Third Podgorica Investment Forum

Milena Lipovina Božović, PhD Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro

Milena Lipovina-Božović is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro. Since 2005, she was engaged for fourteen years at the Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro as a teaching assistant in the Department of Quantitative Economics. From 2020 to 2022, she served as a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy, UCG, teaching the course Advanced Statistical Methods in Psychology. In addition to her over 15 years of academic experience, she held the position of State Secretary for Economic Development Policies in the Ministry of Economic Development of Montenegro from December 2020 to April 2022. Within the structure of EU negotiations during 2021/22, she was the negotiator for Cluster 2 – Internal Market. She has worked as a national consultant on several projects for international organizations. Currently, she is a President of the Board of Directors of the Innovation Fund of Montenegro. In addition, she currently holds the position of Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Montenegro. Her areas of research interest include: statistics, macroeconomic models and analyses, quantitative economics, innovations, marketing research, etc. She has authored numerous scientific and professional papers published in relevant scientific journals. She has participated in many domestic and international conferences and has undergone professional development at faculties in Udine, London, Ljubljana, Pittsburgh, Nice, and Vienna.

Nina Perunović, Independent advisor in Mayor’s office, Capital City Podgorica

Nina Perunović was born in Podgorica 1994. She is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica.

In 2019, she obtained her first master’s degree at the Faculty of Economics, majoring in “European Economic Integration”. In 2022 she obtained her second master’s degree MSc in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Birkbeck, University of London. She was awarded with Chevening Scholarship (2021) UK government’s international scholarships programme, the National Scholarship for Excellence – PhD Studies (2020), the National Scholarship for Excellence – Master’s Studies (2018) as well as the CEEPUS Scholarship (2016) for University of Economics in Bratislava, and she is a member of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Alumni Club (KAS) Foundation.

She completed professional training at Crnogorski Telekom (Jan 2018-Oct 2018), where after completing it, she continued her work engagement in the period from October 2018 to February 2019. Since February 2019, she has been working in the Capital City Podgorica as an advisor for economic affairs. She is currently employed as Independent advisor in Mayor’s office, Capital City Podgorica.

Remon Zakaria, Head of Montenegro for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

In November 2021, Remon Zakaria has been appointed to the role of head of Montenegro at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In his 11 years at the EBRD, Remon held several management and technical/banking positions within the Bank’s Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (E2C2) team both HQ (London) and in Istanbul. In his previous role, Remon has worked extensively in the Western Balkans region devising financing mechanisms, policy reforms and promoting donor co-financing with the EU through the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme (REEP).

Before joining the EBRD, Remon has worked for several international consultancy and engineering firms covering technical and managerial roles, working with private sector Clients and IFIs on structuring and implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency investments. Remon holds a Bsc and Msc in Energy engineering from the Polytechnic of Milan (Italy).

Filip Radulović, Minister, Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs

Filip Radulović was born in Podgorica in 1990 and grew up in the United States.

He received his primary and secondary education in San Francisco. He graduated from the University of California Davis, which was ranked in the top 10 state universities by Forbes. He studied Biotechnology and Technology Management, and finished his studies on time.

He worked for some of the world’s largest companies in the fields of biotechnology, the automotive industry and green energy, including the company “Tesla”. Each of these companies is listed on the American stock exchange.

During his work at “Tesla” he was in charge of the implementation of several projects in the field of materials. He was part of the team that launched “Model X”, “Model 3” and some newer electric pumps. The most famous project he led is “Autopilot 2.5”. This meant that every “Model S” and “Model X” produced from September 2018 to 2022 had hardware (cameras, sensors, radars), the application of which he followed from the initial stage to implementation.

After returning to Montenegro in 2020, he was the president of the Board of Directors of the airline “AirMontenegro” and the executive director of Montenegro Works. He was a deputy in the 28th convocation of the Parliament of Montenegro, as well as a councilor in the Assembly of the Capital City.

He is a member of the Presidency of the “Europe Now (Evropa sad)” Movement.

Nik Gjeloshaj, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development

Nik Gjeloshaj was born on November 12, 1979. He completed primary and secondary school in Tuzi, while he completed his studies in Kosovo.

As a student, he was active in student organizations, and his goal was to improve the status of Albanians in Montenegro, as well as to restore the status of independent local self-government to the Municipality of Tuzi.

After completing his studies, he was employed as a teacher at the gymnasium school in Tuzi. Since 2000, he has also been engaged in private business.

His commitment to politics began in the Građanska inicijativa Party, and later in the Albanian Alternative, where he currently holds the position of Party President.

He successfully performed the functions of Deputy Minister of Education, Member of the Parliament of Montenegro and State Secretary in the Ministry of Public Administration.

Married and father of four children.

Emmanuel Koenig, Government and Public Services leader, Central and Eastern Europe PwC

Emmanuel has over 33 years of professional experience helping clients gain value from their investments across a variety of industry sectors.
His experience spans a variety of industries and client segments including the public sector, non-governmental and donor organisations, energy, retail, security and hospitality
He participated in PS&I projects in the region as a partner responsible for general quality assurance and was engaged in strategic discussions with alliance partners. Some of the key clients he oversees in the CEE region are the World Bank, EuropeAid, EBRD, UNDP.
In parallel, he has held various roles with regional mandates and his portfolio includes the largest companies in the energy industry (oil, electricity, etc.) as well as in telecommunications, as well as in the field of telecommunications.
Its teams are responsible for audit work covering both the public and private sectors and other ad-hoc audit and corporate reporting tasks
Partner on audit assignments for international and domestic companies (Coca Cola HBC, NIS, EPCG, CT, Deilug, Alcatel, Volvo, Bongrain, Fresh & Co, BAT, Delhaize, Philip Morris International, Ball Packaging…)
He worked in Romania, Bulgaria and all the Balkan countries and held various roles with a regional mandate
His portfolio includes the largest companies in the energy industry (oil, electricity, etc.) as well as in the telecommunications sector in Serbia and Montenegro.
He was engaged as a partner responsible for overall quality assurance on various public sector projects funded by the Good Governance Fund

Mladen Grgić, PhD, Economic Affairs and Economic Diplomacy Advisor to the President of Montenegro

Dr. Mladen Grgić is Economic Affairs and Economic Diplomacy Advisor to the President of Montenegro since 2023. He was former Director of the Montenegrin Investment Agency (MIA). He obtained his PhD from the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona in the field of International Political Economy, focusing on Chinese infrastructural investments in Europe.

Previously, as a Fulbright Fellow, he conducted research at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a Chinese Government Fellow at the University of Xiamen in China. In addition, he worked as an executive manager of international companies and as a consultant for private enterprises in various sectors. He is specialized in the international economy and investments.

Nicolas Marquier, IFC Regional Manager for the Western Balkans

Nicolas Marquier is IFC’s Regional Manager for the Western Balkans, overseeing IFC’s strategy and business, as well as managing key client relationships across Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Based in Belgrade, he oversees IFC’s regional efforts to spur private sector growth and attract private investment in key areas, including connectivity, inclusion and climate resilience.

Nicolas joined IFC in 2010 and has worked there in various capacities. Most recently, he served as IFC’s Country Manager for Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam, strengthening the IFC’s Asia and Pacific regional hub office operations and ramping up its outbound investments to emerging markets. Prior to that, he was the Adviser to two successive IFC CEOs during formative times for the institution. He contributed to the development and implementation of IFC’s strategy, led organizational changes, helped address advisory and investment project related issues and developed strong relationships with IBRD, IDA and MIGA as well as with clients and development partners.

Before joining IFC, Nicolas worked as a Management Consultant on a variety of strategic and business transformation projects across Europe, Middle East and Asia. Nicolas was born and raised in Aix-en-Provence, France. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Durham and a master’s degree in Organizational Management from Paris Sorbonne University.

Šućo Orahovac, Head of Department for Entrepreneurship and Investments, Capital City Podgorica

Šuco Orahovac was born on March 2, 1985 in Podgorica. He graduated from the “Milorad Musa Burzan” elementary school as a student of the generation, after which he entered the “Slobodan Škerović” gymnasium and after two years he went to study in Italy, where he graduated from the “United World Colleges” high school in Duino. After that, he studied Economics at the Bocconi University in Milan, where he completed his master’s studies.

He has many years of rich experience in the banking sector, he was the General Director of the Directorate for European Integration and International Cooperation in the Ministry of Finance, and he currently holds the position of Secretary for Entrepreneurship and Investments in the Capital City.

He is married and the father of one child.

He speaks fluent English and Italian language.

Prof. Olivera Injac, PhD, Mayor, Capital City Podgorica

Olivera Injac, PhD is the first female mayor of Podgorica (since 2023). Prior being appointed as the Minister of Defence of Montenegro (2020-2022), Olivera Injac worked as a professor at the University of Donja Gorica, studying Security Studies – www.udg.edu.me Since 2008, she has been a professor of National and International Security, Security risks, and Security Culture. From 2011 to 2016, she worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro and Police Directorate (2000-2008). She is an author of scientific monographs, book chapters, as well as numerous scientific articles in the field of security. She has held numerous scientific and professional presentations and speech at several Universities and international institutions. She has served as Vice-President of the National Alumni Association of “Maršal Center” (MCAAMNE) since 2012. She was a member of Administrative Board of the Atlantic Alliance in Montenegro (2011-2017); Editorial Board of the “Contemporary Military Challenges”, from June 2016 and international scientific board of the magazine of Defense Ministry of North Macedonia, “Contemporary Macedonian Defence”, from March 2018.

She actively participates in national and international scientific and research projects (e.g. NATO SPS, PfP DEEP, Erasmus, etc). Dr. Injac is engaged as the expert consultant for national and international institutions. Mayor Injac speaks English and Russian language.