Ekonomski forum

Meliha Bašić was born in 1960 in Sarajevo. Since 1994, she has been engaged at the School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo in the Department of Accounting and Audit. She completed additional training in the field of accounting and auditing in the USA and the United Kingdom. Currently, as a full professor, she teaches various subjects in the fields of accounting and audit. Her areas of research are Costs and Managerial Accounting in Profit and Non-profit Sectors, Internal Accounting, Audit and control, Financial accounting, Accounting, and Intangible assets. She is a member of numerous professional associations in the country and abroad like AAA (American Accounting Association), Association of Accountants and Auditors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Institute of Internal Auditors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. She is active as President of the Academic Experts Association of Internal Auditors in B&H. She is also the Founder of the Center for Forensic Accounting School of Economics and Business Sarajevo. She is the author of numerous scientific and professional articles, published in journals, collections of papers, and professional journals. She is also the author of nine books in the field of accounting and auditing. Since 2016 she worked as a vice dean for finance at the School of Economics and Business Sarajevo. In February 2024 she is appointed to the position of dean of the School of Economics and Business Sarajevo for a mandatory period of 4 years.

Prof. dr. Zlatko Lagumdžija acquired his PhD diploma in Informatics and Computer Sciences at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in 1988 and has since then been a professor at the School of Economics and Business and Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Sarajevo, and a visiting professor at universities in Europe, America and Asia, among them being Schwarzman College in Tsinguha, BRI School and EMI Beijing Normal University. He has been the founder and chief of the Department for Management and Information Technologies at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo, since 1995. From 1992 to 1995, he was Chairman of the Council of Ministers (of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Deputy Chairman, Minister of External Affairs and a member of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than once. He is a member of Club de Madrid –World Leadership Alliance, World Academy of Sciences, Management Board of the Nizami International Centre and Library of Alexandria, and numerous international missions and institutions.
In July 2023, he was appointed as the permanent representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the UN.

Ambassador, career diplomat with nearly fourty years of experience, Maurizio Massari is the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York. He has served as Vice President of the UN Economic and Social Council – ECOSOC (July 2022 – July 2023) and as Vice-President of UN Women’s Executive Board, the major UN women rights agency (2023). As of 2021, he is an “International Gender Champion“. He has also served as the Permanent Representative of Italy to the European Union (June 2016 – May 2021), and as Special Envoy of the Italian Foreign Minister for the Mediterranean and the Middle East (2012-2013).

Ms. Ivana Živković is Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ms. Živković also serves, together with the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, as the Co-Vice Chair of the Regional Collaborative Platform for Europe and Central Asia (RCP), which unites all UN entities working on development for the 2030 Agenda. The RCP is chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General. Ms. Živković is a Croatian career diplomat with more than 25 years of experience. She most recently served as Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. She held various positions in the field of development, regional cooperation, trade and economic diplomacy and was posted to Stockholm and New York. She played a leading role in setting up the framework for international development cooperation in Croatia. During Croatia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, she has coordinated both trade and development teams. Ms. Živković holds a Master’s degree in International Economics from the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Zagreb.

Prof. dr. Jasmina Selimović acquired her academic education at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo, where she completed her undergraduate, graduate and PhD studies, becoming an expert in the field of actuarial models and solvency measurement in life insurance. Apart from performing a job of an authorized actuary, Dr Selimović also works at the School of Economics and Business as an Associate Professor at the Department of Finance and the Department of Quantitative Economics, and has from 2012 held the position of a Vice-Dean for Teaching Affairs and Scientific-Research, and in 2018 she was elected a Dean of the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo. The field of her professional interest is insurance, actuarial science, finance and quantitative economics. ​
In January 2024, she is appointed as Governor of the Central Bank Bosina and Herzegovina.

Aurélie Valtat is Head of EU Integration, Political and Economic Affairs at the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina. ​She is a seasoned diplomat and communications specialist who has served in Brussels and Southern Africa. Before that she was in charge of digital communications for the European Commission and the Council of the EU. She started her career at UNESCO and at Eurocontrol, Europe’s air traffic control body. Ms Valtat studied political science at Sciences Po Paris, anthropology at the Sorbonne University and sustainable development at SOAS in London. She is also a trained aromatherapist and botanist and writes books about medicinal and edible wild plants.

Edin Dilberović was born in Dubrovnik in 1969. He graduated from the Faculty of Tourism and Foreign Trade, and continued his education at the Central European University in Budapest and at the State University of New York, where he completed postgraduate studies in Political Economy and Political Science. He worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the Institute for Scientific, Cultural, Sports, and Technical Cooperation with Foreign Countries, serving as the third secretary in Bosnia and Herzegovina's mission to the OSCE in Vienna. He continued his professional engagement as the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from 2002 to 2003, he was the Head of the Department for Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, subsequently serving as an advisor for foreign policy and economy to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 2005 to 2008, he was the Ambassador and Head of the Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the UN, OSCE, and other international organizations in Vienna, and later served as the Head of the Department for the Council of Europe, OSCE, and Regional Initiatives at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Bilateral Affairs. Since 2012, he has also served as the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Amer Kapetanović has been working as a diplomat for 25 years. After almost a decade working in journalism for various Bosnian and Herzegovinian and international media, in 1999 he joined the Foreign Service of Bosnia and Hercegovina as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
During his diplomatic career with the MFA, Kapetanović served in the following high-ranking diplomatic positions:
• Head of the Department for Analysis and Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2002-2005): Coordinating strategic planning in the Bosnia and Herzegovina MFA, Presidency and FA Committee of the Parliament;
• Deputy Ambassador and Charge d' Affairs ad interim at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Berlin (2005-2010): For almost two years, Kapetanović was in charge of the biggest diplomatic mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad composed of the Embassy in Berlin and three consulates in Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich;
• Head of the EU Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010-2012): Kapetanović was in charge of managing, coordinating and overseeing strategic political communication with the European Union, and maintaining a regular political dialogue with the EU institutions and with other Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions on matters related to the EU membership and the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA);
• Assistant Minister for Bilateral Affairs and Economic Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012-2017), as one of the highest-ranking civil servant positions in Bosnia and Herzegovina diplomacy: His duties included supervising the work of 40 Embassies abroad, overseeing the staff of 30 diplomats in the Headquarters; maintaining regular political communication with foreign governments and embassies accredited in Bosnia and Herzegovina (both resident and non-resident ones); coordinating economic diplomacy portfolio through managing and overseeing the work of special Economic Diplomacy Unit; and liaising with the Presidency and the Parliament on all issues relevant to bilateral relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina with countries throughout the world.

In 2017, he left Bosnia and Herzegovina Foreign Service to join the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) as the Head of Political Department in which position he spent six years overseeing, as senior management member, the implementation of Political, Justice and Home Affairs and Security Portfolio and maintaining political communication with high-level representatives of 26 governments.

On 13 June 2024, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 13 Participants of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) unanimously appointed Mr. Kapetanović as the fourth Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, decision that was consequently endorsed by the presidents of 13 Participants, and officially accepted by RCC Board composed of 26 governments and the EU.

From 2011 to 2014 Kapetanović served as the President of Trustees of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Film Fund, managing the Fund that was financially supporting development of Bosnia and Herzegovina Cinematography, thus helping the film industry. He was also a founding member of the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI).
Kapetanovic has written two books and edited dozens of publications and articles amongst which are:

- The Chronicle of a Lost Century, Vrijeme Publishing House, Zenica, November 2023
- The Legacy of Peace: Bosnia and Herzegovina 20 Years after the Dayton Peace Accords, FES, 2015
- Foreign Policy of BiH – Between Challenges and Weaknesses, Buybook, Sarajevo, 2005.

Kapetanović graduated in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Sarajevo. He has also completed Diplomatic Training Programme by the US Department of State and Visiting Fellowship Programme at the Queen Mary University, London, UK.

He is married to Tatjana Kapetanović and has two daughters, Lana and Juli.

Adrian Kamenica has over 26 years of extensive working experience mainly in the private sector, including 10 years working and living in Greece, where the last period worked in a large multinational company in mechanical engineering, following 5 years as country manager in Albania of the same company, and 2 years as Balkans Area Manager of a multinational company based in Spain, in oil and fuels industry.
In March 2014 Adrian was appointed as Coordinator at the Strategic Business Investment Unit, at the Prime Minister’s Office, while in January 2016 was appointed General Director of the same Unit. Following in March 2018 was appointed Secretary General at the Ministry of Tourism and Environment while from October 2021 was appointed as Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense.
Since December 2022 he is Director General of the Department of Policy and EU Integration at the Prime Minister’s Office, which is also the EU Secretariat for the European Integration process.
Adrian graduated in Business Management and Administration from Henley Management College (UK) and has a Master of Arts in Leading Innovation and Change from York St John University (UK), including numerous trainings and qualifications in USA, Austria, Singapore, etc.

Prof. dr. Hatidža Jahić is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economic Theory and Policy at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo (EFSA), and an economic advisor to the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Dr. Denis Bećirović. She completed her undergraduate and master's studies at EFSA, and defended her doctoral dissertation in 2018 at the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb. Prof. Jahić is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship for a research stay in the United States, where she spent the 2016/2017 academic year at the University of Arkansas, in the Department of Education Reform and the Department of Economics. She is the author of numerous scientific papers in the field of education, with extensive experience in domestic and international projects focused on development policies, education, and the labor market in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.

Dragan Tilev (MKD), MEconSc, is a State Counselor for European Affairs and member of the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for EU Affairs, with over 37 years of professional experience, working as a civil servant for different Government institutions.
During the last 27 years, since 1996, he has been directly involved in all major activities related to the integration of the country into the European Union, focusing on the coordination of State Policies related to the EU integration process and preparations for Accession negotiations, successfully managing and supporting the implementation of complex and comprehensive processes and projects. In 2004, he was the first Co-chairperson of the EU-North Macedonia Stabilization and Association Committee. From 2010 to 2014, he was placed in Brussels, as Minister Counselor in the Mission to the EU, coordinating national experts and covering topics that include EU Affairs, Enlargement policy, Public Administration Reform, and EU funds. Since 2015, he has been back in the Secretariat for European Affairs as a State Counselor for EU Affairs and a member of the Cabinet of the DPM for EU Affairs. He has served 15 DPMs for EU integration in the Macedonian Government.
In addition, from working for the Macedonian Government, on a regional level, he has provided technical assistance and practical advice on the EU integration process to the Governments of Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, BiH, Serbia, and Ukraine.
He is the author, co-author, columnist, and coordinator of numerous publications and articles in local and international newspapers, TV debates, and scientific magazines, commenting on different EU affairs topics. In addition, during his long professional career, he was active in informal think-thank groups and editorial boards. Currently, he is an active member of the Managing Board of AD Tikves and a researcher in Think-thank, Institute for Democracy “Civilis Societas”-Skopje.

Branimir Muidža is the General Manager of the Heidelberg Materials Group in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, the General Manager of HM Cement BiH d.d. Kakanj, Director of HM Cement HR and HM Beton HR d.o.o. Zagreb, and the authorized signatory of HM Beton BiH d.o.o. Kakanj.

He acquired his management education at Harvard – Boston, Business School St. Gallen – London, Management Center Europe – Brussels and Barcelona; and within Heidelberg Materials through the Senior Management Development Program organized by INSEAD – Paris, and DUKE Corporate Education – Frankfurt.

He is the President of the "Foreign Investors Council of BiH" (2011–2024), President of the Business Council of the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, a member of the Board of Directors of the "Association for the Promotion of German-Bosnian Economic Relations – AHK," and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the Zenica-Doboj Canton.

Ms. Ingrid Macdonald (Australia) assumed the position of the UN Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2020.

Ms. Macdonald most recently worked at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as Deputy Director for Operations and Advocacy overseeing the Asia Pacific region. At OCHA, she was also head of the Ukraine office and a Director with the Peer-2-Peer Support Project supporting Humanitarian Coordinators and country teams strengthen their collective delivery of humanitarian response. Prior to joining the United Nations, she served in leadership positions with international non-profits, the private sector and government for 19 years. She worked for the Norwegian Refugee Council as Representative in Geneva and held positions in Afghanistan, Norway and Pakistan. She also worked with Oxfam in Australia, Sudan and throughout the Asia Pacific region; served as Deputy Director with the New Zealand Defence Force; and worked as a management consultant in Australia.

Ms. Macdonald has a PhD in History from the Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès, a graduate diploma in International Law from the University of Melbourne and a bachelor’s degree in Law and Geography from the University of Auckland. She recently published her book: “Humanitarian Action and Counter Terrorism in the Muslim World”.

Dr. Admir Softić is the Assistant Minister for the Energy Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, responsible for the energy sector. From February 2015 to July 2016, he served as the Assistant Minister for the Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Protection Sector. He has more than 24 years of scientific and professional experience in the fields of energy, energy policies, mining, energy system modeling, simulation, analysis, and planning. He has gained experience in solving complex energy issues, including the development of energy strategies, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, studies and projects in energy efficiency, spatial planning, district heating, modeling and balancing energy production processes, and promoting renewable energy sources. He has extensive experience in knowledge management and networking in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans. He has participated as a lead project manager or coordinator in several EU development projects. He is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Mining, Geology, and Civil Engineering at the University of Tuzla. He is the author of three university textbooks and more than 30 scientific papers.

He is the Secretary-General of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Committee of the World Energy Council (WEC), Vice-Chair of the Committee on Sustainable Energy at UNECE, a member of the UNECE Methane Working Group, a focal point for energy and climate in the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a focal point in IRENA, a member of the Environmental Working Group in the Energy Community Secretariat, a member of the Budget Committee in the Energy Community Secretariat, a member of the Working Group for the PECI project list, a member of the Energy and Climate Working Group in the Energy Community Secretariat, Chairman of the Program Committee of the international conference SECW Sarajevo and SET Trebinje, Chairman of the Working Group for the drafting of the Law on the Regulator of Electricity and Natural Gas, Transmission, and Electricity Market, and Chairman of the Working Group for the establishment of the MRVA and EU ETS models in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bojan Vujović, economist with specilaization in econometrics, was born on November 19, 1988. He completed elementary school and high school in Bar, Montenegro. He continued his further education in 2007 at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro, where he graduated in 2011 with an average grade of 9.97. During his studies, he received numerous awards and scholarships for his achievements and scientific research activities.

He started working for the first time in 2011 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in the Sector for Technical and Financial Support of the European Union, as a recipient of a scholarship for the best students. During his further work, he covered the positions of attache, II secretary and independent advisor in organizational units that dealt with the coordination of EU funds in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration / the Ministry of European Affairs and the Office for European Integration.

During this period, he performed complex tasks related to the coordination of the use of available EU funds, primarily in the area of infrastructure projects. Since 2013, he has been the contact person of Montenegro for the Western Balkans Investment Framework. Since 2014, he has been acting as the secretary of the Working Group for the preparation and conduct of negotiations in the area of the European Union's legal acquis, which refers to Chapter 22 - Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments, and is a member of numerous working bodies within the planning, programming and monitoring process national and regional IPA programs.

From February 2019, he was assigned to the position of Head of the Department for Coordination of EU Support in the Office for European Integration, and in the system for managing the EU Pre-accession Support Instrument, he performed the duties of the Head of the Office of the National IPA Coordinator.

Since May 2020, he has been appointed as an adviser to the Deputy Chief Negotiator - National Ipa Coordinator, and Head of the Operational Structure for cross-border cooperation programs.

He was appointed as Deputy Chief Negotiator - National Ipa Coordinator in the Office for European Integration on July 30, 2021. From August 2022 to January 2024, he performs the duties of Acting Director General and Director General of the Directorate for European Funds in the Ministry of European Affairs. Since then, he is General Director For The Coordination of EU Financial Support in the Ministry of European Affairs.

During 14 years of work in the public administration, he performed tasks that included the coordination of the European Union's financial support programs at various levels of complexity, with gradual advancement based on expertise and work results, with credibility in the public administration system and with international partners.

He participated in numerous training programs, seminars and workshops related to the management of European Union funds. He is fluent in English and Italian.

Jasmin Hošo is an entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Tondach Bosnia and Herzegovina. He brings over 25 years of general management, strategic growth and operations team leadership, with a focus on corporate growth, mergers & acquisitions, turnaround management and designing new business models.

Jasmin teaches international economics, economic development and entrepreneurship at the School of Economics and Business, and the economics of the entertainment industry at the School of Performing Arts at University of Sarajevo, and he is author and co-author of three books. Jasmin works as a volunteer at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina turnaround project and is a member of informal International Coordination Group “Friends of the Museum”. He is a member of U.S. Department of State Exchange Alumni. With German psychologist Jens Corssen he established COHO® innovative platform for leadership and negotiation.

Jasmin received his B.A. in economics from University Sarajevo and completed his master degree`s in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Bologna and University of Sarajevo. Subsequently he received his Ph.D. from the University Sarajevo.

He received Gold Order of Merit of the Republic of Austria. This honor is in recognition of his contribution to business development, creating intercultural connections and social life.

He and his wife live in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are the parents of three children.