Tomašević: Zagreb Holding has a loss, we must act urgently and financially restructure it

The Mayor of Zagreb Tomislav Tomašević stated on Monday that the reason for the dismissal and new appointments in the Supervisory Board and Management of Zagreb Holding was that the Holding has a loss and it is necessary to act urgently and financially restructure it. 

– On Friday, as the Assembly of Zagreb Holding, which consists of myself and my deputies, we held a conversation with the entire management, and after that, we spoke with almost the entire Supervisory Board. We discussed the situation, noting that for the first time in seven years we have a loss of about 305 million kuna, so we decided to act quickly – said Tomašević at a press conference at the Homeland Bridge, where the renovation has begun. 

At today’s session, the Assembly of Zagreb Holding dismissed the previous Supervisory Board and Management of Zagreb Holding and appointed new members. Nikola Vuković was elected as the President of the Management Board, Ante Samodol as a member, while Suzana Brenko was elected as the Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, with members Ratko Bajakić and Damir Topić.

– These are all people with extensive experience in the financial and banking sector and are experts in commercial law, and they will form a strong Supervisory Board that will oversee the work of the Management. We have chosen a two-member Management Board so that it can start acting immediately, given that the situation in the Holding is complex and challenging – said the mayor.

He added that he will probably announce a public competition next week for the remaining members of the Management and Supervisory Board, and he invited employee representatives to, in accordance with the law, exercise their right to appoint their representative to the Supervisory Board. Likewise, branch managers and management of other city companies will be selected through public competitions.

Restructuring will take time

The tasks ahead of the new Management, says Tomašević, are analyzing the situation, refinancing short-term obligations, analyzing, controlling, and stopping unnecessary costs to halt this trend, and preparing the groundwork for restructuring that will take time. 

– A significant loss has been recorded, and it is clear that Zagreb Holding needs changes; first and foremost, we need to start immediately with financial restructuring – added Tomašević.

Regarding Vuković and Samodol, he said they know the system and have previously held some positions in the Holding, but left because they disagreed with the management model that previously existed in the Holding.

– These are experienced individuals who know the system well because we truly do not have time and must act urgently – he said.

He added that they discussed restructuring the Holding at the meeting because they want the most optimal Holding that provides quality services to citizens.

– I believe there will be reorganizations within the Holding; we can talk about merging branches and business processes; this is all part of a longer story that will take time. Restructuring will take place; however, it was urgent to start primarily with financial restructuring and reducing all unnecessary costs – said Tomašević. 

We will address together and present cooperation

Regarding negotiations with the SDP about forming cooperation in the City Assembly, he assessed that they are going well.

– More or less, they are completed, and it is expected that they will go to the bodies within our parties. I do not expect any problems here; on June 17, I expect the Assembly to be constituted, and we will probably address the public together, as partners, before that and present the content of the agreement –  said Tomašević.

The most important part of the discussions are the substantive program goals, of which there are about 30, which is quite a lot for the first term, he believes, through which they want to show what their direction is and what they want to achieve.

Speaking about accelerating reconstruction after the earthquake, Tomašević reiterated that their most important task is to engage all existing human resources that the City has to help citizens prepare quality reconstruction requests.

– Tomorrow we will have a detailed meeting at the Ministry of Construction with the minister for several hours. We will go through all the problems and aspects of reconstruction in detail, and I can announce that we will have a meeting with the director of the Reconstruction Fund on Friday –  concluded Tomašević, stating that he will be a good partner to both the Ministry and the Fund.