16th Annual Conference on Economic Reforms in Serbia: Grey Book 2024

Mihailo Jovanović, PhD was born in 1972 in Belgrade. He graduated and received his Master’s Degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, as one of the best students of his generation. He obtained his PhD Degree in Economic Sciences in 2012, and went on to defend his second Doctoral Thesis in the field of Mathematics and Computer Sciences in 2022, at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies. He spent the first half of his working life at the Post of Serbia, where he was also a scholarship holder, as the Director responsible for IT, electronic communications and development, where he contributed to the design and implementation of the new postal technology and information system and the construction of regional postal and logistics centres in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš. He is one of the most responsible experts for the fact that, owing to digitalization and the development of electronic business operations, the Post of Serbia achieved the best business results in its history in 2016. He contributed to the establishment of the Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in 2017, when he also became its Director. He was responsible for the intensive development of eGovernment services and infrastructure, the digital transformation of public administration, the progress of the digital economy, but also the recognition, trust and faith of citizens in eGovernment. The construction of the Government Data Centre in Kragujevac, as well as the implementation of electronic services Baby, Welcome to the World, eKindergarten, eEnrollment, My High School, eMailbox, Electronic Signature in the Cloud and many other left a permanent mark on the digitalization of public administration in Serbia. He received an award from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Development of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in 2002 at a public call for the best young researchers and scientists who contributed to the development of science and technology, changes in the country, as well as initiated reforms, and who remained in the country and with their involvement contributed to its overall faster development and connection with the world. In 2022, he received the “Despot Stefan Lazarević” Award of the City of Belgrade, which is awarded for a work that represents the most valuable achievement in art, science, medicine, architecture and urban planning, agriculture, journalism, education, sports and environmental protection. He received the award for his outstanding contribution to the organization and implementation of vaccination of the population in Belgrade in 2021 in the circumstances of the declared global SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, he received a public recognition - the Plaque of St. George, the highest award of the city of Kragujevac for the assistance provided to this city and its citizens, for exceptional personal and professional commitment and achieved results in the field of digitalization, the construction of the Government Data Centre in Kragujevac and the initiative to build the Innovation District in Kragujevac, making this city the leading IT centre in the Republic of Serbia and Southeast Europe. He is married to Aneta, and is the father of Stefan and Aleksandar.

Danica Grujicic was born in 1959 in Užice. She finished high school in Moscow (USSR) in 1976, where she began her medical studies, and continued and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade in 1982 with an average grade of 9.6. She completed her mandatory medical internship in 1983. She was employed at the KCS Neurosurgery Clinic since 1984. She completed her specialization in neurosurgery in 1989. She defended her master's thesis at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade in 1987, and her doctoral dissertation at the same faculty in 1996. He has been a full professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade since 2009. She was registered in the register of court experts in 2007. From 2001 to 2009, she was the head of the Department for specialist teaching in neurosurgery and the head of the teaching base of the Institute of Neurosurgery for the subject of Surgery. From 2004 to 2021, she was the coordinator of the Basics of Clinical Practice course, as well as the deputy head of the Department of Surgery for regular classes. From 2015 to 2021, she was the head of the Department of Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, as the first woman in this position. From 2018 to 2021, she held the position of vice dean for health activities at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. He is currently the vice dean for finance at the Faculty of Medicine. As a project coordinator, appointed in front of the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, she realized the procurement and import of gamma knives and x-ray knives in Serbia. She was the head of the Neuro-oncology Department of the Clinic for Neurosurgery of the Clinical Center of Serbia from 2007 to 2015. From 2015 to October 2022, she was the head of the Neurooncology Center of the UKCS Neurosurgery Clinic, which has four departments: Day Hospital, Department of Neurooncology, Department of Neuroradiosurgery - gamma knife and Department of Radiosurgery - x-ray. In the position of acting she was the director of the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia from May 9, 2019 to October 2022. From 2006 to 2009, she was a consultant at the Health Center in Užice, and from 2009 to 2019, a consultant at the General Hospital in Zvornik (Republic of Srpska, BiH). Since 2018, she has also been a consultant at the Spa "Dvorovi" near Bijeljina (Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina). He is the author and co-author of more than 300 professional and scientific papers. She was appointed president of the Government Commission for Psychoactive Controlled Substances in 2014, a position she still holds today. From 2014 to 2018, she held the position of president of the Commission for the Assessment of Health Technologies of the Ministry of Health. Since 2017, she has been the president of the Association of Neuro-Oncologists of Serbia, and since 2018, the president of the Serbian Society for the Fight Against Cancer. Since 2016, she has been active on social networks pointing out problems in everyday life, especially the departure of young people abroad. Since 2018, she is the vice-president of the Initiative Committee for the Formation of the Coordinating Body for Examining the Consequences of NATO Aggression in 1999 on the Environment and the Health of Serbian Citizens. She is the president of the Board of Directors of the Together for Youth Foundation "Prof. Dr. Danica Grujičić" from November 2018 until now. She is the recipient of several awards and certificates of appreciation for professional, scientific and humanitarian work, the most significant of which is the Order of the Star of Karađorđe, second class in 2020. He attaches special importance to Radio Belgrade 2's "Green Leaf" award for environmental activism in 2022.

Jelena Begovic was born in 1970 in Belgrade. She completed primary and secondary school in Belgrade. She enrolled in Chemistry for Research and Development at the Faculty of Chemistry, but after her first year, she transferred to the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade. During her studies, she also spent two years at the University of British Columbia in Canada, after which she returned to Serbia, where she graduated from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade. Since 1998, she has been employed at the Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering at the University of Belgrade. She obtained her master's degree in 2002, and in 2008 she defended her doctoral dissertation in the field of molecular genetics at the Faculty of Biology. Since 2018, she holds the title of scientific advisor. Since 2014, she has been the director of the Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering. She was also the head of the Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology at the Institute. For more than 20 years, she has been engaged in research work in the fields of molecular genetics and biotechnology, as well as the application of research in various sectors, including the food and pharmaceutical industries. She has published more than 60 scientific papers in leading international journals and is an active member of numerous scientific associations. Since 2011, she has represented the Republic of Serbia in the Board of Governors – the governing body of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, founded by the United Nations, with centres in Italy, India and the Republic of South Africa. Through this organisation, over the years, significant financial resources have been secured for the financing of scientific projects, conferences and education of students from Serbia. Through numerous projects, she actively participates in the implementation of the technology transfer process, as well as in the introduction of innovation concepts in research in Serbia and in the region. Over the years, she has gained experience and knowledge about the complete process of creation of innovations and their commercialisation – from the laboratory to the market. During her scientific career, she managed and participated in numerous national and international scientific projects, as well as cooperation projects with the economy, including domestic and foreign companies. In recent years, she has been dedicated to mentoring and providing assistance to researchers on innovation development projects. As an expert, she was involved in the development and writing of state strategies, including the Smart Specialisation Strategy of Serbia. At the very beginning of the pandemic, in 2020, the government of the Republic of Serbia appointed her as the coordinator of the project of development and construction of the Fire Eye laboratories in Belgrade and Nis, which started work in 2020 and thus contributed to the strengthening of Serbia's testing capacity during the pandemic. With the support of the state, in 2021, she established the Centre for Sequencing and Bioinformatics at the Institute and thus enabled Serbia to start forming a national genomic data bank. She is one of the creators of the BIO4 campus project, which was supported by the government of the Republic of Serbia and which should gather research entrepreneurs and companies around one idea, which is the development of Serbia through the development of biomedicine and biotechnology.

H.E. Emanuele Giaufret has been appointed the EU Ambassador to Serbia in September 2021. He took this position after serving four years as the EU Ambassador to Israel. Previous to that he served at European External Action Service as the Head of the Division for Democracy and Electoral Observation and as Political Assistant to the Managing Director responsible for North Africa and the Middle East. He was also posted at the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York, and again at the EU Delegation in Israel, as Head of the Political and Trade Section. At the beginning of his career at European Commission, he worked at the Directorate General for External Relations, as desk officer for electoral observation. Before joining the EU, H.E. Emanuele Giaufret worked at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. He has a PhD in History of International Relations from the University of Florence, and a Master in European Affairs from the College of Europe in Bruges. He is married and a father of three.

H.E. Annika Ben David earned a master’s degree in Political Science in 1992 and graduated from the Diplôme d’Études Supérieures en Relations Internationales, Institut de Hautes Études Internationales, Geneva, Switzerland, in 1995. Following engagements with the UNHCR in the mid ‘90s, she served as a desk officer of the Department for Political Affairs at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996, then completed her diplomatic training during 1996-97. She served as Second Secretary (Political, Consular and Cultural) at the Embassy of Sweden in Tel Aviv, Israel (1997-2000), then First Secretary (Political, Economics, Trade) at the Embassy of Sweden in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (2000-04), before later returning to the Embassy of Sweden to Israel as Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission (2006-10). From 2010 to ’13, she was Head of Section for Central, Eastern and Southern Africa at the ministry’s Africa Department, after which she was appointed Ambassador of Sweden to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2013-16). Prior to arriving in Belgrade, Ambassador Ben David served as Ambassador at large for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law at the Swedish Foreign Ministry (2016-21). A divorced mother of two, she is fluent in French and English and has a basic understanding of Hebrew and German.

As of May 2021, Matteo Colangeli has been appointed to the role of Regional Director for Western Balkans at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), based in Serbia. In his 16 years at EBRD, Matteo held a number of country management and banking positions in HQ, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Albania. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking and consulting with roles in London and Milan. Matteo holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.The EBRD has invested close to €16.6 billion in the Western Balkans to date, supporting the private sector, financial institutions, as well as energy and infrastructure projects. The Bank is working towards building green, inclusive, and digitalized economies in the region.

Dejan Đokić has been the Director of ASEE in Serbia since February 2017. He started the company engagement as Project Manager in 2005, and further career development led him to the position of Director of Profit center for infrastructure services. He has managed and took part in a number of projects of crucial importance for the company, in financial and public sector in the region, as well as major regional projects in the field telecommunications. Before joining ASEE, Dejan worked as engineer-associate in Jugoimport company and as technology engineer in Zepter International. He graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, earning a degree in the field of industrial engineering.

Vladislav Cvetkovic is Director of Advisory Services in “PricewaterhouseCoopers” in Belgrade since 2013. He served as the Director of Privatization Agency from 2009 to 2013, managing all activities on the Serbian privatization agenda, including the improvement of privatization-related legislation. From 2001 to 2007 he was engaged in the National Bank of Serbia and the Agency for Deposit Insurance, as Advisor to the Governor and the leading advisor for privatization of banks. During this period, he led a number of projects related to banking sector reform and was directly engaged in formulating and successful implementation of the strategy and privatization of significant financial institutions in the country, also leading on several of the largest privatization projects in Serbia so far. From 2004 to 2005 he was a Council member in the National Bank of Serbia, and the Managing Board President in Komercijalna banka AD Beograd from 2006 to 2009. His professional career started in financial consulting in “Deloitte”, Belgrade, in 1994-2000, as well as in academia, as he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Economy in Belgrade, at the Business Finance and Accounting department.