Executive Office

Violeta started building expertise in local economic and rural development and standardization, upon graduation in 1998, as an expert and team leader in USAID programs in Serbia and the region, through the design and implementation of complex development projects worth over 10 million dollars. As the first employee of NALED, and its Executive Director since July 2007, she was instrumental in growing an independent membership organization, which later grew into the largest public-private association focusing on building a favorable business environment in Serbia. She is a graduate philologist and gained further education in the field of economics and project management in specialized training and study programs in the United States and Europe. She is engaged as a motivational speaker and moderator at professional conferences around the topic of women's entrepreneurship and leadership in the country and abroad. She has gained international experience as a consultant in the field of certification and intellectual property protection. She actively contributes to the preservation of traditional heritage of Serbia and employment programs for women through the role of the founder and president of Ethno Network. 

Jelena has been engaged in the reform of legislative process and regulatory framework for doing business, investment promotion, business support programs and establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors, as an expert in policy reform and implementation of economic development policies. She started her career in 2000, in the International Republican Institute (IRI) working on the development of political parties, civil society organizations and local governments. After that, she spent five years as the Head of Local Economic Development Team in USAID Municipal Economic Growth Activity program. During that appointment Jelena engaged in the development of more than 50 economic development strategies and institutional capacities for dealing with economic issues in more than 30 local governments. She worked at similar programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Slovakia, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan. Since 2010, Jelena joined NALED, first as the Program Director and then as Policy Director. For the past 3 years, she served as the technical and expert coordinator of the Government of Serbia Joint Group for improving Serbia’s position on the World Bank’s Doing Business list. Within this engagement, she coordinates the development of Government's Doing Business Reform Plans, leading the correspondence with the World Bank, by preparing reform updates and coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the Plan. During a period of 3 years (until 2017) she was the lead expert in construction permitting reform in Serbia, a reform that was recognized by the World Bank, as the biggest reform in Serbia for the past 10 years. She was the Project Manager for the implementation of the electronic construction permitting system (EBPS) in Serbia (supported by the German and Swiss governments) and led the implementation of the World Bank’s project targeted at training and mentoring of the EBPS users. In 2017 she was the key expert in designing the cadaster reform (property register reform), and in 2018 she worked on drafting legislation for this reform - the Law on Property Registration. She is a member of more than 10 Government's working groups, working on tax legislation, public procurement, shadow economy, and other business environment issues.

Slobodan graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, department "Finance, banking and insurance". In 2012, he earned a Master degree from the Faculty of Law, University in Belgrade with a thesis "Allowed forms of state aid in competition law of Serbia and the EU". He attended additional trainings within a Seminar on Trade and Environment Issues for Developing Countries held in Beijing in 2011 and Seminar on Sustainable Development in Venice in 2013. He has been a member of NALED team since 2010, holding the positions of Project Manager, Economic Analyst and currently, Project Coordinator. He has coordinated and participated in the implementation of numerous projects regarding the issues of public finance, fiscal policy, environment protection, public policies on the local and national level. As part of NALED's Policy team, he has been a co-author and associate in developing a large number of studies and analyses related to policy reform and business environment assessment, such as the Grey Book, Regulatory Index of Serbia, Quarterly report on regulatory reform status etc.

Marko is an economist with more than 10 years of experience in major domestic and international organizations, in domains of economic research, banking and academia. He has earned his PhD degree on the subject of ‘’Factors of regional competitiveness’’ at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in 2015, as well as the master’s degree on the subject of ‘’Role of corruption in FDI attraction – case of Central and East European countries’’ at the same university in 2010. He has joined NALED in 2021, in the role of Head of competitiveness unit, after having spent two years as senior economist in CEVES, and in parallel as a Serbian national consultant with UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs. Beforehand, Marko spent seven years in banking, of which two in role of the asset liability manager and five as macroeconomist in Addiko bank. Apart from this, Marko regularly holds lectures in macroeconomics and finance at some of masters programs of the University of Nice, as well as on programs of the Mokra Gora school of management. He has authored a significant number of studies, analyses and scientific articles in Serbia and abroad. Marko speaks English and French fluently.

Milica completed the Bachelor studies at the Faculty of Economy in Belgrade, department of Macroeconomic analysis and policy upon defending a graduation thesis “The challenges of income taxation in Serbia”. She is a student of Master studies at the same Faculty, department of Quantitative analysis, and in parallel, she serves as a demonstrator for the subjects Economics Basics and International Economy. She has been engaged in NALED since January 2016, first as an intern in the Policy department, focusing mainly on the tasks regarding the reform of construction permitting in Serbia, organizing trainings for local government and public enterprise officers all across Serbia and keeping a record about the Call Center operations, the local e-permitting procedure and the level of local fees for the needs of online application Calculator.She is currently engaged as Analytics / Research Officer in charge of economic, descriptive and statistical processing of data in a variety of field NALED deals with.

Jelena graduated from Faculty of Economics of the Belgrade University in 2002, department Statistics and Informatics. Jelena has gained professional experience with the Ministry of finance, in the Department for Macroeconomic and Fiscal Analysis and Projections, where she has been working for 17 years. She got professional development on numerous courses and seminars, in country and abroad, organized mostly by the International Monetary Fund. Jelena has been Assistant Minister in the period September 2007 – March 2016. Main duties and responsibilities were focused on preparation of strategic documents, such as Fiscal Strategy, Economic Reform Program, Budget Law, Budget System Law, etc. Also, she was involved in the process of introduction fiscal responsibility principle, fiscal rules, defining the fiscal measures related to the public finance consolidation Program, improving the process of statistical reporting on the fiscal position of the country in line with the international standards. Jelena was active member of working groups related to the negotiating process on the EU enlargement (chapter 17 and 33). She had a very proactive relationship with Serbian and foreign organizations and institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank, European Commission, Rating Agencies. From March 2017, Jelena has continued to work as a Senior advisor for coordination and managing of the EU own resources, related to the chapter 33. She joined NALED in September 2019, as Policy advisor.

Sanja joined NALED team in November 2019 as Policy Coordinator, covering the issues of environmental protection. Since 2008, she has been working on selected sector policies important for the european integration process of Serbia, while from 2011 on environmental policy  - concreatly coordination  of international development assistance and EU funds for the environment sector. She started the career working on projects related to EU accession process of Serbia in the European Movement of Serbia. Aftrwards she was working for the Government of the Republic of Serbia on EU Macroregional Strategy for the Danube Region, and later on within the Serbian European Integration Office (now-Ministry of European Integration) made specific profesional orientation toward environmental protection area. During 9 years working on coordination of international development assisstance, she worked on the development of strategic, planning and program documents regarding the use of EU and international assistance, including the instrument of pre-accession assistance – IPA. She was working on programing and monitoring on numerous infrastructural projects in the area of environment and on coordination of development of technical documentation in line with serbian and EU standards. In the process of defining priorities for funding, she coordinated numerous national institutions and cooperate with international organizations. She attended trainings and seminars in the country and abroad on sustainable development, solid waste and waste water management. Sanja graduated on the Faculty of Political Science, and she is currently attending Master studies in environmental policy. She speaks English.

Nikola is a law graduate who has been employed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia since December 2014. He spent three years at the Center for Support to Investment and Public Private Partnership as an expert associate for public private partnership. After that, he worked at the Economic Matters Centre for a year as an advisor in the field of labor law and state aid. For the last two years, he has been engaged in the Innovation Department as an independent advisor for innovations, where he provided information on funding, regulations and participated in activities for the development of the innovation ecosystem in Serbia. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Novi Sad in 2011. After that, he successfully completed two masters - European Law at the Faculty of Law of the Union University in Belgrade in 2015 and Public Procurement Management at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome in 2014 as an EBRD scholarship holder. From March 2021, he was hired by NALED as the coordinator for regulatory reform. He is fluent in English and German, and speaks basic French and Portuguese. He is currently in the second year of doctoral studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, majoring in administrative law.

Ana completed graduate and master studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences, earning the title of Master Politicologist for International Relations - module International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law. She was the winner of the national and a participant of the world competition in the field of international humanitarian law. She participated in numerous seminars and education programs in the country and abroad. Before NALED, she gained professional experience in international SFV Consulting Group as an Intern for international development, and she also has experience in insurance, where she worked as Assistant Underwriter for two years. She is interested in state and international affairs, currently working in NALED as Policy Assistant for projects regarding e-government. She speaks English and French.

Isidora completed her graduate studies in International Relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences, and during this period she also gained international experience at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and Matej Bel University in Slovakia, as part of the Erasmus plus exchange program. She joined NALED in May 2019 as an intern in Policy team, and is currently working as Policy Officer with a focus on projects related to healthcare, food and agriculture. She also attended a six-months internship in Schwarzkopf foundation in Berlin, as Assistant for youth informal education programs, as well as an internship in E-Government Directorate in Belgrade. She is active in the NGO sector, and after several years of engagement in the Europen Youth Parliament of Serbia she was appointed the President of Managing Board for the period 2018/2019. She is an alumni of OSCE DIalogue Academy for Young Women and the Zoran Đinđić Foundation. She speaks English and German, while also working on her French.

Miloš is a student of the final year of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, department of Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy. During his studies he has been succesfully engaged in university debate, being a winner of the prestigious international debate tournaments „Decembarac 2018“ and „Danny Crane“. He competed in international debate competitions, took part in their organizations and also acted as a judge in university debates. His successes recommended him for the position of Coodinator of debate course at the Faculty of Economics, and he was also appointed the President of debate club. He was first engaged in NALED in November 2019 as an intern on the project „Optimization of healthcare institutions network – Masterplan“. He was later engaged as an analysis and research intern, starting from February 2020. His main tasks refer to the monitoring and reporting on the Regulatory Index of Serbia, as well as the collection, economic and statistic processing of data in various areas and topics NALED works on.

Danilo graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade in April 2019. His first job was that of a legal trainee in the regional law office ODI Law firm - Law firm Ilić & Partners LLP, where he primarily dealt with the legal issues in commercial and contract law. After a year of working with ODI Law firm, Danilo was next engaged by the law office Kopilovic & Kopilovic Law firm, where he specialized in commercial law. He was primarily focused on working with Chinese companies - investors in the Southeast Europe in areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy and mining. During his studies, Danilo showed interest in environmental protection. He attended the Law Clinic for Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, and he did an internship at the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Danilo joined NALED in December 2020 as Policy Intern in the Environmental Protection Unit.

Sanja graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade in 2017, at the Department of International Law. Currently, she is completing a master's degree in Labor and Social Law at the same faculty. During her studies, Sanja was a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Education in 2014 and 2015 and a scholarship holder of the Faculty of Law for the best 100 students of the Faculty in 2015. After graduating, she gained work experience as an intern in a law office, where she worked in various areas of law, especially Litigation, Labor Law and Misdemeanor Law. During her internship in law office, Sanja also worked as a consultant for DGD Deutsche Gesellcshaft für Datenschutz GmbH, where she was engaged in the field of data protection and has managed project based on 9001 ISO standard and ISO sertification. She has passed the bar exam in July 2020, and in January 2021 she has passed Belgrade Bar Association exam.

Jovana is finishing her final year of bachelor studies in International affairs at Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. During her studies she was the Vice President and later, President of The Student Parliament in 2020/21. She was also the President of Youth Team Initiative. Through informal education and active participation in the civic sector, she gained experience in regional cooperation and youth policy. Jovana was also a peer educator on youth projects concerning political system, democratic values and civic participation. She joined NALED in August 2021 as a Regulatory Reform Intern.

Ana has been engaged on management and coordination of EU and other international assistance since 2001, first as a consultant in the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and later in managing positions within the Ministry of Finance and the Serbian European Integrations Office (SEIO). As an expert in planning, programming and evaluation of EU and other international assistance, from 2014 to 2017 she served as Deputy Director - EU Funds Coordinator in the SEIO. She was engaged as the Head of Operative Structure for managing cross-border cooperation programs with BiH and Montenegro, chaired the working group on EU accession regarding Chapter 22- Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments, served as a member of Negotiation team for Chapter 22, the national coordinator for the Danube region and co-national coordiinator for EU strategy for the Adriatic-Ionnian region, a member of program borads of the Regional School of Public Administration and Regional Cooperarion Council etc. She worked on the development of strategic, planning and program documents regarding the use of EU and international assistance, including the instrument of pre-accession assistance - IPA, she was a member of steering committees and responsible for the implementation of more than 10 projects, took part in establishing the system of decentralized / indirect management of EU funds, coordinated Serbia's engagement in regional, cross-border and transnational EU programs, coordinated bilateral and multilateral assistance provided by more than 20 development partners. SHe has been engaged in NALED since September 2017 as a consultant for project preparation and cooperation with the EU and bilateral donors, later being appointed as the Director of Good Governance department in NALED, in charge of local economic development and capacity building programs.

Marko is born in Novi Pazar, completed high school in Belgrade and graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, department "International law". He is currently attending the final year of Master studies in International relations, organizations and EU integration. He gained his first professional experience in Vojvođanska and NLB bank, engaging in promotion, direct sales and advising clients in selecting baking products and services, later being engaged as an external legal consultant in Sandžak Economic Development Agency (SEDA). He has been a part of NALED team since 2010, gaining knowledge and skills in various positions regarding the organization of theme discussions and implementation of projects for strenghtening local government capacities in the field of local economic development and investment promotion. His work primarily focuses on cooperation with local governments and local economic development offices. One of his main tasks is the monitoring and realization of the international BFC SEE Business Friendly Certification in South East Europe (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Croatia), and within the program he also engages as a lecturer at trainings for local governments and evaluators in the country an abroad. He also participated as a lecturer in trainings for future users of unified procedure system for construction permitting (EBPS) in Serbia. Since 2018, he has been an accredited by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Government for conducting professional development programs for local government officers for the topic “Implementation of e-government and digitalization of administration”. He participated in the organization of numerous events and conferences for NALED members and partners.

Ivana has been actively dealing with the matters of the United States through additional studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences following the completion of graduate studies, starting from 2006. As a Project Manager in NALED she has years of experience in the field of local economic development and regional cooperation. Since 2012 she has been responsible for promoting and improving the business-friendly environment standards among the local governments in Serbia and the region (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Macedonia). Within her team, Ivana is also in charge for developing and implementing models of cooperation between the public and private sectors with the aim of nurturing the dialogue and developing a sustainable business environment. She participated in numerous professional development seminars in the country and abroad, including the courses on corporate social responsibility, performance management, smart cities and improving local government competitiveness. Along with fluent English she also speaks Turkish language, with basic knowledge of Spanish.

Jelena joined NALED in 2019, as a consultant for the project Optimization plan for healthcare institutions network implemented by NALED for the Ministry of Healthcare, with the support of the World Bank. She has more than 15 years of professional experience on development programs in Serbia. She worked as project coordinator and finance expert on programs by Germand development bank KfW, KBC bank, UNDP, Economic department of the U.S. Embassy, EU municipal infrastrucure development project, IMF office in Belgrade. She is the author of the Financial Analysis course and she teaches at Belgian adult education web portal Coursle.org. She earned a magister degree at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, and she completed bachelor studies at Russian economic academy Plehanov. She expanded her professional knowledge at trainings organized by KfW, KBC Bank in Belgium, IMF Institute in Washington. She speaks English and Russian.

Stefanos completed Bachelor studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in 2016, International relations department, with an average grade 9.66, and he is currently in Master studies on “International humanitarian law and the human rights law” at the same Faculty. He is a scholar of the Young Talents Fund Dositeja and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. He gained his first work experience in NALED, within the Local Economic Development / Good Governance department, previously being engaged as an intern. He is mostly engaged on the development and functioning of the regional Business Friendly Certification (BFC SEE) program, providing major contribution for the development of BFC SEE e-software and website. He also provides support in the implementation of local economic development projects, the most significant being: Developing partnerships with the private sector in BFC SEE cities and municipalities, Developing models for sustainable capacities for local economic development in Serbia and Promotion of investment potentials in business friendly cities and municipalities. Starting from June 2018, he has been appointed as Good Governance Officer.   

Uroš started his internship in NALED in October 2017 as an Intern in the Communications and Development department, currently he is working as a good governance officer. As a graduated Politicologist for International Affairs, in 2015 and 2016 he attended internship in the Directorate for Relations with Diaspora and Serbs in the Region within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During bachelor and master studies, he gained international experience through exchange programs at Vrije University in Amsterdama and the Institute of International Relations in Warsaw. As a scholar of the Zoran Đinđić Foundation, he attended summer school „Democratization processes in post-conflict societies“ in the Policy and Public Administration Department at the University of Konstanz in Germany. In 2015, Japan Tobacco International in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan awarded him a scholarship for a scientific work on the topic „Cultural diplomacy of Japan and practical examples“. He was a scholar of the European Forum Albach foundation in 2014, attending the Alpbach School of European Integration. He has developed his passion for multidisciplinarity through Future Studies at Belgrade Open School and the programs of Research institute Petnica. He speaks English and works on improving his knowledge of French and Norwegian.

Goran graduated from the Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade. As a student-researcher, he participated in the work of the faculty Human Security Research Centre, dealing with research and organisation of academic events. He attended two one-year educational programs, „Applied Diplomacy“ of the European Movement in Serbia and „Future Studies“ of the Belgrade Open School. He gained his first experience of working on projects during a six-month internship at the non-governmental organisation Belgrade Open School. After completing his studies, he worked for a year as a student assistant at the Faculty of Security Studies and then completed a short term-internship at the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). Later, Goran worked at the European Consulting Group (ECG) as an assistant in the preparion of tenders for large projects in the region funded by the EU, where he had the opportunity to get to know the entire project cycle. Prior to joining NALED, he was a project associate at the non-governmental organisation European Movement in Serbia, coordinating the implementation of smaller grants in various fields.  He attended numerous seminars, trainings and conferences on democracy, human rights, international politics, security, as well as Serbia’s accession to the European Union. He trained karate for ten years, as well as folk dance in the Academic Cultural and Artistic Association of the University of Belgrade „Španac“. He joined NALED in February 2021 as a Good Governance Officer.

Milica graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, department of International Relations, and she is currently attending master studies of USA, at the same faculty. During her studies she was a member of student organizations, a demonstrator for the subject Comparative politics and she attended a large number of seminars and trainings on the topic of gender equality. During her studies she attended internship at City Administration of Subotica, UNICEF and multinational company Erst&Young in Belgrade. After obtaining her bachelor degree and enrolling in master studies, Milica started working in a non-government organization European Movement in Serbia, on projects related to gender equality and regional cooperation. She is an alumni of the Popularna demokatija program implemented by the Westminster Foundation in cooperation with the Faculty of Political Sciences. Milica joined NALED in September 2020 as Good Governance Officer.

Uroš graduated from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science in 2016. In addition, he gained two master’s degrees from the same Faculty, one in International Affairs and one in International Security, in 2018 and 2019. He was awarded with a scholarship by the OSCE Mission in Serbia and became a member of their alumni network. Furthermore, he is an author of several articles and policy papers in the area of international politics and security. During MA studies he was an intern in the NIS Group. Before joining NALED, Uroš was employed in the Ministry of Justice in Sector for European Integration and International Aid, as a Junior Advisor, engaged in projects funded by the EU IPA funds and cooperation with other state  institutions under project activities. Uroš joined NALED in February 2021 as an associate within Good Governance Department. He speaks English and Russian.

Bojana graduated from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade at the department of International Relations in July of 2020. She is currently attending Master's studies in Law and Economics at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. During her studies, she was an intern at the ISAC Fund in the field of foreign and security policy, with reference to negotiating chapters 30 and 31 in the process of Serbia's pre-accession negotiations with the European Union. She also studied the process of Serbia's accession to the World Trade Organization. She was a participant and volunteer in various conferences and seminars on the topic of national security, international economics, and multiculturalism. Bojana’s areas of interest are local development, international tax planning and the international economy. Also, she wants to develop within the field of international relations. She speaks English and works on improving her knowledge of French. Bojana joined NALED in December of 2020 as a BFC SEE intern in the good governance team.

Dušan has been dealing with regulatory reforms in the field of public administration and economic development since 2001. He has cooperated with NALED in various roles, ever since the organization was established, currently as Economy and Good Governance Advisor. He took part in devising the concept and realizing NALED's Grey Book, the campaign Ask When, the Regulatory Index of Serbia and the Business Friendly Certification in South East Europe. Some of the reforms where he had one of the leading roles refer to the issues of real estate registration, construction permitting, abolishing para-fiscal charges, labor legislation, property taxation, land use and development fees, decentralization and strengthening the authorities and capacities of local governments. He is a member of multiple working groups established by the Government and line ministries, including the Joint Group for Improving Serbia's Position in the World Bank's Doing Business List. From 2018 to early 2019 he was a senior expert in business legislation for the Serbia Investment Climate project by IFC as part of the World Bank Group. Prior to this, he was a Business Policy and Economic Governance Director in USAID Business Enabling Project (USAID BEP), and later served as the Deputy Chief of Party for the same project. From 2002 to 2010 he led policy teams in USAID projects dealing with decentralization and local economic development. From 2001 he was Project Director in the Public Administration and Local Government Center (PALGO). He has a PhD degree in economics, a Magister degree in local economic development, and he graduated from the Faculty o Political Sciences in Belgrade. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy from Boston, USA, and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences. His expert and scientific works have been published in Serbian, English and Spanish.

Jasmina graduated from the Faculty of Law, University in Belgrade, the International Law department in 2001, after completing the I Belgrade Gymnasium. As part of the second generation of the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, in 2002 she specialized in European Union legislation within an international program organized in cooperation with the European University of Nancy. Early work engagement in the area of finance encouraged Jasmina to continue post-graduate studies at the Faculty of Law in the Commercial Law department, earning a Magister cum laude degree in 2005 with the thesis “Fusion of companies in Yugoslavia and the EU”. Crowning her knowledge and experience in various areas of law, she passed the national judicial exam in 2007 before the Ministry of Justice, and the bar exam in 2016 before the Belgrade Chamber of Lawyers. From 2013 to 2016 she engaged in research work for a PhD thesis in the field of commercial crimes. She attended English course in London in 2001. Parallel with professional development programs, she has been building a years-long career in the banking sector. From 2002 to 2010 she gained priceless work experience in as Legal Affairs Coordinator in Srpska Banka, moving to the position of Assistant Director in Jubmes bank in 2010, and later the Legal Affairs Director. She has been a member of NALED team since October 2017 dealing with policy reform (Law on Registration in the Real Estate and Utility Lines Cadaster, Law on Fees for Use of Public Goods, Insolvency Law, Company Law, Law on Public Procurement, Law on Litigation Procedure etc.), coordinating the activities regarding the World Bank's Doing Business report, being a part of working groups and projects (for elimination of stamps, urban and rural land consolidation, optimization of procedures, informal employment etc.) and coordinating the work of Property and Investment Alliance and BFC Club. 

Oliver has worked for many years as an economic development specialist at a senior management level on European projects through the CIM Integrated Experts program. All of these projects were located within local economic development agencies / Chambers of Commerce and Industry and focused on an analysis of potential business development issues and opportunities. In addition to the agency-driven understanding of economics, Oliver has practical first-hand knowledge of the private sector - as Country Manager for a trading company, he was responsible for the expansion of the business logistics, purchasing and sales for distribution and retail activities. Oliver is highly experienced in business accompaniment for potential business expansions thanks to the broad-ranging experience with the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce in Singapore, Czech Republic and Australia. Previous to NALED’s engagement, Oliver was employed as a Regional Director General of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry office in the county of Altenkirchen, the third largest county industrial base in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, with 8,000 companies.

Adis graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade and passed Bar Examination at the Ministry of Justice of Serbia. Throughout seventeen years of work experience, he worked as a law clerk and then as a lawyer in the civil matter, labor relations, contractual relations and business law contracts, as well as in the field of foreign trade turnover. From 2001 he worked as an internal auditor to implement the application of regulations, rules and procedures of USAID, DAI and implementation of project activities of USAID's project SLGRP dealing with the reform of local government. During a period of five years, he worked as an Internal auditor and HR Manager in USAID's MEGA project that dealt with local economic development, being engaged in the process of drafting rules and procedures, and implementing labor legislation and regulations of positive law. Joined NALED from September 2011 where he is engaged mostly in monitoring and promoting regulatory reforms relevant for businesses and business improvement, and monitoring the process of adopting relevant by-laws. He also worked on human resources and contracting tasks, and since 2015 he has been dealing with electronic construction permitting, the unified permitting procedure and the work of Call Center for the implementation of the Law on Planning and Construction.

Irena completed bachelor studies in Journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade as the best student in her generation, and later the multidisciplinary Master studies in Terrorism, Organized Crime Security at the University in Belgrade. She is a scholar of the Young Talents Fund – Dositeja, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Education Secretariat of the City of Belgrade and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. She joined NALED in January 2016 as an intern in NALED's Communications department, later moving to the position of Researcher in NALED's Policy department, where she works on collecting and processing data for a variety of NALED's projects and activities (desk research, interviews, focus groups, internal workshops), developing policy briefs and studies using various methods of analysis (comparative analysis, cost simulation, impact analysis, standard cost method). She is the author of Analysis on Tax and non-Tax Burden to Start-Ups and participated in the development of several policy briefs dealing with taxation, shadow economy, cashless payments, the position of youth at risk etc. She speaks English and Italian. 

Nevena completed Bachelor studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, within the department of Politicology. She gained her first work experience in the municipality of Cukarica, in the Property, Legal and Housing Affairs department, being engaged as an intern. She spent two and a half years at the civil society organization Crta - Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, working on improvement of the transparency, openness and participation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia through the Open Parliament Initiative. She is an alumni of Crta's Academy for Democracy and OSCE Dialogue Academy for Young Women. She was a short-term observer at the Croatian president elections and at the elections for councilors for the Assembly of the City of Belgrade. She speaks English. Nevena joined the NALED team in June 2021 as an associate within the Entrepreneurship and Investments department.

Milica has gained unique experience working with the private, public and civil sectors since 2002. Her professional carrier started with Link group, where she worked as a Marketing Assistant on benchmark and marketing mix analyses and preparation of promotional materials. In 2007 she started working as Marketing Advisor in USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA) program, worth $26 million. She gained specific expertise in the field of local economic development and investment promotion. She has been working as a Marketing Manager/Director in NALED since October 2010, later becoming Communications and Development Director. She is in charge of NALED's strategic communications, visual identity and brand development, creating and implementing public advocacy campaigns, event management, offline and online promotion, the development of new concepts and work approaches, quality control. She has Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Marketing department), with certificates in business planning and marketing (Academic Training Association) and investment promotion (FIAS, World Bank). She gained additional professional knowledge in trainings and seminars organized in USA, China and India. She is a member of Mensa and NALED Ethics Committee.

Ivan joined NALED team in May 2012 as a Media Advisor, contributing to the organization's media visibility with his vast and years-long experience in journalism. He is in charge of media relations, develops press releases, monthly newsletter, business journal Synergy, coordinates media appearances for NALED and other activities aimed at promoting the work of the Alliance. He started working as a journalist in 2003, in the economic section of daily newspaper Danas, being promoted to Editor position of the same section in 2009. In April 2011 he started working in NIN as the Editor of economic section of this weekly magazine. Very soon he moves to the function of Editor of economy in the best selling newspaper in the country – Blic, where he worked until joining NALED. He attended professional development programs organized by Reuters and the European Journalism Centre in Brussels. He received the award for the best young economic journalist in Serbia in 2008 (National bank of Serbia). He also won the European Young Journalist Award 2010, awarded by the Directorate-General for Enlargement in the European Commission.

Višnja received her Bachelor degree from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade, studying Polish language and literature at the Slavic department. She gained expert training and fifteen years in various positions and jobs in the banking sector, while strengthening her managerial skills as a Branch Office Director.  She joined NALED team in July 2015 as Membership Development Manager. Her main responsibilities at this position include the designing of membership development strategies, developing cooperation with the existing members, attracting and engaging new members from the local government, business and CSO sectors, promoting NALED's values and ideas, and defining new activities and programs for members.

Maja is marketing professional who has been working 20+ years in Marketing and Communications with several national and global companies, in domains of branding, advertising, digital marketing, CSR, leadership and crisis communications. She has joined NALED in 2021 as Head of Marketing Unit. Maja earned her PhD degree on the subject “Importance of Establishing Brand Cultures” at The European Carolus Magnus University in Brussels in 2009. She successfully obtained Master of Science degree and Bachelor at Belgrade Faculty of Economics in the field of Marketing as one of the best students in her class. Her first job was with the New Moment marketing agency, and position with Serbian Chamber of Commerce followed. In 2008, she accepted Head of Marketing role in, at the time, newly established KBC Bank. She continued working in Serbian finance sector in AXA, one of the leading global insurance company, famous for its strong brand and innovative approach. Maja spent nearly three years as a Marketing Manager in BDO Serbia, member of international network of public accounting, tax and advisory firms. Working in ASUS as Marketing Manager for Balkans was her latest role. She has written several expert articles, published in various marketing magazines in Serbia.    

Jovana has been working in NALED since 2012 as Marketing and Communications Assistant, becoming Marketing Coordinator in April 2018. Within the Marketing team, she participates in promotional activities, event and campaign management, preparation of materials, communication through digital channels and translates all printed and online materials. With excellent knowledge of English, since the beginning of her studies she has been working as a translator in various areas, developing expertise in this vocation. She gained previous experience in the civil sector, working on the projects of education in the field of reproductive health and rights for vulnerable population. She is particularly interested in online marketing, marketing research and entrepreneurship. She graduated from the Faculty of Philology, group Spanish language and Hispanic literature. Wishing to expand her education, after graduating, she completed Master studies in the field of Marketing management at the Faculty of Economy in Belgrade, with Master thesis "Contribution of Destination Marketing to Investment Promotion". She expands her knowledge at various trainings such as the "Certificate Course in Performance Management" in New Delhi, India. 

Stefabni has been working more than 15 years within civil sector and domestic companies. Initiated cooperation with international organizations as a Field Coordinator on USAID /CRDA program, being in charge of four municipalities in Western Serbia. Responsible for coordination, management and reporting on all projects within regional office. As a team member, participated in the development of one of the first municipal LED strategies in Serbia. After short-term engagement in Group 484 at the position of Project Coordinator Assistant, she continues her career at pharmaceutical company Inpharm, later moving to the position of MoneyGram Team Assistant, dealing with introducing money transfer services into the Serbian banking market. She has gained specific work experience working at the biggest media company in the Balkans - Adria Media Group at the position of General Administrative Coordinator and Personal Assistant to CEO. She became NALED team member in 2015, taking the position of Administrative Assistant, later holding the positions of Project and Administration Assistant and Membership Officer, maintaining continuous contact with NALED members and partners. She graduated at the Polytechnic Academy in Belgrade, holding Bachelor degree in Economy. Attended courses and trainings in the field of LED, project management and negotiation techniques. Speaks English and Greek.

Andrea completed her graduate studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University in Belgrade, as well as master studies in politicology, defending a master thesis "Political parody as a form of election strategy". During her studies, she was an active member of non-government organization Student Union Vršac, organizing sport manifestations and educational workshops for students. She was one of the founders of the first students' web portal in Vršac. She took part in the organization of major dancing competition and festivals. She gained practical knowledge in the field of marketing and journalism through internships in marketing agencies and the media, and she is currently one of the organizers of Vršac online conference wwvrsac. She joined NALED in October 2018, first as an intern in the Communications team, undertaking the position of Communications Assistant after six months. 

Aleksandra joined NALED first as an intern, and later as Public Relations Officer, actively taking part in the development of media content, promotional activities and other tasks within the PR unit. She gained her first work experience in the non-govenment sector, on the topic of improving the regulatory framework for doing business, in American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) as an intern in marketing and communications. During her studies in the field of literature, she was an active member of the debate club GSM Niš, which won the first prize in 2015 for the project Debattlefield within the program Centrifuga supported by Erste Bank. The same year, she had the first appearance in the business community, at the Summit of 100 Young Leaders of South East Europe, being one of the youngest participants and talking about raising awareness about the importance of the culture of speech, open dialogue and critical opinion. She has won several recognitions for creative writing and poetry. 

Jelena graduated from Faculty of political sciences in 2019. During a Bachelor's in International Relations, she had shown visible interest for journalism. Therefore, she attended training in investigative journalism and got a praise for her article about temporary employment. It was the first story she ever wrote. Jelena also attended Digital Media Internship, a young talents project organized by Ringer Axel Springer. During internship, she took online media and journalism classes, but also worked in the best selling daily newspaper in Serbia, known as Blic. At that time, Jelena was the only intern in Foreign affairs section. She joined NALED in December 2020 as PR intern.

Anja is a final-year student of bachelor’s degree at Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade. She studies Management and Organization. During her studies she has been engaged in activities of student organization ESTIEM LG Belgrade where she organized various projects and gained experience in field of public relations, marketing and management. She took part in organization of the most known High tech conference called „eMagine Conference powered by Robert Bosch“. Furthermore, she succesfully completed course „The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People powered by Methodes and Franklin Covey“ and real business simulation „Cesim Global Challenge“. Projects that had tremendous impact on her career are Case Study Show 2019, EduFair 2020 and Serbia Open 2021. She is starting a Master’s degree at Faculty of Organizational Sciences in October. Anja joined NALED in July 2021 as Communications Intern in the Communications and Development Unit.

Marko gained twenty-one years of professional experience both in the private sector and on international projects. He gained his first working experiences as a procurement specialist at a company exporting berry fruits, where he was soon promoted to a Sector manager position. In 2003 he started working on USAID's SLGRP program as a Logistics Manager, gaining extensive experience in administration, particularly the organization of numerous seminars, workshops, conferences and other events. Since 2006, he started expanding his knowledge in the field of administration, holding the position of Office Manager within USAID MEGA project, leading a team and organizing the office operations. He started working in NALED since 2011 as Operations Director (NALED host), his main task being the reorganization of financial management, administration and HR. He soon moved to the position of Finance and Administration Director, and along with managing a team of 7 people, he also has a significant role in the organization's management structure. He is in charge of managing the organization's finance operations, event management and overall activities. He graduated from the school of Economics in Belgrade, and is finishing his studies at the Sports Academy in Belgrade. 

Bojana graduated in Psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy, University in Belgrade. During her studies she was awarded scholarship by the Republic of Serbia. Starting from 2007 she gained experience in human resources management in international companies in finance, FMCG and the IT sector. She started her career in UNIQA Insurance, a member of Austrian UNIQA Group, taking part in laying the foundation and establishing the function of HR development, being its manager from 2012 to 2015, continuing her career in Atlantic Group where she was in charge of human resources management within the strategic unit of the Distribution Group. She specialized in the field of talent attraction, assessment and development, the design and development of compensation and benefits plans, monitoring and improvement of employee performance and satisfaction, development and implementation of leadership programs and the overall strategic and operational HR management. She has been continuously building upon her formal education by following the global trends and tools in the field of HR development, and improving her managerial skills in numerous trainings and workshops. She is a licensed advisor with advanced education level in Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. She is a member of the Psychological Association of Serbia. She has been a part of NALED team since the beginning of 2018, building up the function of HR organization and development.

Vladimir gained his first professional experience in the Supreme Court of Serbia on administrative and archiving tasks, and later in the private sector, in retail of telecommunication equipment. He was a Shop and Retail Manager in Roaming Electronics from 2005, being in charge of supervision and coordination of sales and marketing staff, and external communication with the partners. In 2008 he started working as logistics support in event management and promotional activities for a Cyprus-based company Ultima Communications. Upon joining NALED in 2009, he initially engaged in web administration, IT equipment maintenance and logistics support, being promoted to the position of Logistics Manager two years later. He is in charge of procurement, technical support, event management and maintenance of IT systems, equipment and inventory, within his current position of Procurement and Event Coordinator.

Ana started her work experience 2001 in a highly professional atmosphere of Hyatt Regency Belgrade at the position of receptionist and consierge. During her work in Hyatt, she attended a large number of trainings and gained significant experience in internal and external communication. From April 2002 she worked at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Belgrade, at several positions: receptionist, visa assistant, administrative assistant to diplomats, translator from Serbian to English and vice-versa. The Embassy work brought new experiences with regards to diplomatic corps and protocol and the culture and customs of the people of Republic of Korea. In January 2005 she started working in British representative office in Belgrade operating in trade of steel, holding the position of Office Manager and Administrative Assistant. Daily communication with colleagues in London and visits to London office contributed to her improvement of both spoken and written English language. She joined NALED in February 2013 as Administrative Assistant, being the first contact point for communication with NALED members and partners, and providing extensive administrative support to NALED's daily operations. She has been Office Coordinator since April 2018.

Vladimir gained his first work experience in 2006 in the company “Protector Security System” as the Head of Transport, performing the tasks of logistics and business management and actively engaging in designing the company's work policy, where his loyalty and responsibility particularly came into focus. In June 2010 he joined NALED as a Logistics Officer, being appointed as Motor Pool Coordinator in April 2018. He is in charge of logistics support in event management, administrative affairs and motor pool maintenance. Experienced in delivery, procurement, supplies and able to provide comprehensive support towards successful completion of complex projects.

Luka is a graduate student of psychology at the Faculty of Media and Communications, and he started gaining his first work experience in the last year of study in 2017, first as an intern in the human resources department of the Metropol Hotel, soon after which he was employed as the Human Resources Coordinator at the Metropol Hotel. His career further led him to the position of Human Resources Manager at the Mama Shelter Hotel in Belgrade, after which he returned to the Metropol Hotel, also to the position of Human Resources Manager. His last job was at the MK Group, where as HR Business Partner he was in charge of the hotel division - Grand Hotel on Kopaonik, Sheraton Hotel in Novi Sad and 88 Rooms Hotel in Belgrade.

Tanja is attending the final year at the Faculty of Economy, University of Belgrade, department of Trade Marketing and Management. She completed high school of economy in Užice, department of Business Administration. She is engaged as an administration intern in NALED, previously completing an internship in finance and administration, covering the tasks of updating and archiving administrative/technical documentation, assisting with the preparation of financial statements, documents for the annual and project audits, developing a database of employees and associates, gathering documentation and coordination with eternal accountants, performing administrative-technical tasks at NALED reception desk. She is one of the founders of a civil society organization „Moj krug“ (My Circle), currently being a member of Supervisory Board. The association is the first organization founded by young adults without parental care, with the aim of helping their peers in facing the social challenges upon leaving the social care system. 

Dejan has gained professional experience in Office for IT of the Government of Serbia from 2002 to 2005, and afterwards started working in USAID as Vehicle Fleet Assistant being in charge of cost planning, making reports and vehicle fleet maintenance. Starting from 2011, his tasks were expanded to logistical activities - preparing materials for seminars and other events, and support in event organization. He has been occasionally engaged in NALED since 2012, joining NALED team as Logistics and Transport Officer. He speaks English. 

Nikola graduated from the Faculty of Law, University in Belgrade in 2019, the department of law theory. During his studies he took part in Moot Court simulation competition titled „Judge the discrimination“ organized by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. After completing his studies, he gained the first professional experience in Law Office Goran Petronijević, as attorney intern. After a year, in July 2020 he continued his career in NALED as Legal Affairs Officer. Nikola is actively engaged in the work of cultural and artistic association „Srem“ from Jakovo, being a dancer for many years, and currently acting as a memebr of Managing Board, taking part in the reliazation of several tours. He has also actively engaged in horseriding since elementary school, in the equestrian club „Bojčin“ from Progar, where he now takes part in the association's management as a Managing Board member. 

Jelena gained her extensive work experience since 2002 on USAID's Sustainable Local Government Reform Program as Administration Officer, being engaged on the preparation of seminars, workshops, meetings and other events, and the organization of catering and the procurement of promotional material. Starting from 2006 she continued working on USAID MEGA program, taking part in the organization of larger events such as conferences and workshops. She occasionally also took up the tasks of reception and the finance department. In 2011 she took part in the completion of MEGA program, and starting from 2012 she was ocasional associate in the Ministry of Culture of Turkey, being engaged in th organization of public events such as the Turkey Days of Culture and Tourism Fair. From 2014 to 2019 Jelena also worked in the finance sector of Studio Externi as a teller. She joined NALED in December 2019 as NALED Lab Officer. 

Marija graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, department of International Law. During her studies, she took part in various conferences and tribunes improving her communication skills and learning about business practices in the field of law. During her last year of studies, she attended internship in a law office, gaining her first professional experience in the field of law. She successfully completed the MS Office course at Oxford Academy. She joined NALED in September 2020 as HR intern.

Branko graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Belgrade University in 2003. He has been director of the Public Debt Administration at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia in period January 2012 - August 2018. His main responsibilities were - management of the Republic of Serbia public debt operations on the local and international capital market; monitoring of the investment projects financed from multilateral and bilateral sources and risk management. He significantly contributed to the development of the Serbian Government securities market with the introduction of new financial instruments and operations on the financial market (long-term dinar bonds, Eurobonds, buy-back operations, retail saving bonds). Prior to joining the Public Debt Administration, he was Deputy Treasurer at the Treasury Administration - Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia from 2009 to 2011. He started his career at the Public Debt Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Economy in 2003. From 2005 until 2009, he worked in the Electric Power Industry of Serbia, Delta Generali Insurance, Atos Consulting Ltd., ABS Minel and SAFEGE. He gained experience as consultant on DFID, European Commission and World Bank projects. He joined NALED Finance Department in January 2019 as finance advisor.

Tatjana has been a part of NALED team since October 2014, forst as a Project Manager, later becoming Program Coordinator. She works on developing and managing projects, monitoring and identifying potential donors and financing programs, identification of partners and cooperation coordination. She received her BA in Law and LL.M. in Legal Sciences in the field of consumer protection, including a passed Bar Exam and specialization in International Contract Law. In her career so far, she gained professional and managing experience by working on development programs with international, national and regional organizations, Government bodies, research and development institutions, academic institutions and private sector. Among them are the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, European Center for Peace and Development (founded by the University for Peace of the United Nations), Agency for Deposit Insurance, Norwegian foundation SINTEF, International Development Norway company, etc.

Bojana completed graduate studies in 2017 at the Faculty of Economics, University in Belgrade, department of Finance, Banking and Insurance, earning the title of Ba Economist. She gained the first practical experience in Sberbank and Galenika Klirit. Upon graduating, she started working in National Statistics Office of Serbia as Statistics Analyst in the field of industry and energy. She joined NALED's Finance and Administration team in July 2018, currently holding the position of Finance Officer. 

Jovana is a student of final year at the Faculty of Economics  in Belgrade, department of Statistics, Information Science and Quantitative Finance. During her studies she attended numerous seminars and educational programs on personal development, marketing, sales, IT and project management. Along with formal education, Jovana is a talented makeup artist with numerous recognitions and awards in this field. She gained her first work experience in BDL Sistem as Assistant Accountant, and in January 2020 she joined NALED as Finance and Administration Officer. 

Mila finished her Bachelor studies at the University of Belgrade (Faculty of Geography) and then completed her Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tourism Management at the universities in Denmark, Slovenia and Spain. She was a scholarship holder from Young Talents Fund ’Dositeja’, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the European Commission. She has been an activist in the field of youth policy development, advocacy and capacity-building of youth to partake in socio-political processes. She used to be the Governing Baord member and the president of the National Youth Council of Serbia – KOMS, as well as a volunteer/project coordinator in other youth non-governmental organizations in Serbia and the region. She represented Serbia at the fora organized by the United Nations, the European Commission and OSCE as a youth delegate, and currently serving a 2-year-long mandate at the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe, a unique co-managament system in the world. She joined NALED’s Projects Unit as an intern in November 2019, where she currently serves as the Projects Officer.

Katarina earned a B.A. from the University of Bayreuth in Germany, majoring in philosophy and economy, as well as a M.Sc. from the University of Andalusia in Seville, Spain, majoring in ecological agriculture and animal husbandry. Before starting her studies, she worked as an intern at the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK), where she researched on solid waste management in Serbia as well as on the possibilities of cooperation with companies in Serbia and Germany. During her studies, she was the president of the oikos Bayreuth student organization for sustainable economy and volunteered as a team leader in international camps in Germany, as well as in student organizations for gender and sexuality issues and for the inclusion of migrants. At the Morromar Hotel in Spain, she was an assistant manager in charge of guest relations, public relations, analysis of business and productivity, as well as support in team management. Katarina researched the relationship between tourism and internal migration in the NGO Equations in Bangalore, India. She was hired at the Institute for African Studies in Germany as an assistant for the project of establishing a master's program in African studies in Tunisia. Prior to joining NALED in February 2021, she worked at Joorney Business Plans, where she researched, analysed, and wrote business plans for the U.S. and Canadian markets, and did financial forecasts in various business areas. Katarina is fluent in four foreign languages ​​- German, Spanish, French, and English.