Mr. Ivica Mišetić, Ph.D., graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Zagreb in 1983. He earned his Master's degree with the thesis "Marketing in Travel Agencies" and his Doctor's Degree with the dissertation "Air Carrier Marketing Management".
Mr. Mišetić started his career as Regional Sales Manager of Slovenian air carrier Adria Airways, where he was employed from 1985 to 1991. He then moved to Croatia Airlines in March 1991 as one of the founders of the Croatian carrier and was promoted to Senior Vice President for Marketing and Sales the following year.
In early 1995, Mr. Mišetić was appointed Head of State Protocol for the Republic of Croatia and Ambassador, simultaneously holding Ambassador status. Upon his return to Croatia Airlines in 1997 he took the position of Chief Executive Officer.
Under the leadership of Mr. Mišetić, Croatia Airlines became one of the first airlines to fulfill the requirements of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). Mr. Mišetić also initiated the modernization of the fleet and took the airline into the Star Alliance in 2004. As a result, Croatia Airlines is now a leading airline in the region.
Since 2002, Mr. Mišetić has been a Member of the Presidents’ Committee of the Association of European Airlines (AEA). In 2009, he became Chairman of the AEA and Member of the IATA Nominating Committee. He is also a Council Member of the Croatian Tourist Board and Supervisory Board Member of Hrvatski Telekom.
In October 2010, he joined Atlantic Grupa d.d. as General Secretary, at the time of the acquisition of Droga Kolinska. Also in 2010, Mr. Mišetić was elected Lecturer at the University of Zagreb, and headed the Marketing Course at the Dubrovnik International University. In November 2011, he was appointed, for the second time, to the National Council for Higher Education.
Mr. Mišetić has received several decorations from the Republic of Croatia for his contribution and achievements and has been awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal.
Ms. Kathryn Walt Hall has had a distinguished career as an attorney, business woman, and diplomat. She is currently trustee for the University of California, Berkeley. She is active in politics, serving on several finance committees for the Democratic Party.
Ms. Walt Hall began her public career in 1973 as assistant city attorney in Berkeley, California. Subsequently, she worked as an attorney in private practice; and in business as president of Walt Management, an inner-city development company, as partner of Hall Financial Group, Inc., a financial and real estate company, and most recently as owner of Hall Wines, a premier vineyard and winery company located in Napa Valley, California.
From 1997 to July 2001, Ms. Walt Hall was the United States Ambassador to Austria. Among other accomplishments, she led the Embassy team in the negotiation of resolutions relating to holocaust restitution in Austria and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Hall is the recipient of the Austrian Award of Excellence (Das Goldene Kreuz) and the City of Vienna Award of Excellence, the highest awards, respectively, of the country of Austria and the city of Vienna. She co-founded the North Texas Food Bank, served on the U.S. House of Representatives Hunger Advisory Committee, and was the director/vice president of the Texas Mental Health Association. She has also served on the National Advisory Council for Violence Against Women and as trustee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Ambassador Hall holds a J.D. (1971) from the University of California, and an MBA (2008) from the University of California and Columbia University.
Mr. Damir Grbavac is Executive Board President of Raiffeisen Mandatory Pension Fund Management Company, Zagreb.
Mr. Grbavac holds a degree in economics and masters degree in Business Finance from Zagreb University. He is a licensed Pension Fund Manager and has Croatian Financial Adviser certification.
Before joining the Raiffeisen Pension Fund team, he was Board president of Raiffeisen Securities, the brokerage and M&A arm of Raiffeisen Group in Croatia. Prior to that, Mr. Grbavac was Investment Banking Executive Director at Raiffeisenbank Austria, Zagreb. During his first two years with Raiffeisen Group, he was a Board member of Raiffeisen Investment, which was the corporate finance arm of the Group in Croatia.
Mr. Grbavac started his career at in Đuro Đaković Group in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. He has also been a member of the initial Administrative Council of Central Pension Register, a Supervisory Board member of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, Supervisory Board president at Medika Ltd., Zagreb and has held a number of other board roles in other companies. He recently served as a member of the working group for the Croatian EU Accession Negotiating Team on the financial services chapter.
Dr. Oliver Knipping is Vice President, Area Management Croatia of Deutsche Telekom AG. Having started his professional career in Deutsche Telekom Regulatory Affairs, he was assigned to HT – Hrvatske telekomunikacije from 2004-2009 and held a senior position in Deutsche Telekom Mergers and Acquisitions until 2012.
Prior to receiving a PhD from University College London (2002) he graduated from Humboldt University Berlin in economics (1998).
Mr. Mark Klein graduated from RWTH Aachen with a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1996 and an MBA in 1998.
Mr. Klein started his career as a Consultant with McKinsey & Company. For several years he consulted on telecommunications and high tech companies in Europe and the US in the area of marketing and sales. In 2005, Mr Klein joined Vodafone Germany, where he held a number of leadership roles in marketing and sales in the fixed and mobile business.
Mr. Klein joined Deutsche Telekom in 2012 as Senior Vice President Marketing Europe, supporting Deutsche Telekom’s fixed and mobile affiliates to align marketing strategies, harmonize product platforms and leverage synergies among the different affiliates.