Summit 2012

Announcement

Macedonia 2025 and the Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation, our local partner, organize the first Macedonia Global Investment Summit 2012 to be held in Ohrid, Macedonia on October 18-21, 2012. The summit will consist of working panels and networking opportunities to discuss and explore information which will stimulate joint cooperation among Macedonian and foreign companies in various sectors.

Agenda

Macedonia global investment summit 2012 - programme

Keynote speakers

• Dr Gjorge Ivanov

  Dr Gjorge Ivanov
  President of the Republic of Macedonia

  President Gjorge Ivanov was born on 2 May 1960. While at University Gjorge Ivanov became politically active in liberal and reformist-oriented youth organizations. In 1988, his career with the national broadcaster "Macedonian Television" begins, where he was promoted to the position of Editor. In 1995, Gjorge Ivanov returned the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, earning a Master's Degree in Political Science. During his PhD research he focused on building democracies in divided societies and successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled "Democracy in Divided Societies: the Case of Macedonia."

  At the Law Faculty Professor Ivanov taught political theory and political philosophy to his students, introducing new teaching methods that helped open Macedonian academia to Western universities through contemporary literature and magazines. He became active in EU's TEMPUS Programme for the Republic of Macedonia, introducing a reformed curricula and English language Master Programmes.

  Gjorge Ivanov is a leading expert on civil society, being the first to introduce its systematic research in Macedonian academia. He has been a consultant to leading think-tanks and researchers. Professor Ivanov is the co-founder of the first Macedonian political science journal "Political Opinion", and the founder and Honorary President of the Macedonian Political Science Association. He is also one of the founders of the Institute for Democracy, Solidarity and Civil Society. While never a party member, he became active in helping fashion the policy of the reformist VMRO-DPMNE party, which supported his presidential nomination in 2009. He won the elections with a distinctive majority and was inaugurated for President on 12 May 2009.

  During his Presidential mandate, Professor Gjorge Ivanov has received numerous invitations to give lectures at renowned universities in the European centers. He has received few Honoris Causa. The first one from Tobb University of Economics and Technology, Turkey; the second from the Istanbul University in March 2011; and the third one from the Chrisian University "Dimitrie Cantemir" Bucharest, Romania in October 2011. In September 2011, President Ivanov was awarded the highest Order of the St. Lazarus Order from Jerusalem.

• Nikola Gruevski

  Nikola Gruevski
  President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia

  Nikola Gruevski was sworn in as the 7th Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia on 27 August 2006 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.

  He has a rich professional experience that includes various positions and institutions. Before he became a Prime Minister, in 2005, he held the position of Vice President of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Macedonia. From September 2002 until September 2006 he was a member of the Macedonian parliament. Since May 2003 he is a leader of VMRO-DPMNE (a right-wing party). In the period between 2002 and 2004 he was a President of the Parliamentary Commission for Financing and Budget Member of the Permanent Parliamentary Commission for Cooperation with the European Parliament. From 2000 to 2002 Mr. Nikola Gruevski was a President of the State Securities and Exchange Commission. He was also a Minister of Finance and a Governor of the Republic of Macedonia in the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – EBRD. From 1998 to 1999 he was a Minister without portfolio and Minister of Trade. In 1998 he founded and was President of the Broker's Association of the Republic of Macedonia .

• Paul D. Wohlers

  Paul D. Wohlers
  US Ambassador to Macedonia

  Ambassador Wohlers assumed his duties as Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia on September 12, 2011; he presented his credentials to President Ivanov on September 13. He had been sworn in as Ambassador by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton on August 11. Previously, Ambassador Wohlers served as Deputy Executive Secretary of the State Department from July 2008 through June 2011. From 2007 to 2008, he was Director of the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR/CARC). He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia from 2004 to 2007. Ambassador Wohlers also served as Deputy Director of the Executive Secretariat Staff in the Department of State (2001-2003), and was a Senior Watch Officer in the State Department Operations Center (2000-2001).

  Earlier in his career, Ambassador Wohlers held diplomatic postings at U.S. embassies in Bucharest (1985-1987), Moscow (1991-1993), and Nicosia (1997-2000). In Washington, Ambassador Wohlers worked on arms control issues in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (1987-1990), and was Desk Officer for Bangladesh in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs (1993-1994). He also served on the Executive Secretariat Staff (1994-1996).

  Ambassador Wohlers graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1974 with a B.S. in International Affairs and served as a Naval Flight Officer, flying in the E-2C Hawkeye with VAW-121, attached to the USS Eisenhower. He earned a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1982.

  Ambassador Wohlers is married to the former Mary Jo Larsen. They are the parents of three daughters – Rachel (25), married to Ryan Ostrye, Julia (23), and Jessica (20).

• Roman Waschuk

  Roman Waschuk

  Ambassador, Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Serbia, Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro

  2011-present: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Serbia, Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro

  2008-2011: Director and Deputy Head Stabilization and Reconstruction Programs Division, Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force

  2007-2008: Director Global Partnerships - Biological Non-Proliferation, Chemical Weapons Destruction and Redirection of Former Weapons Scientists Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

  2005-2007: Minister-Counsellor (Political/Economic), Embassy of Canada, Berlin, Germany

  2002-2005: Counsellor (Political) and Programme Manager, Embassy of Canada, Berlin, Germany

  1999-2002: Deputy Director Policy Planning Division Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Counsellor (Political) and Programme Manager Embassy of Canada, Berlin, Germany

  1998-1999: Deputy Director European Union Division Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada: Minister-Counsellor (Political/Economic) Embassy of Canada, Berlin, Germany

  1994-1998 Counsellor, Political Embassy of Canada, Kyiv, Ukraine

  1991-1994 Desk Officer, Eastern Europe Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

  1988-1991 Third/Second Secretary, Embassy of Canada, Moscow, Russia

• Vladimir Peshevski

  Vladimir Peshevski
  Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs

  2009-present: Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs: Coordination of economic departments and institutions in the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, with special focus on the big infrastructural projects, attracting and facilitating the work for the big foreign and local investors, improvement of the business climate and creating economic policies for accelerated economic development.

  2005-2009 : General Manager, SEAF South Balkan Fund, and partner in the International Investment Fund for direct investments with focus on private companies in the Balkans, with branch-offices in the Netherlands, Serbia and Macedonia. He has been a main investment consultant during the sale of several companies from Serbia and Kosovo to foreign investors with a total market value of euro 100 million.

• Mr. Mike Zafirovski

  Mr. Mike Zafirovski

  Mike Zafirovski is a senior advisor to the Blackstone Group, one of the world's leading investment and advisory firms. Prior to that, Zafirovski served as President and CEO of Nortel, a global communications technology company; President and COO of Motorola and its six separate multi-billion dollar technology and communications businesses; and during a 25-year career at GE, served as President and CEO of five GE businesses in the consumer, industrial and financial services arenas. He is known for his vision, operational execution, and principled leadership that he uses to build strong cultures and develop leaders who share his passion for customers and enterprise competitiveness and growth.

  Zafirovski serves on the board of directors of Boeing and Apria Healthcare Services.

• Andrew Peykoff Sr.

  Andrew Peykoff Sr.

  Niagara Bottling is the largest private label bottled water company in the Western Hemisphere. Family owned since 1963. Niagara's founder Andrew Peykoff Sr. moved to California as a milkman in 1961. In 1963 he started his own water company, delivering high quality low cost water in five-gallon glass containers for homes and offices delivery using his garage as his storage area.
  In 1967 Niagara opened their first bottling plant. In 1988 they started bottling 1-gallon bottles and in 1994 bought their first blow molder to make one-gallon polyethylene bottles. In 1998, the company began leading the technological revolution in the water industry by investing in injection and blow molding to create North America's lightest PET bottle.
  More than 49 years later, with production capacity of over 21-billion bottles of water per year, and nine geographically diversified production facilities servicing nearly every major retailer in the U.S., Niagara is the industry leader in high speed automation and emerging plastic technologies, including vertical integration and light weighting. Niagara has received the Best PET technology innovation award in 2009, recognizing the Eco3 bottle design as the most innovative technological accomplishment in the PET industry. Niagara recently received the 2011 Best Sustainability Initiative Award for the launch of nested packs at the Global Bottled Water Congress, and was also a finalist for the Best New Packaging Innovation Award. Our Eco-Air IV bottle was highly commended as the Best New Bottle in PET.

• Samih Elhage

  Samih Elhage

  Samih Elhage is the chief operating officer at Nokia Siemens Networks. He joined the company in March 2012.

  He is a strategic and result-oriented Global Business and Operating senior executive with strong experience in strategic visioning and value creation, P&L management, and building high-performance organizations. He is known for his vast experience in business transformation, establishing operational excellence in various culturally diverse global markets along with translating business vision and operating concepts into specific growth strategies and sustained profitability.

  Samih has more than 22 years of in-depth expertise in telecommunications. Before joining Nokia Siemens Networks, Samih served as a senior advisor to leading private equity and global management consulting firms, focusing on investments and improving operational performance within the telecommunications sector.

  From 2008 till August 2010, Elhage was the President of Nortel’s Carrier Voice over IP Solutions (CVAS), wherein he led a major restructuring and transformation of the business, enabling the company to gain a greater market share and number one position in the market. Moreover, he successfully led the sales and transition of the business in 2010, improving the operating profitability of the company by 1600 basis points.

  Prior to this role, Samih held a number of leadership roles in Nortel in varied domains including Operations, Business Transformation, Broadband Networks, Optical Networks and Core Data Networks business units.

  From 1990 to 1998, Elhage assumed multiple leadership and management roles in Bell Canada related to network development. Formerly, he was also the decision-making authority for network technology planning with a focus on Broadband Networks, Voice Networks, Optical Networks, Data Networks, Data Services, Fiber Infrastructure Planning, and joint Wireline/Wireless Network Infrastructure Planning in the company.

• Dr. Kurt Geiger

  Dr. Kurt Geiger

  Kurt Geiger, PhD, Director on the Board of Reiffeisen Bank International and Former Director of Financial Institutions and Equity at the EBRD

• Hubertus van der Vaart

  Hubertus van der Vaart

  Hubertus Jan (Bert) van der Vaart co-founded Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) in 1989, when it was known as the CARE Small Business Assistance Corporation (CARESBAC). In 1992, Mr. van der Vaart negotiated the establishment of CARESBAC/SEAF's first fund in Poland, which grew to $16.8 million total capital under management under his leadership as the fund's Director General. While serving as Director-General of CARESBAC-Polska from August 1994 until May 1997, the company completed 27 SME investments and realized its first 6 exits. In 1997, Mr. van der Vaart was appointed CEO and President of SEAF, where he has since been involved with the establishment and supervision of every SEAF fund, frequently traveling to collaborate with each SEAF fund office. In 2008, he became Executive Chairman of SEAF's Board of Directors and became associated with Discovery Global Citizens Fund, an international investment firm. Mr. van der Vaart moved to New Delhi, India in September 2010, where he is directing the initial phase of SEAF's India Agribusiness Fund.

• Daniel Szasz

  Daniel Szasz

  As of 1st July 2011, Mr. Daniel Szasz assumed the position of the Chief Executive Officer of Makedonski Telekom and President of the Board of Directors of T-Mobile Macedonia.

  Mr. Szasz, born in 1972, after graduating in Budapest as an economist, started his career at General Motors Group, where he held various managerial and finance leadership positions since 1994 at the Opel companies in Hungary and Germany. He delivered tasks of a GM Daewoo Central and Eastern Europe Managing Director from 2002. He was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of T-Online Hungary Plc. (former Axelero Llc) effective as of 1st January 2004. In the period since then, he obtained a considerable body of professional expertise in the telecommunications market and company governance. Daniel Szasz contributed to the spiralling penetration of the broadband internet, which constitutes one of Magyar Telekom Group's business areas that demonstrates the most dynamic growth.

  From 2007 until 2011, Mr. Szasz was member of the Board of Directors of Crnogorski Telekom, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee of Crnogorski Telekom. He led the operation, the organizational and the business transition of Crnogorski Telekom. During his mandate, the company introduced IPTV, mobile internet, increased significantly the broadband penetration in Montenegro and strengthened the market position in the mobile segment. He also acted as the Chairman of the Montenegrin Foreign Investors' Council and the Vice- Chairman of the Montenegrin-Hungarian Business Council.

  As of April 2012 Mr. Szasz was elected President of the Foreign Investors Council of Macedonia. Concurrently he is Vice President of the European Business Association in Macedonia.

• Dr. Antonio Petrov

  Dr. Antonio Petrov

  Dr. Antonio Petrov currently is professor at the University of Texas in San Antonio. He also serves as the program director for research at Archeworks in Chicago, co-founder and current editor-in-chief of New Geographies, a Harvard University journal, the founder and editor-in-chief of DOMA, a bilingual magazine published in Macedonia, and the director of WAS, a think tank located in Chicago with research that emphasizes on urbanism, regionalism and architecture.

  He received his doctoral degree in the history and theory of architecture, urbanism and cultural studies from Harvard University. He also has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships; amongst others he has been a Fulbright and Aga Khan fellow, and won international prizes and competitions in architecture, planning and design. Dr. Petrov taught at Harvard University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Iowa State University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Panelists

• Zoran Jolevski

  Zoran Jolevski

  Professor Zoran Jolevski was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the United States in March 2007. In November 2008, he also has been appointed the Macedonians chief negotiator on name differences with Greece under the auspices of the United Nations. From January 2011 he is non resident Ambassador to Mexico and to Brazil.

  From 2000 to 2004, Ambassador Jolevski was Chief of Staff to the late Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, and served as the Chief Adviser to the Macedonian Government on Macedonia's World Trade Organization accession. He has served in various other capacities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  Working for Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading US consulting firm, he was managing the Macedonian Business Environment Activity and the World Trade Organization Compliance Activity

  Ambassador Jolevski has been the founder and the first President of the Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs Ohrid. He served also as a President of The Boris Trajkovski International Foundation from 2004 to 2005. Prior to his appointment as ambassador he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tobacco Company PRILEP, as well as member of the board of SEAVUS, Airports MACEDONIA and SKOPJE FAIR. He also was Vice Chairman of the UN/ECE Committee on Trade, Industry and Enterprise Development (2005-2007), as well as a Member of Team of Specialists on Internet Enterprise Development at UN/ECE (1999-2003) Ambasador Jolevski holds a Ph.D. in International Economy from the Faculty of Economy, as well as a Master of Science in International Trade Law. He is author of two books, chief editor of several books as well as author of more then hundred articles.

  Zoran Jolevski married Suzana Jolevska and they have two sons: Pero (1988) and Filip Jolevski (1992).

• H.E.Mr.Kire Ilioski M.A.

  H.E.Mr.Kire Ilioski M.E.

  Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia

  Kire ILIOSKI was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia Macedonia to the Kingdom of Sweden and to the Republic of Finland on January 2011.

  Before the NATO Summit in Bucharest, Kire ILIOSKI was appointed Ambassador, Head of Mission of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO on April 2008.

  As a career diplomat Ambassador Ilioski has been engaged on NATO and EU related issues on several instances throughout his career. Before his appointment as Ambassador, Kire Ilioski worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Head of Department for NATO, Political and Security Cooperation (2008) and as Deputy Head of Department at the Minister's Office.

  Being specialist for regional affairs, Kire Ilioski has been posted abroad as Acting Ambassador, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia (2007-2008) in a very delicate period for Balkan region, before and after the proclamation of independence of Kosovo. During his service in Belgrade he has been accredited as acting Ambassador, Minister Plenipotentiary to the State of Israel as well.

  Between 2005 and 2007 Ambassador Ilioski was posted to the Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, initially as Acting Ambassador and later on promoted in Minister Councilor. From Budapest he was also responsible to develop relations of Macedonia with Malaysia and Indonesia.

  In the years of 2002-2004 Kire Ilioski carried out a number of duties in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs connected with the integration of Macedonia to NATO an EU. He was Head of Department for EAPC/PFP, than Head of Department for Regional Initiatives and Security and finally Head of Department for Security of Classified Information. He has a first hand experience with various phases in the integration process of Macedonia to NATO and EU.

• Robert Wuertz

  Robert Wuertz

  In March 2011, Robert Wuertz assumed his post as Mission Director in Macedonia.  Mr. Wuertz manages a project portfolio of over $100 million supporting economic growth, democracy and local governance, and education.  USAID programs address Macedonia's main challenges to reduce poverty, revive the economy, create jobs, promote private sector-led growth and local government reform.  These efforts are helping the country to advance its transition to a stable and prosperous democracy, and support Macedonia's entry into the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

  Mr. Wuertz has a long history with USAID.  Before arriving in Skopje, he was the Deputy Mission Director in Iraq, where he frequently served as Acting Mission Director.  In addition to managing USAID's $7 billion multi-sector portfolio, he also oversaw operation of USAID's self-contained compound in Baghdad.

  From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Wuertz served as the Policy and Private Sector Office Director for the USAID mission in Cairo, where he supervised USAID/Egypt's economic reform cash transfer program, Commodity Import Program and economic policy reform technical assistance activities.  He also served as Acting Deputy Director in Cairo from July to September, 2009.

  Prior to that, Mr. Wuertz served as Supervisory Program Officer in Pakistan (2007 to 2008), Chief of the Office of Economic Development and Governance in Manila (2003 to 2007), Governance Officer in Manila (2000 to 2003), Supervisory Program Economist in Cairo (1994 to 2000), and Program Economist in Ghana (1990 to 1994). 

  Prior to joining USAID, Mr. Wuertz worked for the U.S. Treasury as an Economic Advisor seconded to the Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance in Riyadh. He also worked in the private sector in a variety of positions focusing on economic, social and energy issues.

  Mr. Wuertz holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. from Cornell University.

• Mr. Robert Arsov

  Robert Arsov

  Robert Arsov is a Director in the Investment Banking division of Credit Suisse, specializing in Mergers & Acquisitions. During his 13-year career as an investment banker, Mr. Arsov has worked with a wide variety of publicly traded and privately held companies on complex U.S. and cross-border assignments, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, and LBOs, as well as hostile and defense transactions. Mr. Arsov started his Wall Street career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in 1999.

  Mr. Arsov received his BS from Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley, and he currently resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife and two daughters.

• Ms. Vera Stavroff

  Ms. Vera Stavroff

  Vera Stavroff is the President & CEO of HerbalScience and AlkaloidUSA, and co-founder of GreenBeauty.

  Vera was born in Bitola, Macedonia. Her family emigrated to Ohio's heartland, where she attended The Ohio State University and received her degree in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering.

  Vera worked in the pharmaceutical industry (Abbott Laboratories) for 13 years. Vera joined Limited Brands as a member of the Executive Committee and head of Research & Development, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs for the Bath & Body Works division.

  Vera is the recipient of two U.S. and international patents.

  Vera resides in Columbus Ohio with her husband Frank and they have two children Jacquilyn and Jeffrey.

• Mr. Vele Samak

  Mr. Vele Samak

  Vele Samak, appointed Minister for attracting foreign investments three times since 2006, is the most senior Government official driving and executing a broad range of policies to secure business and investment opportunities in Macedonia for some of the largest companies in the world. Using direct campaigns and broad-based events, Minister Samak has developed and maintains relationships with hundreds of C-level and senior business decision makers throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia across many industries. In his role, Minister Samak has managed more than 100 investment projects and hosted more than 60 business teams in Macedonia from the largest foreign companies where he assisted in strategic analysis and due diligence, successfully placing Macedonia on a short-list of site selection countries. With Volkswagen Group, he organized the First Macedonian Automotive Supplier Conference held in 2008 in Skopje. To date, Minister Samak has attracted the largest Greenfield investments in Macedonia, including Johnson Matthey (UK), Dräxlmaier (DE), Kromberg and Schubert (DE), Van Hool (BE), creating more than 7000 new jobs and securing new exports above $1 billion annually.

• Valon Saraqini

  Valon Saraqini

  Mr. Valon Saraqini resumed the position Minister of Economy in July 2011, setting as priorities for his mandate: improvement of the business climate, increase of the competitiveness of the Macedonian economy, development of efficient and stabile energy system, planned and sustainable use of the mineral resources and development of the tourism.

  He obtained his bachelor degree in Business administration, at the University American College at 2009. He is currently enrolled in his postgraduate studies at the same university.

  From 2010 to 2011 he worked as Communications and Marketing Director at the University American College – Skopje. From 2007 to 2010 he was the Operating Director at the University American College, Skopje. Between 2002 and 2004 he held a position of Administrative Officer at the Norwegian Council for Refugees – Skopje.

  He has participated at many international meetings, summits and conferences in different countries.

• Mr. Visar Fida

  Mr. Visar Fida

  Visar Fida, Director of the Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion of the Republic of Macedonia, was born in Skopje, Macedonia in 1971. Mr. Fida received his degree in Electrical Engineering from the Vienna University of Technology, and a Master's degree in Computer Science. Prior to being appointed Director of the Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion, Mr. Fida was Director of the Consumer Relations Center of EVN Macedonia in Tetovo, organizing the entire workflow of the Center and coordinating 128 employees in various sectors of KEC Tetovo. Mr. Fida was also Deputy Head of the communications sector at the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as a Government Advisor for telecommunications at the same institution. Mr. Fida can also add to his credits Germany's Siemens, the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company, where he was responsible for the regions of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

• Mr. Viktor Mizo

  Mr. Viktor Mizo

  Viktor Mizo has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Macedonian Free Zones Authority since October 2011 and prior to his current position he was in charge of Invest Macedonia for over 4 years.

  He is responsible for the realization of numerous greenfield investment projects from multinational companies that have located their production in Macedonia, including American companies Johnson Controls, Kemet Electronics and Alliance One, the Indian Motherson Group, the Russian Protek Group, the Italian Vitillo Srl, the Swiss Einflo Windtec as well as the reinvestment project of the British company Johnson Matthey. His dedicated work and efforts are contributing in the opening of more than 4000 new jobs and over 200 million US Dollars in direct investments.

  The main goals that Mizo has set forth for the Free Zones Authority include building world class industrial parks, attracting Greenfield investments, promoting Macedonia's exceptional conditions for investing and providing current companies in the Free Zones with the most cost effictive, supportive and worry-free environment possible. Based on this level of service the Macedonian Free Zones were ranked by fDi Magazine this year among the top 50 in the World in a competition with over 600 free economic zones.

  Mizo started his career as a design engineer and a member of the Technical Leadership Program at General Electric where he specifically worked on locomotive design that culminated in a Black Belt position in the Six Sigma quality initiative. He subsequently worked as a consultant in McKinsey's New York office concentrating on technology and financial services. He co-founded a technology company that specialized in digital file distribution for 3G mobile phones in Japan and also participated in the founding and management of an internet start-up in the media and entertainment space in London/New York. Mizo graduated summa cum laude in Mechanical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he also received his Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He holds an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.

• Dr. Krum Efremov

  Dr. Krum Efremov

  Dr. Krum Efremov during his rich professional career has held many different positions in various institutions. He has obtained his PhD at the Institute for Economy, University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje at 2009. Currently he is working as a Director in the Directorate of economic diplomacy at the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Macedonia and part-time Assistant Professor at the University American College Skopje and he is the State Counsellor.

  He was a president and chairman of many professional bodies. Dr. Efremov was also a Chief Negotiator of the Republic of Macedonia for Agreement on amendment of and accession to the Central European Free Trade Agreement – CEFTA 2006(2005-2007).

  Dr. Krum Efremov has published numerous papers on different topics that are part of his field of expertise. He has participated in drafting law regulations as a main coordinator of expert teams. He has worked as a project coordinator in the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Macedonia since 1999. He coordinated the following projects: WTO accession project, the USAID, 1999-2004; Accession and membership of Republic of Macedonia to WTO, the GTZ, 2001-2004; Improving Trade Legislation, the CARDS, 2003-2005; Training of Government Officials in Liberalized Trade Regulations, the EAR, 2004-2005; Compliance Activity follows the WTO Accession Project, the USAID,2004-2006; Business environment activity, the USAID, 2006; Business environment reform and institutional strengthening project, the IBRD, 2007; Advice on commercial law, the GTZ, 2008.

• Mr. Mitre Kutanovski

  Mitre Kutanovski

  In May of 2009 Mitre Kutanovski was appointed President of Macedonia 2025. Under the leadership of Mr. Kutanovski Macedonia 2025 opened a second office, started an annual golf outing and launched a series of business and professional networking opportunities for the Diaspora.

  Prior to his appointment as Macedonia 2025 President Mr. Kutanovski was the President and CEO of the Mitre Group Inc. a company that consists of: Crown Financial Advisors; Mitre Group LLC. Broker Dealer; Classic and Crown Mortgage Solutions; Crown Tax and Business Services; Crown Insurance Group; Crown Travel Agency; and the weekly radio program Voice of Macedonia.

• Mr. Zoran Martinovski

  Zoran Martinovski

  Mr. Zoran Martinovski is a U.S. educated business professional with over 20 years of diverse business experience. Since 2000, he serves as the Manager for the World Bank's International Finance Corporation for the country of Macedonia. The corporation is in charge of IFC's private sector investments and advisory programs within the country. Mr. Martinovski's past experiences include working for several prominent companies in Macedonia, Europe and the United States. Among those companies are Philips Electronics, Lexmark International, CKRA Central Kentucky Research Associates, PEM Consulting, TLC Vienna and Tehnometal-Vardar.

• Mr. Alex Kormushoff

  Alex Kormushoff

  Alex Kormushoff is a global business leader of technology-enabled business services who focuses on corporate growth and international market expansion. Alex has over 30 years of experience in commercializing technology innovation by creating business vision, scaling operational processes and driving execution. Alex has lead many new business start-ups and has restructured mature companies for revitalized growth.

  In his early career, Alex's domain focus was on supply side productivity for companies in the manufacturing, logistics and retail sectors. For the past 15 years, his focus has been on driving competiveness on the demand side of the equation. By integrating supply and demand, his work has enabled growth and competiveness through the use of Electronic Commerce, Predictive Analytics, and One-to-One Marketing.

• Mr. Minco Jordanov

  Minco Jordanov

  Minco Jordanov was born in Stip in 1944. He graduated from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade in 1968.

  Mr. Jordanov speaks Russian and English languages. In 1983, he was appointed Director of Mines & Iron and Steelworks Skopje. During the period of 1989 to 1992, he was the Director of Tehnometal from Moscow. In 1992, he was engaged in Duferco SA from Lugano, a company working in the steel sector. In 1994, he became a member of the Board of Directors of this company, and was responsible for the countries of the former Soviet Union. Duferco Group became the main partner and major shareholder in Makstil AD Skopje, a company established in 1997 upon privatization and reconstruction of the former Mines & Iron and Steelworks Skopje.

• Mr. Zhivko Mukaetov

  Zhivko Mukaetov

  Zhivko Mukaetov, MBA, is the CEO/MB President of Alkaloid AD Skopje, the biggest Macedonian pharmaceutical industry with over 1300 employees, one daughter company, one production facility and 14 subsidiaries abroad and one Foundation.

  He's involved in numerous activities imposing social responsibility, for which he received various acknowledgments. In 2007 he was appointed for Consul General of the Kingdom of Denmark to R. Macedonia. He is member of MBs of various economically important institutions in the country, such as vice-president of the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce.

• Mr. Emil Hristov

  Emil Hristov

  Emil Hristov is a start up entrepreneur in the clean tech industry and has found and managed three companies (EMSA Energy, EMSA Solar, ServoTech). Mr. Hristov found his first company (EMSA Construction) in 2006 and has built the EMSA brand to be a recognized brand in the Renewable Energy Industry in the North-East USA. His latest venture is ServoTech (www.servotechnologies.com), a renewable energy monitoring and energy asset management company.

  Mr. Hristov is currently enrolled in the Wharton Business School MBA Program for Executives at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BS in Architecture from New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also has experience working for members of the US Senate and House of Representatives.  Mr. Hristov is a lifetime member of the CEO Clubs of NYC and lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.

• Chris Pavlovski

  Chris Pavlovski

  Chris Pavlovski is the founder of Cosmic Development and is currently the acting Chief Executive Officer of JMG.
  
  Chris has over 12 years of online advertising & marketing experience. At JMG Chris has worked with companies including but not limited to Warner Bros, Universal Studios, Microsoft, and Yahoo. During his tenure at JMG, Chris also founded Cosmic Development; an IT outsourcing and consultancy firm in Skopje, Macedonia with over 30 employees.
  
  Prior to JMG, Chris worked for Microsoft Corporation, a world leader in computer software development and studied at University of Toronto.
  
  Chris is also a Director for Next Giant Leap, a space exploration company competing for the $30 million dollar Google Lunar X Prize. The Next Giant Leap team includes space enthusiasts like former NASA astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman. On the institutional front it includes MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and on the corporate front; Sierra Nevada Corporation, Draper Corporation and Aurora Corporation.
  
  Chris Pavlovski was selected as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Awards. He serves on the board of Every Day Child; a non-profit charity organization. He serves on the advisory board of Second Layer; a social commenting application and sits Macedonia 2025's junior board.

• Kristijan Danilovski

  Kristijan Danilovski

  Kristijan Danilovski has been at the forefront of visual effects and animation in South East Europe since the early 1990’s, mainly in TV commercials and TV programs, first as an animation artist, and later moving to supervision and production roles.
  He co-founded fx3x in 1997 as a first class visual effects and CG animation company in the region.
  Following a string of successes in Europe, Kristijan Danilovski was the leading figure in bringing part of the visual effects for "The Aviator" (2004) to Macedonia, a region's first. This was followed by several other feature films and TV shows.
  In 2007 Kristijan Danilovski was nominated for an EMMY award for special visual effects, and a year later he became a member of the Academy for TV Arts and Sciences.
  In 2008 he supervised fx3x's work on the Academy award winning "The Golden Compass" and in 2009 he lead the fx3x team's work on Terminator: Salvation.
  He also worked as fx3x's executive producer for visual effects on The Last Airbender, Resident Evil:Afterlife, Red Tails, Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows and others..
  In 2011, he led the fx3x team’s work on Academy Award nominated Transformers: Dark of The Moon.
  In addition to this mr. Danilovski was the producer of the fx3x CG animation team that participated in the 2012 Academy Award winning animated feature film Rango.
  These successes under mr. Danilovski’s guidance, enabled healthy and stable growth of fx3x to over 100 people, a number to be significantly increased in the near future...

• Filip Kotora

  Filip Kotora

  Filip Kotora is a Czech national and expatriate manager at Ohridska Banka ("OBSG"), a member of Societe Generale Group ("SocGen"). OBSG currently is the 4th largest bank in the Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Kotora is a member of the OBSG Board of Directors responsible for Distribution (retail & SME).

  Prior to his engagement with OBSG in Jan. 2009, Mr. Kotora spent 7 years with Komercni Banka Prague ("KB Prague") in various managerial positions in marketing, product development and sales promotion. A member of SocGen Group, KB Prague is a leading universal bank in the Czech Republic with 30 billion EUR in assets and 8 700 employees. A university graduate in business economics, Mr. Kotora has over 20 years of experience in banking and financial services in Europe and the U.S.

• H.E. Dr. Srgjan Kerim

  H.E. Dr. Srgjan Kerim

  President of the 62 Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
  President of the Board of Media Print Macedonia

  A seasoned diplomat, economist, scholar and businessman, Dr. Kerim brings with him a wealth of experience in international political and economic affairs. Dr. Kerim represented his country as Ambassador to Germany, from 1994 to 2000, and to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, from 1995 to 2000. During this period, from 1999 to 2000, he served as Special Envoy of the Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe.

  Over the course of his distinguished career spanning more than three decades, from 2000 to 2001, Dr. Kerim was Foreign Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, in which capacity he also served as Chairman of the South-East European Cooperation Process. He then became his country's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, from 2001 to 2003, during which time he served as vice-chairman both of the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, 2002) and of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). In addition, he was a member of the group of facilitators of the President of the fifty-sixth UN General Assembly, focusing on UN reform, and was a co-organizer of the Regional Forum on Dialogue of Civilizations (Ohrid, 2003).

• Vasil Naumov

  Vasil Naumov

  Mr. Vasil Naumov is born on 23.09.1980 in the city of Shtip, Republic of Macedonia. He started his career as a lawyer in 1988. From the year 2006 he is working as a Chief Executive Officer of the Agency of Emigration of the Republic of Macedonia.

  The Agency of Emigration of the Republic of Macedonia takes care of different matters regarding the rights and the condition of the Macedonian emigrants. The Agency helps their cultural development, promotes the relations with them and their organizations, tries to involve them in the economic and public life of Macedonia and to create conditions for their return in the country.

• Slavica Waite

  Slavica Waite

  Prof. Slavica Waite lives and works in London. She is the CEO of PEC International, an energy consultancy that specialises in the Oil and Gas Industry; concentrating mainly on high value capital investment projects, she has been involved with many of the regions Refineries; Chemical; and Natural Gas facilities; and has worked with major International Engineering Companies such as Bechtel; Foster Wheeler; DOW Chemicals; Davy McKee; Technip; ENI; Dresser; and Emerson.

  From the very early days of the independence of Macedonia she has been an active lobbyist in the UK and Europe. She has been recognised for her achievements in the UK on behalf of Macedonia with the Order of St. Kliment.

  Prof. Waite believes that The Republic of Macedonia has all of the assets necessary for success in the International arena; but it needs the help of an organised sustainable global Diaspora program such as 2025.

• Gligor Cvetanov

  Gligor Cvetanov

  Gligor Cvetanov was born in Vinica, Macedonia on 28.10.1973. He finished high school in Skopje where he has also studied at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies. Afterwards he has studied at several management schools and universities, such as Cornell Management School in USA and Top Class in Macedonia. His professional career started when he was 20 years old in his family company where he held different positions. At present time he is the CEO of Makprogres doo Vinica, one of the biggest food industries in Macedonia. He continuously upgrades his knowledge regarding food technologies and attends different trainings organized by the biggest food institutes in France and Belgium. His biggest challenges are management and food technologies. He currently lives in Vinica, married and father of three children.

• Ivan G. Steriev

  Ivan G. Steriev

  Mr. Ivan Steriev has been the CEO of the Macedonian Stock Exchange Inc. Skopje since 2005. His previous work experience includes different positions in the Macedonian Stock Exchange Inc. Skopje. He has been a Project manager from 1994 to 1996, Floor manager from 1996 to 2000 and Director of the Securities Trade Department from 2000 to 2004. In the period from 1994 to 1996 he worked as a Project manager at the Bank Rehabilitation Agency of the Republic of Macedonia. He was also a member of the Board of the Macedonian Central Securities Depository and Commissioner at Macedonian Security & Exchange Commission.

  He participated in several working groups responsible for drafting laws and regulations related to the securities industry. Mr. Steriev is a regular lecturer on the Macedonian SEC's courses for brokers licensing. He participated in the team responsible for setting up the stock exchange in the Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Steriev has also been MSE representative in different committees and MSE Project manager for the implementation of the automated trading system at MSE. Other big accomplishment is his participation in the team responsible for issuing government bonds for rehabilitation of the major commercial bank in Macedonia and for covering government debts from the ex-Yugoslav period. He co-authored the book "The Stock Exchange Manual" – MSE edition. Mr. Ivan has published numerous articles in a number of economic journals in the Republic of Macedonia and attended many trainings abroad.

  He received the "26 Juli" prize, awarded by the Frank Manning Fund (UK) to the best 6 students in the field of architecture, social sciences and arts at the University "St. Cyril and Methodius", Skopje. Mr. Steriev also received a Special Prize awarded by the Faculty of Economics, Skopje for being among the 50 best students between 1950 and 2000.

• Peter Roth

  Peter Roth

  Mr. Peter Roth is the General Manager of Soravia Management, Soravia Invest (The Soravia Center Skopje, the first office and retail building that is constructed according to western standards, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Macedonian Parliament) and Soravia Resort (The Resort is currently being built on the slopes of Mount Vodno. With its quiet secluded location, this exclusive residential and hotel compound has breathtaking views across the Macedonian capital and it is only a few minutes' drive from the center).

  Soravia Group is founded at the end of the 1980s, and the Group today is divided into two strategic business areas, Real Estate Development and Investments (Equity). The resulting business and geographic diversification provides a solid foundation for the further expansion of our company. The "Real Estate Development" division covers selecting and assessing of the projects and further erecting, handling and marketing of the buildings. The "Equity"division comprises companies which were either founded by Soravia or in which it has a shareholding. Spurred on by other successful projects in Central Europe, Soravia Group has recognized the enormous potential of Macedonia early on – particularly in the real estate sector. In 2006 Soravia established a branch in Skopje and built the Soravia Center. Further attractive projects are currently under development.

• Filip Van Hool

  Filip Van Hool

  Filip Van Hool (1964), is born as son of Denis Van Hool, who started in 1946 the Van Hool Company together with his father and 3 of his brothers. Filip studied applied economics at the UFSIA (University of Antwerp) and Commercial Engineering at the EHSAHL (Brussels).

  After obtaining his university degrees, he started his professional career in the production department at Van Hool and he worked himself up to member of the Board of Directors, responsible for the production of buses and coaches. Later on Filip also became head of the sales department of buses and coaches. Combining both tasks works well in a company that focuses on innovation and tailor-made craftsmanship. He knows very well the markets, the needs of his customers, and the feasibility of new projects. He has not the traditional supplier – customer approach towards clients, but always has a long-term partnership in mind. Although he is passionate about the bus & coach business, Filip doesn't lose his focus on budgets and cost control.' Measuring is knowing, both technically as financially.'

  In 2001 he was appointed board member at ABC Companies, USA, an American company that has the exclusive distribution of Van Hool vehicles throughout North America. They are very strong in aftersales with a network for spare parts and maintenance work in the US and Canada. He Is also member of several industry associations.In 2009, during the international bus fair "Busworld", Filip was rewarded as "Bus builder of the year".As part of a long term strategy of the company, he is strongly involved in founding a new production facility in Macedonia.

• Jatin Thakrar

  Jatin Thakrar

  Jatin Thakrar is born in East Africa, Uganda but immigrated to UK in 1974. He studied Automotive Engineering from 1976 to 1979 in the UK, and has a Bachelor degree in Economics & Finance. From 1982 to 1987, he worked in the field of Accountancy. He joined Johnson Matthey in 1988.

  Mr. Thakrar started as a Head office Financial Accountant. Later on, from 1989 until 1998 he worked as Noble Metals Management Accountant. From 1998 until 2002, he was the Managing Director of JM ECT India. From 2002 to 2004 Mr. Thakrar was the Work Stream Manager of the JDE ERP Implementation at JM ECT UK.

  Between 2004 and 2006, he was the Finance Director of JM ECT USA. He was also a Projects Director at JM ECT UK from 2006 to 2008.Since 2008 Mr. Thakrar is working as a General Manager of JM ECT Macedonia.

• Makram Ghribi

  Makram Ghribi

  Makram Ghribi is Plant Manager of Johnson Controls Macedonia, the first green-field investment in Macedonia, since April 2012. Before this he occupied several positions in Johnson Controls for 12 years:

  • July 2010-April 2012: Operations manager in Johnson Controls Macedonia

  • 2010-2008: Lead Launch Manager for two Johnson Controls Plants: Tunisia and Macedonia

  • 2008-2004: Production manager in Johnson Controls Tunisia

  • 2004-2000: Manufacturing Engineer in Johnson Controls Tunisia: 2000-2004

  Prior to this he was working as Mechanical engineer in the construction of new power plant with the "Tunisian company of electricity and Gas" for 5 years.

  By vocation Makram Ghribi is a Mechanical Engineer, gaining further informal education in Projects, CI, and Finance management during his career.

• Mr. Alexander Tieman

  Mr. Alexander Tieman

  Mr. Alexander Tieman is the Resident Representative of the IMF in Macedonia. He has occupied this position since August 2009. His previous assignments at the IMF include economist positions in the Monetary and Capital Markets and European departments. Prior to joining the Fund, he lectured in microeconomics at the Vrije University and Tinbergen Institute in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (1999-2002) and worked at the research department of the Dutch Central Bank (2000-2002). He has a PhD in microeconomics from the Vrije University/Tinbergen Institute in the Netherlands.

Organizer

Organizing committee co-chairs

Mr. Robert Arsov, Vice Chairman of the Board, Mk 2025

Mr. Zoran Martinovski, Board Member of Macedonia 2025

Organizing committee members:

Ms. Andriana Ivanovic, Macedonia 2025 office in USA

Ms. Biljana Markovic, Macedonia 2025 office in Macedonia

Ms. Maja Velichkova, Macedonia 2025 office in Macedonia

Mrs. Tetjana Lazarevska, Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation

Mr. Lazar Nedanoski, Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation

Mrs. Gonce Jakovlevska, Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation

ORGANIZER: Macedonia 2025

Macedonia 2025 was founded in 2007 by reputable members of the Macedonian Diaspora with offices located in Crown Point, Indiana and Toronto, Canada. In 2011, Macedonia 2025 expanded and opened a local office in Skopje, Macedonia. The aim of the organization is to assist in stimulating economic growth in Macedonia, by positioning the country as a preferred FDI destination; promoting transparent government and corporate practices; and creating a flourishing climate for entrepreneurship.

LOCAL PARTNER: Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation

Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation is a development organization, founded in 1998 by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation. The organization is focused on supporting development of small and medium-sized enterprises by improving access to financial services, and promoting entrepreneurship by employing financial and non-financial services.

OFFICAL TOUR OPERATOR: GENERALTURIST 2000 – Ohrid

Sponsors

Platinum sponsor

Official Telecommunications Partner

Sponsors

To learn about sponsorship packages, please download the sponsorship letter:

Supporters

Media Partners

Webcast

Please see the full documentary video on YouTube

Gallery

Publications