14th Annual Assembly of NALED: Together we make a difference

Ana Brnabić was born in 1975 in Belgrade. She holds a master's degree (MBA) from the University of Hull from the United Kingdom and has worked for more than ten years with international organisations, foreign investors, local governments and the public sector in Serbia. In August 2016 she was elected Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, and she held that position until the election for the Prime Minister. She is President of the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technologies of the Serbian government and of the National Minorities Council of the Republic of Serbia, as well as Vice President of the Public Administration Reform Council of the Republic of Serbia. As Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, she worked on a faster systematic introduction of e-government in Serbia, with the aim of more efficient work of state administration and local self-government, direct raising of the quality of life of citizens of Serbia, building more modern and transparent administration and fighting corruption. Two most important projects implemented in this segment during her term are e-Baby ("Baby, Welcome to the World") and e-ZUP (full implementation of the Law on General Administrative Procedure). As President of the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technologies of the Serbian government, in day-to-day consultations with IT industry from Serbia, start-ups and innovative companies, she developed the Action Plan and started its fast implementation. In the fight against grey economy, she was in charge of the implementation of the "Take the Receipt and Win" raffle, in which more than 40% of Serbian citizens participated, which resulted in a significantly increased awareness of the importance of the fight against the grey economy. She is a member of the “New Leaders for Europe” group within the World Economic Forum. Prior to her election to the Serbian government, she was Director of Continental Wind Serbia (CWS), where she worked on the implementation of an investment worth €300 million in the wind farm in the municipality of Kovin. She took part in the establishment and was the first executive director, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the non-profit foundation Peksim. She worked at various US consulting companies that were implementing the projects financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Serbia. She was Deputy Director of the Serbia Competitiveness Project, an expert on the Programme of reform of the local self-government in Serbia and a senior coordinator of the Programme for economic development of municipalities. She actively participated in the establishment of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) in 2006. She became a member, and then the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of NALED. She has received numerous awards for the development projects she has worked on, for the promotion of social responsibility and tolerance.

As U.S. Ambassador, Anthony F. Godfrey leads the U.S. Government’s efforts to advance its partnership with Serbia, expand economic prosperity, and assist Serbia’s efforts for European integration. It is in the strategic interest of the United States that Serbia develops as a modern, democratic, and prosperous European nation that is at peace with its neighbors and demonstrates full respect for the rule of law and rights of its citizens. Helping our Serbian partners to strengthen their democratic institutions, protect the rights of members of minority communities, combat corruption, and improve media freedom are key areas for Ambassador Godfrey and his team. Supporting Serbia’s goal of EU membership and regional stability by promoting the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade is a top priority for Ambassador Godfrey. Ambassador Godfrey, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor, arrived in Serbia on October 23. He served from 2015 to 2019 as Political Minister Counselor, and then Deputy Chief of Mission, at U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia. He was Director of Iraq Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State 2013-2015, and Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad 2012-2013. During almost 40 years of service in the U.S. Navy and the Foreign Service, Ambassador Godfrey has become expert in central and southern European affairs. Ambassador Godfrey was Director for Turkey and Eurasian Energy at the National Security Council, 2011-2012, and Political-Military Affairs Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, 2008-2011. He was Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Yerevan, Armenia, 2004-2007, and Political Officer at U.S. Embassy Zagreb, Croatia, 2001-2004. He was International Affairs Officer in the Office of Russian Affairs, Bureau of European and Eurasian affairs, 1998-2000, and Deputy Head of Group, OSCE Assistance Group, in Chechnya, Grozny, Russia, 1996-1997. His U.S. Navy service, 1980-1992, included tours in Turkey and Japan, and he studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. His final military assignment was four years with the On-Site Inspection Agency, working to verify Soviet implementation of arms control agreements. Ambassador Godfrey earned a B.A. with Highest Honors at the University of California at Davis. His numerous awards include the 2018 James A. Baker III DCM of the Year Award. He speaks Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Turkish. Mr. Godfrey is married to the former Anne O’Toole, whom he met while posted in Dublin. They have three children, ages 27, 19, and 18.

Aleksandra Trešnjev graduated in 2001 from the Faculty of Law, University in Belgrade, and started an intern position at the Second Municipal Court in Belgrade the following year. During her internship, she was a part of criminal, invetigative, litigation, out-of-court, executive and labor disputes departments. Starting from 2004, after passing the bar exam, she served as expert associate in Second Municipal Court in Belgrade in Criminal Extrajudicial Council. A year later, she was appointed the Secretary of Second Municipal Court in Belgrade. Since 2007 she has turned to lawyer practice, and in 2010 she was appointed the Deputy Head of Administration in Urban municipality of Palilula. Two years later she was appointed an enforcer for the jurisdiction of First Municipal Court and Commercial Court in Belgrade, and in 2014 she was elected the President of the Chamber of Enforcement Officers of Serbia. 

Dragan Penezić holds a PhD on the topic "The modern concept of business through the development of Public and Private Partnership (Comparative study of PPP models in Europe - Solution for Serbia)" in 2010, and graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade in 1999. He joined British American Tobacco in 2016, where he started as a Government Affairs Manager and currently holds position of the Head of Legal and External Affairs for Serbia and Montenegro. Prior to his career in BAT, he held the position of the Secretary General of the Commission for the Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia, where he spent seven years and has been a member of the Negotiating Group for Chapter VIII (Competition and State Aid) in the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union. Dragan has extensive experience in public administration, first as Assistant Minister in the sector for concessions and public - private partnerships in the Ministry of International Economic Relations, and then in the Ministry of Trade and Services as Assistant Minister in the sector for trade, prices and consumer protection. He is a President of the NALED Assembly since 2017 and President of  FIC’s Anti-Illicit Committee from 2018.

Jelena Kiš is the Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs Manager for Central and Eastern Europe in Ball Packaging Europe. Jelena represents Ball at regional forums and in professional associations in the following countries: Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, countries in the region and Serbia. As part of Ball's European sustainability team, she works on relevant initiatives together with Ball customers, as well as on sustainable business programs within the company itself.  She graduated and obtained a Master's degree in Zagreb at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, being MsC of Biology, department of Ecology. She worked as a Manager in international organization „Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe” dealing with environment protection and waste management projects. She started working for Recan foundation for beverage can recycling in 2005, she started the "Every can counts" campaign in Montenegro in 2013, extending it to Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia in 2017.  In Serbia, she works on defining the legislation needed for waste packaging recycling, with the aim of increasing the share of recycled cans, and supports the work of Recan foundation.

Jelena is responsible for the development and execution of local strategies in these critical markets and maintaining strong partnerships with key customers and public sectors. She has been with Mastercard since 2009, during which time she has been expanding Mastercard business with non-traditional customers, gained new and exclusive customers and managed to grow the share in these three markets. Jelena has extensive experience in the banking sector in Serbia, having worked in Card departments of two major banks- Banca Intesa and Vojvodjanska bank. Jelena holds a Bachelor degree in banking, financing and insurance from the Faculty of Economy, University of Belgrade.

Rebecca Fabrizi has been Deputy Head of Mission in Belgrade since September 2019. She moved to Serbia from Canberra, where she was Associate Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University, at Associate Professor level. Rebecca was previously Head of the China Department of the External Action Service of the European Union in Brussels. Earlier in her career she enjoyed FCO postings to our Embassies in Beijing and Rome, and to the UK Permanent Mission to the UN and WTO in Geneva. Rebecca holds an MA in Modern Languages from Oxford University and an MSc in Financial Economics from SOAS. She speaks Serbian, Chinese, Russian, Italian and French. Outside the office Rebecca enjoys trail running and long-distance triathlon, and exploring Europe with her husband, three sons and one German Shepherd.

Sem Fabrizi has been Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia since July 2017. From September 2013 to June 2017 he was Ambassador of the EU to Australia. An Italian career diplomat, he has served as an advisor on international relations to the President of the European Council in Brussels and to the Prime Minister of Italy in Rome. His earlier postings included Geneva, at the Italian Permanent Mission to the WTO and UN, and the Italian Embassy in Beijing. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome he has held positions in the EU Department and the Secretary General’s Office. He holds degrees in International Law and International Economy from “La Sapienza” University in Rome, and he has served as a lieutenant in the Italian Army. Sem has been awarded the honour of Cavaliere Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. 

Stephen Ndegwa is the World Bank Country Manager for Serbia. Prior to this position, he was the Operations Manager responsible for the World Bank program in Afghanistan. Between 2011 and 2014, he was Adviser with Operations Policy and Country Services based at the World Bank's Center on Conflict, Security and Development and he was a member of the core team writing the 2011 World Development Report on conflict, security and development. He joined the World Bank in 2002 as Young Professional and has since worked on governance, political economy, and public sector capacity building across several regions. He has served as a Lead Specialist in the Governance Global Practice and has worked on programs in the Africa, Latin America, Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia and Pacific regions. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was Associate Professor of Government at The College of William and Mary (Virginia, USA, 1994-2002). In 2010, he was a Rice Family Faculty Fellow at Yale University and a non-resident Visiting Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (Spring 2011). He is the author or editor of several books and his research articles have appeared in leading journals including award-winning work in the American Political Science Review. He holds a PhD in political science and public policy from Indiana University (USA, 1993).