Vjekoslav Majetić (DOK-ING): You Must Be Ready to Hand Over the Director’s Position to Another Person If You Want to Continue Growing

– Corporate governance is a set of rules that varies from company to company. It is about forms, rules, that need to be real and that must be respected in business. Namely, the position obliges, the owner must behave responsibly towards their company.

In my opinion, this implies meritocracy, the separation of ownership and management, physical and legal persons. You are not the owner of the finances, money, and obligations of your company, even though you are its owner – said Emil Tedeschi, CEO of Atlantic Group, at the panel discussion ‘Corporate Governance – Experiences of Croatian Entrepreneurs’ as part of the presentation of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 program at the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP).

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Emil Tedeschi

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In the discussion, alongside Tedeschi, participated Anita Cvetić Oreščanin, a member of the Management Board and co-owner of Business Intelligence, Vjekoslav Majetić, founder and owner of DOK-ING and EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022, Boris Centner, Chief Advisor to the Management Board of Erste Bank for business with the economy and financial markets, and Berislav Horvat, Country Managing Partner at EY Croatia.

– As the company develops, you realize that it is necessary to organize the system, define what is whose job, what the owners do, what the Management Board does, what management does. According to the development of the company, the system needs to be revised and new boards added, for example, the Supervisory Board, which large companies are legally required to have – said Cvetić Oreščanin.

Explaining how important it is to properly structure the hierarchy within the company, Cvetić Oreščanin added that it is very important to revise business systems, corporate and management policies within the company, but also to educate oneself and the rest of the employees towards creating a more encouraging environment.

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Anite Cvetić Oreščanin

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Bankers Do Not Just Look at Numbers

– The most critical phase in the life of a company is the transition from a small to a large firm, from a craft to a company. You must meet certain regulations, be ready to hand over the director’s position to another person who has experience in managing companies, while you as the owner withdraw from the director’s position. Only in this way can you grow – said Majetić.

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Vjekoslav Majetić

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Banking, on the other hand, is one of the industries that is extremely regulated by regulations, explained Boris Centner. Many believe that bankers only look at numerical data about business, but for results, he adds, the environment is also important – the relationship between owners and employees, human resources.

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Boris Centner

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– Corporate governance works excellently in larger companies, small and medium enterprises still need to master the regulations – concluded Centner from the perspective of a banker.

Berislav Horvat from the consulting and auditing company EY emphasized how they as auditors see corporate governance.

– It is extremely important for the head of each company to have an external independent expert, an auditor who encourages them to achieve certain KPIs, who talks to them and advises them on how to direct the business, how to grow, what boards need to be in place. It is important to have a trusted advisor, which many companies in Croatia are still not aware of – concluded Horvat.

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Berislav Horvat

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