Participants

Dave Birss feels uncomfortable being asked what he does because he’s never entirely certain himself. He envies those people who can describe what they do in an elevator ride. He can kind of do it in a wheezing climb up 17 flights of stairs. So this is an incomplete and rambling summary. Dave writes books. His latest book, Friction, which he co-wrote with Soon Yu, is causing a stir in the digital industries. He’s also the author of How To Get To Great Ideas, Iconic Advantage and A User Guide To The Creative Mind. And he’s currently writing a book in collaboration with ChatGPT. Dave is also an educator. He has several courses on LinkedIn Learning. And he’s also started releasing his own courses on davebirss.com. During lockdown he launched Virtual Presenting Academy to show people how to come across professionally on a webcam. His approach has gained him a lot of attention and he now advises companies on their pitches and virtual events. He’s also a film-maker, father, international catwalk model and occasional liar.

Milovan specializes in providing legal advice in M&A transactions (i.e. company purchase and sale procedures, various types of reorganization and restructuring and status changes) and other business transfer procedures, with a special emphasis and experience in ownership and management transition procedures in family companies. In addition to the above, Milovan also provides legal advice in complex issues of company and contract law, as well as advice on labor law issues to domestic and international clients, i.e. subsidiaries of global companies operating in the region. Milovan completed official training as a mediator and consultant within the ASEE Center for the Development of Family Companies.

Aleksa gained his first work experience as very young when, during the summer vacations, he and his sister helped in the family company. These were jobs in the store, production and warehouse. During his studies in hotel management, he worked at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade, and after finishing his education, he got his first assignment at Art Ival, as a kind of retail coordinator. In the following years, he also took over sales to corporate customers (branded packaging, private label production), and after a few years, wholesale, and then export. He is currently working as a commercial director in charge of sales, procurement and marketing, and has been working for the company for 12 years. Married, used to play basketball, and for more than a decade played folklore in AKUD Ivo Lola Ribar from Belgrade.

Rade Vučićević, together with his wife Tatjana, founded the Art Agency in 1989, which organized manifestations and events for children and theater performances, and in 1992 they registered the company Art Ival, which was engaged in the trade of coffee in a small building on Zvezdara. Since they were selling high-quality coffee, and in the desire to differentiate themselves from the competition from the very beginning, they included chocolate delicacies in their offer, and so began a story that has been going on for three decades. Four years after the establishment of the company, they launched their trademark called “Premier”, which is protected by the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia. Today, they employ about 40 people who handcraft more than 200 chocolate products with a unique taste, and their products can be found on the shelves in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Montenegro.”

Branko Nešić is a serial entrepreneur and founder of the Rakia bar, Belgrade Urban Distillery, and the initiator of the Belgrade Night Market. He started entrepreneurship in 1998, when together with his brother he renovated his grandfather’s basement and opened a convenience store under the name Vesela dolina. The Rakia bar has been located in the same place since 2006, which was created as a unique concept in which the finest fruit distillate is drunk always with meze, a creative snack in a modern space. Today, Rakia bar is a protected trademark behind the artisanal production of premium fruit brandies, specialized stores – Rakia&Co, several Rakiabars and the most famous brandy festival, Rakija Fest.

Fredrik Haren is The Creativity Explorer. He has spent the last 25 years traveling the world to learn as much as he can about human creativity. He is the author of ten books – including “The Idea Book” which was included in “the 100 best business books of all time”. Fredrik has been invited to speak more than 2000 times in over 70 countries on 6 continents. As The Creativity Explorer, he aims to discover more about human creativity, be it from innovators in Silicon Valley or nomads in the desert of Mongolia in order to help more people discover their full creative potential.

Aleksandar Nastevski is the founder and director of the company NB Soft, which has been supporting the improvement of its clients’ e-commerce business for 13 years through the e-commerce platform NB Shop, which has more than 20 million registered customers, more than 4 million users per day and more than 200 million completed orders. They are present in over 14 different markets. Guided by the motto “Be better today than yesterday” as a system architect and senior developer, Aleksandar still likes to solve the challenges of electronic commerce, and he finds confirmation of a job well done in the satisfaction of merchants and their employees during operational work on the NB shop platform.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law in 2009, and as a child from a family of lawyers, his career path was mapped out. He dealt with commercial and labor law for ten years, and at the end of 2019, he decided to embark on the path of entrepreneurship. In 2020, Kadrovska (kadrovska.app) is launched. That was the beginning of the end of my career in law and the beginning of my career in IT entrepreneurship. Kadrovska is a SaaS, a combination of IT and law with the aim of digitizing and speeding up all processes in personnel and HR services. Together with his wife, he founded MojSavetnik (mojsavetnik.rs) in 2021, which represents professional support for users of Kadrovska. He loves Jazz, books and playing PS4 with his son Mateja.

Born in Niš, where he graduated from the Svetozar Marković Gymnasium – a specialized department for gifted mathematicians, and then the Faculty of Electronics with an average grade of 9.56. In addition to formal technical skills, he also has extensive informal education and broad knowledge of business, primarily business processes and information systems implementation. 20 years ago, he founded Logik business software, a company that today has more than 3,000 clients offering business solutions for business monitoring, retail sales and fiscalization as well as on-the-go work for businesses that have a lot of activities in the field. Socially active and prominent member of numerous business associations: SAM (Serbian Association of Managers), Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Association of Electronic Communications and Information Society, NiCat (Niš Cluster of Advanced Technologies). Member of the Council of the Professional Association of Software Producers of Serbia and president of the Section of Software Producers PKS Niš of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia. Frequent lecturer at business conferences.

Vladimir Zarić has a degree in electrical engineering. He trained professionally at The IDM Institute, London, UK, where he completed specialist postgraduate studies in digital marketing. Digital Director with over 20 years of regional and global experience in various verticals and industries. Dedicated and passionate about the development and implementation of complex digital projects for world-famous brands, corporations, media houses, advertising agencies and startups. He has worked for the British Council, MTV, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, and currently holds the position of Account Director of the Four Dots agency. He is the winner of numerous professional awards and recognitions in the country and abroad. He has been working as a leader in the field of digital communications and digital marketing for more than 10 years.

Marko Ilić is a web site and application designer with many years of experience working with internatiinal companies. He has collaborated with small and large companies over variety of industries including: technology, telecommunications, media, catering, healthcare, sports, music and a few others. Some of the solutions he worked on are used today by companies and organizations such as the NBA, Kia, Formula E, Warner Records, Deity Microphones, and others.

Marijana Borković graduated in economics from the Faculty of Business Studies of Megatrend University. She has been building a career in the field of digital marketing for 10 years, working in creative agencies and productions. She has been part of the RNIDS marketing team since the beginning of 2022 and leads the Domen.rs project, the organization of the DIDS conference and other projects.

Dragan Marković is a professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Belgrade, head of the Department of Agricultural Mechanical Engineering, corresponding member of the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia and president of ITN Group.

Prof. Dr. Dragan Marković graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade in 1982, then received his master’s degree in 1987, and defended his doctoral dissertation in 1991. After graduating in 1982, he got a job at the company 14. oktobar Kruševac – Belgrade Development Institute, where he worked on the development of construction and agricultural machinery. Since 1984, he has been working at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, at the Department of Agricultural Mechanical Engineering, first as an assistant, since 1993 as an assistant professor, since 1998 as an associate professor, and since 2002 as a full professor. In engineering and professional work, he is a member of the Chamber of Engineers of Serbia, the author of 14 patents, 6 of which have been realized and are being serially produced today.

In 1992, he founded, with his wife Vera, a private company – ITN Group. Created with the vision of developing and implementing new technologies and techniques in agriculture and the food industry:
– ITN Group today is considered a regional leader in: – Engineering and distribution of specialized agricultural machinery in agriculture
– ITN AgroTech, – Engineering, design, production and assembly of complete technological lines and equipment, industrial refrigeration systems, electrical equipment and software for the food and beverage industry according to the “turnkey” system
– ITN FoodTech, – Processing, final packaging and export of frozen fruits and vegetables directly to hypermarkets around the world – ITN Eko Povlen.

ITN Group employs young, highly educated personnel. It mainly exports its products and services (over 70%) to the EU, UK, Russia and many other countries. All projects of ITN FoodTech are carried out according to the turnkey system: Frikom, Friglo, Carnex, Agrokor, Podravka, Pik Bečej, PKB-Al Dahra, Nectar, Podrum Palić, IMLEK and many others.

Aleksandar gained his first work experience working in companies outside the ITN Group, which included working in a multinational company in the brewing industry (ABInBew, the largest beer producer in the world). After completing his education abroad and gaining his first work experience, Aleksandar joined ITN Group and started his career as an assistant in the sales and marketing department, later going through other sectors within the company. He is currently the director of Budimka (the newest member of the ITN Group) and is the executive director of the ITN EkoPovlen sector (frozen fruit factory in Kosjerić), and is actively involved in the strategic planning and development of the ITN Group as a whole. He currently manages around 240 employees in these two sectors of the Group with total revenues of over 25,000,000 euros.

Ivan Minić, graduate in engineering management, began his professional career in 2000, and in 2002 founded Burek.com, the largest internet community in the region with more than 2,200,000 members, as well as a game of knowledge and strategy called Conquiztador.

As a designer, developer and project manager he has worked on more than 350 projects for clients from 28 countries, in the last few years as part of Simplicity.rs. As a consultant in internet marketing he has worked with more than 50 of the world’s most famous brands in establishing their presence in the local market. He designed and launched MojaFirma.rs in partnership with Telenor Srbija.

He has organised and co-organised numerous professional gatherings and spoken at more than 150 events on the topics of entrepreneurship, marketing and business development and self-employment.

Since September 2015, he has been Deputy Chair of the Conference of Co-Founders of the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry, and since 2019, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Governors, which he has chaired since February 2021, having subsequently been re-elected for another term.

He currently edits and hosts the Pojačalo podcast as well as the Naša mreža project, a portal providing support and education to entrepreneurs, launched by A1 Serbia. He authors books and is the co-owner and creative director of Kliker IT Centre for Children, and much, much more besides.

Founder and “zeroth” teacher at Kliker IT Centre for children, the largest school of programming, robotics, electronics and 3D printing in the region. Since 2015, when he received validation for his idea at the SIA competition, he has been working hard to expand the availability of quality and interesting education for children in the field of new technologies and IT.

He loves all kinds of cool gadgets and didactic tools that can play a role in getting children and young people interested in programming and dispelling the notion that this is only for “nerds” and gifted people. He and his small but dedicated team are trying to grow the number of Kliker Centres in the region and Europe, through a franchise model business, from the current 50 to at least 130. When he is done he will likely pick up Java programming again, which he had begun learning before founding Kliker Centre.

Engineer, creator and entrepreneur – three words that best describe Ivan Stanimirović.

Ivan is one of the founders of Jolene Luut 2D animation studio, which in the 3 years since it was established has grown from 2 employees to 26 and has created hundreds of animated commercials for the world’s biggest brands. In 2017 he founded Simply Code, a company developing IoT systems for use both in industry and in children’s entertainment. He became a partner in the Kliker IT Centre for Children franchise in 2020, which today operates in over 50 locations both in Serbia and the region. He is a big fan of analogue photography.

Polina Malaja is the Policy Director at the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR), leading its policy work and liaising with governments, institutions and other organisations in the internet ecosystem. She holds an LL.M in International Human Rights Law and Intellectual Property Rights Law and is deeply interested in interactions between technology and fundamental rights and freedoms in the digital age.

Nikola Jovanović is the director of Plum Mark, an agency specializing in conducting market research in the digital field. For 20 years, he has been helping companies, with the help of data and information from the market, gain important insights that contribute to making the right business decisions.

Plum Mark also includes the People platform for conducting online panel research in Serbia and 150 other countries around the world, as well as the People Hub in Svrljig, which functions as a coworking space where lectures and workshops are held to encourage entrepreneurship.

Nikola is a member of ESOMAR – the global association of marketing researchers.

He is a marketing and communications advisor at RNIDS, where for the past twelve years he has been promoting products that have no size, no shape, no color, no smell, no taste, no weight… that are completely invisible and intangible, yet without which our everyday lives would look completely different.

The lecturer is on topics related to internet identity and branding, as well as various aspects of business presence on the internet.

Marijana Borković graduated in economics from the Faculty of Business Studies of Megatrend University. For more than 10 years, he has been building a career in the field of digital marketing, working in creative agencies and productions. He has been part of the RNIDS marketing team since the beginning of 2022 and leads the Domen.rs project, Local on the Internet, the organization of DIDS, RSNOG conferences and other projects.

As Vice President Technology Christian Kaufmann leads the Technology department which is responsible for driving the technical evolution of the Akamai Edge platform, including a wide set of responsibilities like hardware engineering, datacenter architecture, network architecture and engineering, and software and systems development.

Christian has gained extensive board experience including hiring CEOs and handling M&A, during his 15+ years on various boards in the Internet ecosystem.

Currently he serves as a board member at ICANN and the Chair of the Tor Project.

Before joining Akamai, Christian worked at several ISPs and Carriers like Telia Sonera, Easynet and Cable & Wireless, in various technical and managerial roles. Christian has a Master of Science in Advanced Networking from The Open University in the UK. He also holds various technical certifications, including both a CCIE & JCNIE.

Danko Jevtović, member of the the Board of Directors of RNIDS. Danko is an international board member and advisor in the field of corporate governance, digital, cyber security and finance.

During his career, Danko was co-founder and director of Jugodata and SezamaPro, member of the Board of Directors (2007-09, 2022-2025) and director of RNIDS (2013-17), member of the Board of the European Association CENTR (2015-19), member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (2018-2020) and member of the Board of Directors of ICANN, the USA corporation that is the coordinator of the global system of Internet domains and IP addresses (2018-2024). Danko completed his MBA at IEDC Business School in Bled, Slovenia and trained as a corporate director at INSEAD, Harvard, NACD and ESMT business schools.

Mika Tasich is a veteran technology leader with over 25 years of experience driving digital transformation for global brands including Google, BMW, and the FA. An early pioneer in virtual reality and metaverse technologies, Mika brings a pragmatic yet visionary approach to emerging technologies, combining hands-on engineering expertise with strategic insight. His deep experience in AR/VR, cloud architecture, and artificial intelligence, coupled with his thought leadership on the future of digital experiences, offers a unique perspective on where technology is heading—and how organisations can prepare for what’s next.

Rastko Petaković je stariji partner u Karanović & Partners, vodećoj regionalnoj advokatskoj kancelariji. Specijalizovan je za spajanja i akvizicije (M&A), pravo konkurencije i poslovnu regulativu, a nezavisni pravni direktorijumi ga već godinama rangiraju kao jednog od vodećih advokata u ovim oblastima. Ima bogato iskustvo u savetovanju klijenata u najsloženijim prevnim postupcima, a posebno se fokusira na napredne digitalne sektore, tehnologiju, medije i telekomunikacije.

Rastko je član upravnog odbora Digitalne Srbije i aktivan je član uglednih međunarodnh organizacija poput CIPE (Centar za međunarodno privatno preduzetništvo), kao i Američke advokatske komore. Dvostruki je dobitnik nagrade European Emerging Leaders Awards (M&A Advisor, 2015. i 2017.), a takođe je i autor podkasta k/talks.

He is a marketing and communications advisor at RNIDS, where for the past twelve years he has been promoting products that have no size, no shape, no color, no smell, no taste, no weight… that are completely invisible and intangible, yet without which our everyday lives would look completely different.

The lecturer is on topics related to internet identity and branding, as well as various aspects of business presence on the internet.

Jana Oršolić is a graphic designer and educator, best known to a wider audience for her author’s project Samo nežno prema sebi. She works as a professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade on courses in the field of Writing. He has many years of experience working in branding, on projects he works on as an art director or an external consultant for typography issues.

Dušan Stojičević, M.Sc., is the Marketing Director for Eastern Europe at Gransy s.r.o.

Mr. Stojičević was a member of the Board of Governors of the Serbian National Register of Internet Domain Names (RNIDS) from 2011 – 2016 and the Chairman of the Board of Governors (2013-2016). He was also the coordinator or member of several RNIDS Working Groups (2011-2016). He was directly involved in launching Serbia’s IDN ccTLD .срб. 

Currently, he is serving on the Board of Governors in RNIDS as vice-chair.

At ICANN community, he was the Chairman of the Label Generation Rules (LGR) panel and the vice-chair of the Universal Acceptance Steering Group.

From 2014 – 2017, he served as a member of the Executive Committee of SEEDIG (South Eastern European Dialogue on Internet Governance), and from 2015 – 2017 he was a member of the Program Committee of RIPE SEE meetings.

Dušan has an extensive background in IT journalism. He was the Editor-in-Chief of “Svet kompjutera” magazine – the oldest computer magazine in countries of former Yugoslavia. 

He started as a contributing author in the magazine in 1987, became a section editor in 2003, and Editor-In-Chief in 2005. 

Dušan Stojičević studied Electronic Engineering and is a member of the Union of Engineers and Technicians of Serbia.

Slavoljub is writer and creative director, graduate in Philosophy, enrolled in PhD studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. He specialised in advertising at the University of Arts in Belgrade. His novels have been published in Serbia and the region, and translated into English, Slovenian and Macedonian. He has also authored film and television screenplays. Slavoljub has also created thousands of advertising campaigns for top Serbian and foreign brands. He is the creative director at Ananas agency and lives in Belgrade.

Slavimir is creative director of Futro Design studio, designer, writer, visual artist and lecturer. He is the author of the autobiographical novel Nine (Devet), the children’s picture book series The Adventures of Singi Lumba (Avanture Singi Lumbe) and the Futro lifestyle brand. In addition to hundreds of international awards he has received the UEPS Lifetime Achievement Award, and his projects can be found in museums, publications and encyclopaedias of design around the world. In addition to his Futro Masterclass course, he is a lecturer at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Dušan completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy, where he also received his doctorate in 2020 on the topic “Neurobiological Explanation of Consciousness”. He entered the world of marketing after completing specialist studies in advertising and media at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in 2010. In 2010 he won the first prize in a worldwide competition to create a poster on the topic of conservation of biodiversity, organised by the IAA (International Advertising Association) and the United Nations. The same year he received the “Dragan Sakan – New Idea” award for innovative thinking in market communications, awarded by the UEPS (Serbian Association for Market Communication).

Slavica Cicvarić Kostić is a full professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Organisational Sciences. She teaches at the University of Bologna – Bologna Business School, and as a guest lecturer at several universities and business schools in Europe. She has published more than 100 papers in journals and books and at conferences. 

She works as a consultant in marketing and communications for local and international companies and organisations, as well as for public administration departments. She gained practical experience working as director of business development in an international consulting company and as a public relations manager in an investment company. She is a member of the marketing and communications team at a company that develops a combined organisational and software-based solution for candidate testing.

Ina has always been fascinated by good stories, their heroes and their plots (especially the slightly scarier ones). That’s why she chose psychology as her vocation: in order to be able to understand all the elements of a good story at a deeper level. Because everything is a story – how we present ourselves, what we say and how we say it, what impression we leave on other people and what kind of relationships we build with them. That’s why she has been in the business of storytelling for more than ten years, helping brands tell their stories in a meaningful and authentic way. In her free time she likes to read (Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett), write (in addition her columns she is working on a book) and seek out meaningful patterns in cat behaviour (she hasn’t got too far with this but the struggle goes on).

Satirist, columnist, screenwriter and author. B.A. in Communication Studies. Market communication consultant and one of the first professional copywriters in Serbia. Consultant and brand coach with many years of experience in creating media content for local and foreign companies. He has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Media and Communications since 2011. Winner of advertising awards: Golden Festival Winner in Florence, Portorož Golden Drum, Montreux Golden Rose, Novi Sad Golden Idea.
He is a columnist for Nova Ekonomija and Okruženje, and has previously written for Dnevni Telegraf, Evropljanin, NIN and Večernje Novosti. He is also well-known to the public as one of the editors and writers of the satirical Index Radio Theatre, and later writer and cowriter of the Index Theatre live show. Together with Dragoljub “Mićko” Ljubičić and Draža Petrović, he is one of the authors of the “PLjiŽ” satirical programme. He has been a winner of the “Branko Ćopić” award for satire and the Neven award for children’s literature.

Miloš Skokić is the co-founder of the Žiška agency, creative director and content creator. He has been involved in advertising since 2013, with a focus on digital marketing and content. He became an entrepreneur in 2016, since then he has been focusing on the organization of creative work and advertising in general. He is a speaker at regional conferences, is one of the DIMAQ trainers, and often judges advertising festivals. He is constantly exploring formats and new creative expressions, and the Žiška podcast, his gaming YouTube channel and a TikTok profile dedicated to “geek” culture are some of the latest successful projects or just fun hobbies. It is difficult to decide.

A copywriter and brand strategist who works mainly with technology companies to identify their core business and purpose (hence the name of his company: Meaning).
He is a graduate in German studies with many years of experience in translation, teaching and proofreading (another reason for his company’s name).
There came a point when he asked himself “Who writes the stuff I translate?” and that was how he ended up in marketing.
In addition to commercial writing, he likes chess, bookshops, the film Interstellar and chatting about the meaning of anything and everything. He changes hobbies like he changes his socks. He is the father of two wonderful children and is an OK kind of guy.

Prof Dr Đorđe Krivokapić LL.M. is an associate professor of information and communication technology law at the Department for Organisation of Business Systems, Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade. He is known for both his professional involvement and his activism in the area of digital rights and as a co-founder of the Share Foundation. He is active in researching, creating and advocating for public policies in areas where law and technology intersect at the national, regional and European level. He has authored a number of books, guides and articles in the areas of personal data protection, information security, regulation of the internet and artificial intelligence.

Dane Blačić, a creative technology professional with an impressive 23-year career, was born in 1984 in Belgrade and currently lives in Niš with his family.
His expertise has left an indelible mark on the content he has produced for some of the leading broadcasters such as NBC, beIN Sports, TSN and CBC.
Applying his profound understanding of technology and creativity, Dane bridges the gap between these two areas of expertise and provides cutting-edge solutions in real-time content production, XR, virtual production and applications.
In October 2023 Dane’s project for MSNBC and NBC News won him an Emmy Award for Technical Excellence for quality of reporting on the 2022 elections in the USA.

Marijana Borković graduated in economics from the Faculty of Business Studies of Megatrend University. She has been building a career in the field of digital marketing for 10 years, working in creative agencies and productions. She has been part of the RNIDS marketing team since the beginning of 2022 and leads the Domen.rs and Lokalac na internetu projects, the organization of the DIDS and RSNOG conferences and other projects.

Slobodan Marković works as a Digital Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia. For more than two decades, he has been actively involved in advocating for and developing ICT policies in Serbia. Prior to joining UNDP, he worked at the Serbian National Internet Domains Registry (RNIDS) as an Advisor for ICT Policy and Internet Community Relations. Between 2014 and 2017, he was a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG), which advises the UN Secretary-General on matters related to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). Slobodan worked at the Serbian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society from 2008 to 2012, where he advised the Minister on matters concerning telecommunications liberalization, e-government, and e-business policies. In 2010, he received the “e-Commerce AWARD” for his ten-year dedication to the development of early e-business in Serbia.

Dr. Emily Roberts is a seasoned professional with a background in Marketing and Digital Media, holding a Bachelor’s degree in the field. Her academic journey culminated in a Ph.D. in AI and Machine Learning, with a specialized focus on its applications in marketing and digital media. Currently serving as a Board Member of a prominent digital marketing firm ’’Cyber stereo’’, Dr. Roberts is deeply passionate about ethical considerations in AI, digital safety, and the prevention of cyberbullying, showcasing her commitment to the responsible integration of technology in the digital landscape.