Charalambos Hadjisavvas is married and has two children.

Milos Djurkovic, Managing Director and enterprise Business lead of Hewlett-Packard Serbia

HP has announced the appointment of Miloš Đurković as Managing Director and Enterprise Business lead of Hewlett-Packard Serbia. Đurković, a Serbian national, will lead the country’s management team and be responsible for driving HP’s Enterprise Business in Serbia. He will report to Josef Ehrenhoefer, Managing Director and Enterprise Business lead for the European Emerging Markets (EEM), a region that covers Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Herzegovina, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Djurkovic has spent more than 16 years in the IT industry, most of it in Serbia and neighbouring countries. From 2006 to 2009 he was General Manager of IBM Serbia. His previous roles include the head of CISCO in Serbia as well as sales management and engineering positions at Spinnaker New Technologies and Dziti Communications.

Federico Ghizzoni, Ceo of UniCredit SpA

The Board of Directors of UniCredit SpA has unanimously co-opted and appointed Federico Ghizzoni as new CEO of the Group. As CEO, Federico Ghizzoni is a member by right of both the Permanent & Strategic Committee and the Corporate Governance, Human Resources & Nomination Committee of UniCredit. Federico Ghizzoni, 55, has served as Deputy CEO of UniCredit and Deputy CEO of Bank Austria. In 1980, he joined UniCredit (at that time Credito Italiano) and has since worked for the company while serving, among other places, in the UK, Singapore, Turkey and Poland. In July 2007, he was appointed as Head of Poland’s Markets Division at UniCredit, Head of CEE Banking Operations and Board Member responsible for the CEE Banking Division at Bank Austria AG. Ghizzoni played a major part in the development of UniCredit’s CEE franchise, strengthening the bond between UniCredit and the Group’s major CEE markets. Under his auspices, UniCredit was named “Best Bank in the CEE” by the magazine The Banker in 2009.

Dejan Veselinov,New Director of the Tourist organisation of Belgrade

Since the 1st of October, the new director of the Tourist Organisation of Belgrade has been Dejan Veselinov, formerly the Head of the Public Relations department. In the course of promoting Belgrade’s touristic offer to domestic and foreign markets, Veselinov has gained vast knowledge and experience that also recommended him to the responsibilities of the new position. Veselinov has worked for the Tourist Organisation of Belgrade since the beginning of his career. He has a degree in management, and his colleagues claim that his best traits are professionalism, responsibility and fair-play.

Milan Jankovic, Director of Ratel

Assistant professor Dr Milan Janković will remain in this position for the next five years.He graduated (1975) and gained his Master’s degree (1990) and PhD (1999) from the Telecommunications Department of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. After 14 years he became the project leader in the development office of Yugoslav PTT, where he tackled the development and application of approach networks. He also participated in the realisation of three projects of the European Institute for Research and Strategic Studies in the area of Telecommunications (EURESCOM). Dr Janković was general director of Yugoslav PTT from December 2002 until March 2006, when he was elected as the executive director of RATEL. He was elected as assistant professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, in the Telecommunications Department. Dr Janković wrote over 130 articles in proceedings from domestic and foreign conferences and in domestic and foreign magazines, and he is also a member of IEEE.

Bojana Lekic, New director of TV Avala

Journalist Bojana Lekić has been appointed as the new Director General of the Avala TV station. She is known as the author of hundreds of interviews, TV shows, newspaper articles and columns. She has also been the editor at TV Studio B, the editor-in-chief at TV B92, the editor-in-chief of the news programme and deputy director of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS), as well as the chief editor and director of BK TV. By taking up the position at TV Avala, Bojana Lekić is returning to the TV world after a four-year-hiatus.

Nebojsa Spaic, New editor-in-chief of NIN Weekly

The new editor-in-chief of NIN weekly is Nebojša Spaić (1961).He graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Philology, majoring in literature and the theory of literature. He became a professional journalist in 1986 by working for Radio Belgrade. As a representative of the Foundation for Peace he launched the first independent production in Belgrade in 1993 - a radio show called ‘The Age of Sanity” (Doba Razuma), which was aired on over 50 radio stations in the former Yugoslavia from the 1990s to the beginning of the 21st century. From 2001 to 2003, Spaić worked as chief editor at Radio Belgrade 202, and since 2005 he has been a media consultant and the co-founder of a media consulting agency. He has released six specialised and popular literature books. Since 1994 he has also been a member of the Association of Independent Journalists.

New chairman of the Red Star Sporting Society

Serbian Energy Minister, Petar Škundrić, has been appointed as the chairman of the Red Star Sporting Society (SD Crvena Zvezda). Škundrić was the only candidate for this position and was nominated by the Red Star Football Club. Škundrić was born 1947 in Gračac. He graduated and received his Masters degree from the Belgrade Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy. Mr Skundric is also a lecturer at St. Petersburg University of Technology. He has written and published over 200 specialised papers, studies and projects and is one of the co-founders of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and its first Secretary General.

President of the Board of Directors of NIS

Vadim Jakovljev has been re-elected as President of the Board of Directors of NIS. Jakovljev (born 1970) worked as a consultant at PriceWaterhouse Coopers from 1995, where in 2000 he became a financial expertise manager. From 2001 to 2002 he served as deputy manager of the financial-economic office of JUKOP EP a.d. From 2003 to 2004 he was financial director of Jugansknjeftgas NK JUKOS office. From 2005 to 2006 he was deputy general director for economy and finance at SIBUR- Ruske Gume d.o.o. From December 2006 he was head of the planning and budget office at Gaspromnjeft a.d., and from January 2008, he was deputy president of the Board of Directors and deputy general director for economy and finance. Since February 2009 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of NIS, and he was first elected as president of the company’s board in July 2009.

Executive Director of Finance at U.S. Steel Serbia

U. S. Steel Serbia has announced that Ms. Colleen Darragh has been appointed as Executive Director of Finance. Ms. Darragh most recently served as the manager of financial analysis at the U. S. Steel Gary Complex located in Gary, Indiana, USA. Ms. Darragh succeeds Mr. Matthew Lewis who has been advanced to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for U. S. Steel Europe. Ms. Darragh (40) received her Bachelor of Science at the College of William and Mary, Virginia, USA and later received her Masters in Business Administration at the University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She joined United States Steel Corporation in August 2006 as the director of external reporting and was advanced to her most recent position in March 2009.

Head of EULEX from October

Former KFOR commander Xavier Bout de Marnhac will replace Yves de Kermabon as the head of the EU Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) from October 15th, according to EULEX. The retired General de Marnhac was the KFOR commander in 2007 and 2008. He graduated from military academy at St Cyr and pursued further studies at the American Command-General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the General staff Academy and Institute of National Defence in Paris. Before and after his time in Kosovo he has held various commanding positions in the French army, and has served in missions in the Balkans, Middle East, central Asia and Africa. He retired this year from the position of the commander of the French military area of the South-East with its headquarters in Lyon.

General Director of RTS... again

The RDU Radio-Television of Serbia Board of Directors has once again chosen Aleksandar Tijanić as the general director of RTS. This is Tijanić’s second term at the head of the national public media service. Tijanić’s new mandate will last four years, and he has already been at the head of Serbia’s Radio-Television for six years. Tijanić (61) was born in Đakovica and has lived in Podujevo and Priština. He studied journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, and started his professional carrier at the weekly, NIN. He worked as the editor-in-chief for Interview’magazine, and then as the editor-in-chief for Sportski Žurnal. He has published political columns in Slobodna Dalmacija in Split, Danas and Start in Zagreb, Mladina in Ljubljana, and Oslobođenje in Sarajevo. He has also been the director of Politika Television and was the creator of BK Television.

President of the Board of Directors of NIS

Vadim Jakovljev has been re-elected as President of the Board of Directors of NIS. Jakovljev (born 1970) worked as a consultant at PriceWaterhouse Coopers from 1995, where in 2000 he became a financial expertise manager. From 2001 to 2002 he served as deputy manager of the financial-economic office of JUKOP EP a.d. From 2003 to 2004 he was financial director of Jugansknjeftgas NK JUKOS office. From 2005 to 2006 he was deputy general director for economy and finance at SIBUR- Ruske Gume d.o.o. From December 2006 he was head of the planning and budget office at Gaspromnjeft a.d., and from January 2008, he was deputy president of the Board of Directors and deputy general director for economy and finance. Since February 2009 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of NIS, and he was first elected as president of the company’s board in July 2009.

New President of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia

Vukašin Obradović, editor-in-chief of Vranjske Weekly and until now the vicepresident of the association, has been elected as the new president of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS). After Đorđe Vlajić resigned from the post, Obradović has been acting as the NUNS president for the last six months. Obradović was born in Vranje in 1962 and graduated from the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade in 1987. During his college years he contributed to the editorial boards of youth papers such as Student, NON, Mladost, and Stav. By the end of 1994 he had started a local weekly, Vranjske, which by 2000 was the only independent media in southern Serbia. Currently he is editor-in-chief of this publication.

New Mission Director of USAID’s Mission to Serbia and Montenegro

Susan Fritz is the new Mission Director of USAID’s Mission to Serbia and Montenegro. As the Mission Director, she oversees USAID’s annual $40 million Serbia and $5 million Montenegro programs. These programmes focus on civil society, rule of law, media independence, good governance, private sector development, agriculture sector productivity, and the business-enabling environment. Ms Fritz can draw on a wealth of experience working in the Balkan region. Most recently, she served as Deputy Mission Director of USAID/Kosovo. Her previous positions include Regional Democracy Officer based out of USAID/Bulgaria, Director of the Democracy and Conflict Mitigation Office for USAID/Central Asia, Elections and Political Process Team Leader in the USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, and Chief Democracy Officer for USAID/Bosnia. As Chief Democracy Officer, Fritz helped set up USAID’s first Mission to Bosnia in 1996, shortly after the Dayton Accords.

Overseeing the International Business Sector at Steiermärkische Sparkasse

The inspecting committee of Steiermärkische Bank und Sparkasse AG have named Sava Dalbokov as the new member of the Board of Directors for the period between October 1st 2010 and May 31st 2014. Dalbokov will be in charge of the international business sector and of the South-east European market. Sava Dalbokov (born 1973, Bulgaria) studied at South Carolina University in Columbia, and Massachusetts University in Boston, USA. Upon completion of his studies he worked as a tax inspector at the public revenue office of Massachusetts, Boston, USA and as analyst at Moellendorf & Company in Budapest, Hungary. In September 1997 he started his career at Erste Bank as the director for Central and Eastern Europe. From March 2002 to March 2006 he was a member of the Board of Directors responsible for IT and operative affairs, risk management and assets management at Erste & Steiermärkische Bank from Rijeka, Croatia. From April 2006 to December 2008 he was the president of the Board of Directors of Erste Bank a.d. in Novi Sad, Serbia. Since January 2009 Dalbokov has been general director of good.bee Holding GmbH Company of Austria.

Susan Fritz, New Mission Director of USAID’s Mission to Serbia and Montenegro

Susan Fritz is the new Mission Director of USAID’s Mission to Serbia and Montenegro. As the Mission Director, she oversees USAID’s annual $40 million Serbia and $5 million Montenegro programs. These programmes focus on civil society, rule of law, media independence, good governance, private sector development, agriculture sector productivity, and the business-enabling environment. Ms Fritz can draw on a wealth of experience working in the Balkan region. Most recently, she served as Deputy Mission Director of USAID/Kosovo. Her previous positions include Regional Democracy Officer based out of USAID/Bulgaria, Director of the Democracy and Conflict Mitigation Office for USAID/Central Asia, Elections and Political Process Team Leader in the USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, and Chief Democracy Officer for USAID/Bosnia. As Chief Democracy Officer, Fritz helped set up USAID’s first Mission to Bosnia in 1996, shortly after the Dayton Accords.

Colleen Darragh, Executive Director of Finance at U.S. Steel Serbia

U. S. Steel Serbia has announced that Ms. Colleen Darragh has been appointed as Executive Director of Finance. Ms. Darragh most recently served as the manager of financial analysis at the U. S. Steel Gary Complex located in Gary, Indiana, USA. Ms. Darragh succeeds Mr. Matthew Lewis who has been advanced to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for U. S. Steel Europe. Ms. Darragh (40) received her Bachelor of Science at the College of William and Mary, Virginia, USA and later received her Masters in Business Administration at the University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She joined United States Steel Corporation in August 2006 as the director of external reporting and was advanced to her most recent position in March 2009.

Ferenc Erdei, New System Supply Director at Henkel in Kruševac

Ferenc Erdei has been the new system supply director at Henkel Merima in Kruševac since September. Erdei has been working for Henkel for 20 years. He has spent the most of his career in Hungary, and has worked a year in both Vienna and Dusseldorf. He gained the experience required for performing this new function while working as the production manager, manager of several international projects and as the director of the packaging sector. Erdei took over office from Vojkan Marić, who has been performing the function of the head of the Board of Directors and the system supply director of Henkel Merima over the past four years, and who is continuing his career with Henkel in Turkey.

Andy Sparkes, New Deputy Chief of Eulex

British Ambassador to Priština, Andy Sparkes, has been appointed the Deputy Chief of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo. Sparkes will come to office after Roy Reeve leaves, in mid October. The appointment is for a period of one year, with the possibility of extension. Andy Sparkes became British Ambassador to Kosovo in April 2008, and prior to that was Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo (2004- 2007), then Deputy of the High Commissioner for South Africa (2001- 2004), and Deputy of the Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia (1999- 2001). In the earlier period of his career he had engagements in Turkey and Thailand. In London, he performed the function of the assistant of the human resources director and the export services director in the UK Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

Mihailo Stanišić, New general Director of Strauss Adriatic

Strauss Adriatic Company, the producer of Doncafé, has a new General Director. Mr. Mihailo Stanišić, who previously held the position of Sales Director at Wrigley d.o.o. in Serbia, was appointed to the position in July 2010. For the last 15 years, Mr. Stanišić has performed managerial functions in the territory of Serbia and former Yugoslavia, and has contributed with outstanding results in the field of marketing and sales of the company’s products. During that period, the company has additionally fortified its position in the Serbian market. Mihailo Stanišić graduated from the Law School of Belgrade University.

Aleksandar Radosavljević, Global Sale Development Vice-president in Carlsberg Group

The new Global Sales Development Vicepresident of Carlsberg Group (with its headquarters in Denmark) is Aleksandar Radosavljević, who until now has been the General Director of Carlsberg Serbia. Radosavljević performed the duties of the general director of Carlsberg South-Eastern Europe for a period of time, as the first man of Carlsberg Serbia. From 2003 to 2007, he was the Commercial Director of Carlsberg Serbia and Executive Director of Carlsberg BiH. Prior to his engagement at Carlsberg, he was the Sales Director for Serbia and Montenegro, and Regional Sales and Distribution Director at Allied Domecq Company. In 2009, he held also the post of the President of the Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC), where he actively participated in the promotion and encouragement of dialogues between representatives of foreign investors and the Serbian Government. Gabor Bekefi, General Director of Carlsberg South-Eastern Europe, will perform the function of the General Director of Carlsberg Serbia until the appointment of the new director.

Borislav Kostadinov, New President of the Management Board of ProCredit Bank in Serbia

Kostadinov was elected to this post in early August, replacing Doerte Weidig, who has been transferred to new duties within ProCredit Holdings in Frankfurt. Kostadinov has had close to 10 years in management of the ProCredit Group, and over the last six years he been in several management roles in ProCredit banks in the region, and in 2002 in ProCredit Bank in Serbia.

Xavier Bout de Marnhac, Head of EULEX from October

Former KFOR commander Xavier Bout de Marnhac will replace Yves de Kermabon as the head of the EU Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) from October 15th, according to EULEX. The retired General de Marnhac was the KFOR commander in 2007 and 2008. He graduated from military academy at St Cyr and pursued further studies at the American Command-General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the General staff Academy and Institute of National Defence in Paris. Before and after his time in Kosovo he has held various commanding positions in the French army, and has served in missions in the Balkans, Middle East, central Asia and Africa. He retired this year from the position of the commander of the French military area of the South-East with its headquarters in Lyon.

Vadim Jakovljev, President of the Board of Directors of NIS

Vadim Jakovljev has been re-elected as President of the Board of Directors of NIS. Jakovljev (born 1970) worked as a consultant at PriceWaterhouse Coopers from 1995, where in 2000 he became a financial expertise manager. From 2001 to 2002 he served as deputy manager of the financial-economic office of JUKOP EP a.d. From 2003 to 2004 he was financial director of Jugansknjeftgas NK JUKOS office. From 2005 to 2006 he was deputy general director for economy and finance at SIBUR- Ruske Gume d.o.o. From December 2006 he was head of the planning and budget office at Gaspromnjeft a.d., and from January 2008, he was deputy president of the Board of Directors and deputy general director for economy and finance. Since February 2009 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of NIS, and he was first elected as president of the company’s board in July 2009.

Aleksandar Tijanić, General Director of RTS... again

The RDU Radio-Television of Serbia Board of Directors has once again chosen Aleksandar Tijanić as the general director of RTS. This is Tijanić’s second term at the head of the national public media service. Tijanić’s new mandate will last four years, and he has already been at the head of Serbia’s Radio-Television for six years. Tijanić (61) was born in Đakovica and has lived in Podujevo and Priština. He studied journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, and started his professional carrier at the weekly, NIN. He worked as the editor-in-chief for Interview’magazine, and then as the editor-in-chief for Sportski Žurnal. He has published political columns in Slobodna Dalmacija in Split, Danas and Start in Zagreb, Mladina in Ljubljana, and Oslobođenje in Sarajevo. He has also been the director of Politika Television and was the creator of BK Television.

Vukašin Obradović, New President of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia

Vukašin Obradović, editor-in-chief of Vranjske Weekly and until now the vicepresident of the association, has been elected as the new president of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS). After Đorđe Vlajić resigned from the post, Obradović has been acting as the NUNS president for the last six months. Obradović was born in Vranje in 1962 and graduated from the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade in 1987. During his college years he contributed to the editorial boards of youth papers such as Student, NON, Mladost, and Stav. By the end of 1994 he had started a local weekly, Vranjske, which by 2000 was the only independent media in southern Serbia. Currently he is editor-in-chief of this publication.

Boško Živković, New President of the Governors Council of the National Bank of Serbia

Boško Živković has been appointed President of the Governor’s Council of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS). Živković (born 1954) is a professor of the Faculty of Economy, an expert in business finances, the asset market and banking. Previously he has been president of the Securities Commission of the FRY and Serbia, a member of the NBS Council (2003-2004), and the assistant of the Minister of the Economy and Privatisation responsible for the finance markets’ development (2003). He was part of the expert group which formulated the basic concepts of the law on privatisation, economic societies, finance markets, banks, and so on.

Manojlo Vukotić, Still at the Head of Večernje Novosti

At the regular meeting of shareholders of Večernje Novosti Manojlo, Vukotić was elected general director and editor-inchief of the company. This is Vukotić‘s third term after being first elected as director in 2000. Vukotić (born 1938) studied world literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. He started taking an interest in journalism with Belgrade Student, and then began his professional career in 1963 at Beogradska Nedelja. He was the long-term editor-in-chief of Borba, Blic, and the Glas Javnosti. At Večernje Novosti daily he worked as a journalist, editor and foreign correspondent. Vukotić has been the director of ‘Novosti’ Company for the last eight years.

Sava Dalbokov, Overseeing the International Business Sector at Steiermärkische Sparkasse

The inspecting committee of Steiermärkische Bank und Sparkasse AG have named Sava Dalbokov as the new member of the Board of Directors for the period between October 1st 2010 and May 31st 2014. Dalbokov will be in charge of the international business sector and of the South-east European market. Sava Dalbokov (born 1973, Bulgaria) studied at South Carolina University in Columbia, and Massachusetts University in Boston, USA. Upon completion of his studies he worked as a tax inspector at the public revenue office of Massachusetts, Boston, USA and as analyst at Moellendorf & Company in Budapest, Hungary. In September 1997 he started his career at Erste Bank as the director for Central and Eastern Europe. From March 2002 to March 2006 he was a member of the Board of Directors responsible for IT and operative affairs, risk management and assets management at Erste & Steiermärkische Bank from Rijeka, Croatia. From April 2006 to December 2008 he was the president of the Board of Directors of Erste Bank a.d. in Novi Sad, Serbia. Since January 2009 Dalbokov has been general director of good.bee Holding GmbH Company of Austria.

Erhard Buehler, General Erhard Buehler Heading KFOR

German general Erhard Buehler will take over command of the international KFOR forces in Kosovo in September. General Major Erhard Buehler (54) will replace fellow German, General Marcus Bentler, as the commander of the 10,000 soldiers of KFOR from 30 countries. KFOR now comprises of 1,500 German soldiers. Since July 2009 Buehler has commanded the German 10th Armoured Division stationed in Sigmaringen - this is also where he inherited Bentler. The new head of KFOR has been in Kosovo since November 2004 as commander of German troops in Prizren, and as deputy commander of the Multinational Brigade South- West. The KFOR commander’s mandate is for the period of one year.

Susan Fritz, New Mission Director of USAID’s Mission to Serbia and Montenegro

Susan Fritz is the new Mission Director of USAID’s Mission to Serbia and Montenegro. As the Mission Director, she oversees USAID’s annual $40 million Serbia and $5 million Montenegro programs. These programmes focus on civil society, rule of law, media independence, good governance, private sector development, agriculture sector productivity, and the business-enabling environment. Ms Fritz can draw on a wealth of experience working in the Balkan region. Most recently, she served as Deputy Mission Director of USAID/Kosovo. Her previous positions include Regional Democracy Officer based out of USAID/Bulgaria, Director of the Democracy and Conflict Mitigation Office for USAID/Central Asia, Elections and Political Process Team Leader in the USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, and Chief Democracy Officer for USAID/Bosnia. As Chief Democracy Officer, Fritz helped set up USAID’s first Mission to Bosnia in 1996, shortly after the Dayton Accords.

Colleen Darragh, Executive Director of Finance at U.S. Steel Serbia

U. S. Steel Serbia has announced that Ms. Colleen Darragh has been appointed as Executive Director of Finance. Ms. Darragh most recently served as the manager of financial analysis at the U. S. Steel Gary Complex located in Gary, Indiana, USA. Ms. Darragh succeeds Mr. Matthew Lewis who has been advanced to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for U. S. Steel Europe. Ms. Darragh (40) received her Bachelor of Science at the College of William and Mary, Virginia, USA and later received her Masters in Business Administration at the University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She joined United States Steel Corporation in August 2006 as the director of external reporting and was advanced to her most recent position in March 2009.

Ferenc Erdei, New System Supply Director at Henkel in Kruševac

Ferenc Erdei has been the new system supply director at Henkel Merima in Kruševac since September. Erdei has been working for Henkel for 20 years. He has spent the most of his career in Hungary, and has worked a year in both Vienna and Dusseldorf. He gained the experience required for performing this new function while working as the production manager, manager of several international projects and as the director of the packaging sector. Erdei took over office from Vojkan Marić, who has been performing the function of the head of the Board of Directors and the system supply director of Henkel Merima over the past four years, and who is continuing his career with Henkel in Turkey.

Andy Sparkes, New Deputy Chief of Eulex

British Ambassador to Priština, Andy Sparkes, has been appointed the Deputy Chief of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo. Sparkes will come to office after Roy Reeve leaves, in mid October. The appointment is for a period of one year, with the possibility of extension. Andy Sparkes became British Ambassador to Kosovo in April 2008, and prior to that was Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo (2004- 2007), then Deputy of the High Commissioner for South Africa (2001- 2004), and Deputy of the Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia (1999- 2001). In the earlier period of his career he had engagements in Turkey and Thailand. In London, he performed the function of the assistant of the human resources director and the export services director in the UK Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

Mihailo Stanišić, New general Director of Strauss Adriatic

Strauss Adriatic Company, the producer of Doncafé, has a new General Director. Mr. Mihailo Stanišić, who previously held the position of Sales Director at Wrigley d.o.o. in Serbia, was appointed to the position in July 2010. For the last 15 years, Mr. Stanišić has performed managerial functions in the territory of Serbia and former Yugoslavia, and has contributed with outstanding results in the field of marketing and sales of the company’s products. During that period, the company has additionally fortified its position in the Serbian market. Mihailo Stanišić graduated from the Law School of Belgrade University.

Aleksandar Radosavljević, Global Sale Development Vice-president in Carlsberg Group

The new Global Sales Development Vicepresident of Carlsberg Group (with its headquarters in Denmark) is Aleksandar Radosavljević, who until now has been the General Director of Carlsberg Serbia. Radosavljević performed the duties of the general director of Carlsberg South-Eastern Europe for a period of time, as the first man of Carlsberg Serbia. From 2003 to 2007, he was the Commercial Director of Carlsberg Serbia and Executive Director of Carlsberg BiH. Prior to his engagement at Carlsberg, he was the Sales Director for Serbia and Montenegro, and Regional Sales and Distribution Director at Allied Domecq Company. In 2009, he held also the post of the President of the Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC), where he actively participated in the promotion and encouragement of dialogues between representatives of foreign investors and the Serbian Government. Gabor Bekefi, General Director of Carlsberg South-Eastern Europe, will perform the function of the General Director of Carlsberg Serbia until the appointment of the new director.

Borislav Kostadinov, New President of the Management Board of ProCredit Bank in Serbia

Kostadinov was elected to this post in early August, replacing Doerte Weidig, who has been transferred to new duties within ProCredit Holdings in Frankfurt. Kostadinov has had close to 10 years in management of the ProCredit Group, and over the last six years he been in several management roles in ProCredit banks in the region, and in 2002 in ProCredit Bank in Serbia.

Xavier Bout de Marnhac, Head of EULEX from October

Former KFOR commander Xavier Bout de Marnhac will replace Yves de Kermabon as the head of the EU Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) from October 15th, according to EULEX. The retired General de Marnhac was the KFOR commander in 2007 and 2008. He graduated from military academy at St Cyr and pursued further studies at the American Command-General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the General staff Academy and Institute of National Defence in Paris. Before and after his time in Kosovo he has held various commanding positions in the French army, and has served in missions in the Balkans, Middle East, central Asia and Africa. He retired this year from the position of the commander of the French military area of the South-East with its headquarters in Lyon.

Vadim Jakovljev, President of the Board of Directors of NIS

Vadim Jakovljev has been re-elected as President of the Board of Directors of NIS. Jakovljev (born 1970) worked as a consultant at PriceWaterhouse Coopers from 1995, where in 2000 he became a financial expertise manager. From 2001 to 2002 he served as deputy manager of the financial-economic office of JUKOP EP a.d. From 2003 to 2004 he was financial director of Jugansknjeftgas NK JUKOS office. From 2005 to 2006 he was deputy general director for economy and finance at SIBUR- Ruske Gume d.o.o. From December 2006 he was head of the planning and budget office at Gaspromnjeft a.d., and from January 2008, he was deputy president of the Board of Directors and deputy general director for economy and finance. Since February 2009 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of NIS, and he was first elected as president of the company’s board in July 2009.

Aleksandar Tijanić, General Director of RTS... again

The RDU Radio-Television of Serbia Board of Directors has once again chosen Aleksandar Tijanić as the general director of RTS. This is Tijanić’s second term at the head of the national public media service. Tijanić’s new mandate will last four years, and he has already been at the head of Serbia’s Radio-Television for six years. Tijanić (61) was born in Đakovica and has lived in Podujevo and Priština. He studied journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, and started his professional carrier at the weekly, NIN. He worked as the editor-in-chief for Interview’magazine, and then as the editor-in-chief for Sportski Žurnal. He has published political columns in Slobodna Dalmacija in Split, Danas and Start in Zagreb, Mladina in Ljubljana, and Oslobođenje in Sarajevo. He has also been the director of Politika Television and was the creator of BK Television.

Vukašin Obradović, New President of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia

Vukašin Obradović, editor-in-chief of Vranjske Weekly and until now the vicepresident of the association, has been elected as the new president of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS). After Đorđe Vlajić resigned from the post, Obradović has been acting as the NUNS president for the last six months. Obradović was born in Vranje in 1962 and graduated from the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade in 1987. During his college years he contributed to the editorial boards of youth papers such as Student, NON, Mladost, and Stav. By the end of 1994 he had started a local weekly, Vranjske, which by 2000 was the only independent media in southern Serbia. Currently he is editor-in-chief of this publication.

Boško Živković, New President of the Governors Council of the National Bank of Serbia

Boško Živković has been appointed President of the Governor’s Council of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS). Živković (born 1954) is a professor of the Faculty of Economy, an expert in business finances, the asset market and banking. Previously he has been president of the Securities Commission of the FRY and Serbia, a member of the NBS Council (2003-2004), and the assistant of the Minister of the Economy and Privatisation responsible for the finance markets’ development (2003). He was part of the expert group which formulated the basic concepts of the law on privatisation, economic societies, finance markets, banks, and so on.

Manojlo Vukotić, Still at the Head of Večernje Novosti

At the regular meeting of shareholders of Večernje Novosti Manojlo, Vukotić was elected general director and editor-inchief of the company. This is Vukotić‘s third term after being first elected as director in 2000. Vukotić (born 1938) studied world literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. He started taking an interest in journalism with Belgrade Student, and then began his professional career in 1963 at Beogradska Nedelja. He was the long-term editor-in-chief of Borba, Blic, and the Glas Javnosti. At Večernje Novosti daily he worked as a journalist, editor and foreign correspondent. Vukotić has been the director of ‘Novosti’ Company for the last eight years.

Sava Dalbokov, Overseeing the International Business Sector at Steiermärkische Sparkasse

The inspecting committee of Steiermärkische Bank und Sparkasse AG have named Sava Dalbokov as the new member of the Board of Directors for the period between October 1st 2010 and May 31st 2014. Dalbokov will be in charge of the international business sector and of the South-east European market. Sava Dalbokov (born 1973, Bulgaria) studied at South Carolina University in Columbia, and Massachusetts University in Boston, USA. Upon completion of his studies he worked as a tax inspector at the public revenue office of Massachusetts, Boston, USA and as analyst at Moellendorf & Company in Budapest, Hungary. In September 1997 he started his career at Erste Bank as the director for Central and Eastern Europe. From March 2002 to March 2006 he was a member of the Board of Directors responsible for IT and operative affairs, risk management and assets management at Erste & Steiermärkische Bank from Rijeka, Croatia. From April 2006 to December 2008 he was the president of the Board of Directors of Erste Bank a.d. in Novi Sad, Serbia. Since January 2009 Dalbokov has been general director of good.bee Holding GmbH Company of Austria.

Erhard Buehler, General Erhard Buehler Heading KFOR

German general Erhard Buehler will take over command of the international KFOR forces in Kosovo in September. General Major Erhard Buehler (54) will replace fellow German, General Marcus Bentler, as the commander of the 10,000 soldiers of KFOR from 30 countries. KFOR now comprises of 1,500 German soldiers. Since July 2009 Buehler has commanded the German 10th Armoured Division stationed in Sigmaringen - this is also where he inherited Bentler. The new head of KFOR has been in Kosovo since November 2004 as commander of German troops in Prizren, and as deputy commander of the Multinational Brigade South- West. The KFOR commander’s mandate is for the period of one year.