In the new Lider, we analyze recent mergers and acquisitions in Croatia

In Croatia, 64 acquisitions were realized last year, and from the beginning of this year until the beginning of August, 34 merger and acquisition transactions were finalized, according to Pitchbook data.

Excellent experiences in acquiring or selling companies are most common in the domestic merger and acquisition market, but we also know several entrepreneurs who regretted selling their companies. However, such cases are in the minority. In the new Lider, we analyze the active domestic merger and acquisition market.

In a market still dominated by small and medium-sized firms, where often one project can define existence for the next two years, architecture as a business requires pragmatism equal to creativity, believes Lider’s interlocutor Damjan Geber, founder and CEO of Brigade, who decided to speak openly about taboos in architecture with the hope that this conversation will be a turning point for the entire profession.

Salaries and productivity are diverging in different directions. Many economists are already warning that if labor costs continue to rise faster than productivity, we will face price pressures, declining profitability, and loss of market share. This will not only affect exporters but the entire economy – in the form of reduced investments, slower growth, and fewer opportunities for new jobs.

The impact of artificial intelligence on education and careers is undeniable. It will become increasingly stronger, so lifelong learning is no longer an option but a necessity. However, it can be misused, and it negatively affects intellectual abilities, so in the ‘Education and Careers’ supplement, among other things, we reveal who else has become less intelligent due to reliance on AI.

However, Predrag Pale, a full professor at FER, revealed in an interview that there are still no technologies that can understand the world as humans do. ‘We do not have artificial intelligence; that is a marketing term. All we have are machines of various degrees of automation that are becoming increasingly powerful because we have faster processors, more memory, and many people constantly inventing new algorithms. But we do not have intelligence because we do not even know what human intelligence is,’ he emphasizes.

In the new issue, we also bring the story of entrepreneur Vlatko Roland, whose company Prehnit, which offers geoinformatics solutions based on GIS technology, is growing alongside stable finances, innovations, and upgrades of its platforms. We also analyze the business of the company PPS Galeković, whose parquet production is affected by all the negative events happening in the world.