‘Visionary of the Year’ Brings Angela Oguntala to Zagreb, a Global Authority on Innovation

The increasingly challenging geopolitical and business environment demands accelerated transformation from companies, as well as from all segments of society, to keep pace with changes. How to best navigate and adapt to a world of growing uncertainty, where artificial intelligence also plays an important role, will be revealed by the guest of tportal’s ‘Visionary of the Year’ conference, Angela Oguntala, a globally recognized expert in innovation and transformation management who advises the largest global companies and organizations, such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

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Angela Oguntala

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Angela Oguntala will reveal to local leaders how to create flexible and resilient organizations that can embrace new transformative technologies and business models, which will be crucial for the success of entrepreneurs in the upcoming period.

The third edition of the ‘Visionary of the Year’ conference, which has established itself as an event that speaks to the importance of vision and leadership as drivers of positive social change, and gathers the broadest audience from all segments of society, will be held on February 19 at the traditional venue of Lauba – House for People and Art in Zagreb.

In addition to Oguntala’s lecture, the conference will announce the visionaries of the year in five categories: economy, technology, society, culture, and sport, along with the announcement of the overarching Visionary of the Year. The visionaries are prominent individuals who, through their work, achievements, and dedication in the past year, have created new opportunities that bring added value to society as a whole.

The visionaries of the year will be selected from three finalists in each category by a jury composed of prominent individuals from all segments of our social life: Boris Jokić, director of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb; Boris Vujčić, governor of the Croatian National Bank; Boško Picula, political scientist and film critic; Christoph Schoefboeck, CEO of Erste Bank; Damir Sabol, one of the most successful technology entrepreneurs in Croatia and last year’s winner of the overarching Visionary of the Year award; Irena Weber, CEO of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP); Ivana Gažić, CEO of the Zagreb Stock Exchange; Izabel Jelenić, co-founder and technical director of Infobip; Josip Paladino, prominent neurosurgeon; Martina Dalić, CEO of Podravka; Maruška Vizek, scientist from the Economic Institute; Nataša Rapaić, CEO of Hrvatski Telekom; and Zrinka Cvitešić, Croatian actress.

Finalists for Visionary of the Year

Technology:

Ivan Jelušić, Vlatko Matijević, and Srđan Kovačević, co-founders of Orqe, a company that is seriously entering the military industry with its drone technology.

Mario Vuksan and Tomislav Peričin, founders of ReversingLabs, one of the global leaders in cybersecurity.

Daniela Jović, project manager of CroCube, the first Croatian satellite in space.

Economy:

Berislav Borovina, founder and director of the Split construction company Spegra, listed among the most successful European companies according to the Financial Times.

Ivan Franičević, founder and owner of Rasco, one of the five largest manufacturers of professional equipment for maintaining traffic infrastructure in Europe.

Antonia and Marko Omazić, founders of Meliori Polymer Engineering, one of the few European manufacturers in the semiconductor industry.

Society:

Baby Lasagna, a social phenomenon of 2024 that has reached the second position in the Eurovision Song Contest without professional record label backing.

Father Tvrtko Barun, one of the most vocal advocates for refugee rights, founder and president of the non-profit organization Center Ignacije.

The volunteer project 72 hours without compromise, the largest volunteer project in Croatia that engages youth and promotes solidarity, community, creativity, and volunteering.

Sport:

Valent and Martin Sinković with coach Nikola Bralić, among the most decorated rowers in the history of sport and gold medalists at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Barbara Matić, winner of the first Croatian Olympic gold in judo in the under 70 kg category and double world champion.

Anđela Mužinić Vincetić, gold medalist at the Paralympic Games in Paris.

Culture:

Nebojša Slijepčević, director of “The Man Who Could Not Keep Silent,” the first Croatian film competing for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Magdalena Vodopija, director of the largest author book fair in Croatia – Sa(n)jam knjige u Istri.

Ljubica Letinić and Lana Deban, the duo behind the audiobook platform book&zvook.