Futures Voices

Growing up in Sarajevo, Emir Pleh dreamt of becoming a professional motorcycle driver. He would complete studies in Information Systems and Economics, working his way through various corporate roles. His passion and entrepreneurial mindset led him to open one of Sarajevo’s most famous pub “Red Door”, all while building his corporate career and keeping his passion for motorcycles alive. Today Emir works between Prague and Sarajevo, involved in numerous initiatives. Join us as we delve into the captivating life story of Emir Pleh, tracing the trajectory that led him to his current success and achievements.

Fedja Begovic, Chief of Party at USAID Developing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia & Herzegovina (Turizam) ———————————— Every good story has a humble beginning, and Fedjas is no different. From the streets of Maglaj to spearheading one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most ambitious tourism initiatives, Fedja Begovic's journey embodies the spirit of his homeland. His unassuming beginnings blossomed into transformative power. Join us on the Futures Voices podcast as we delve into the incredible work of USAID developing sustainable tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, guided by Fedja's insightful perspective. Bosnia and Herzegovina boasts more than just postcard-perfect landscapes. Fedja unveils hidden gems nestled within charming villages, where vibrant culture and breathtaking beauty intertwine. These destinations, often overlooked, hold the potential to become tourism powerhouses, offering authentic experiences and fostering community growth. ———————————— © Copyright 2024 Bosnia & Herzegovina Futures Foundation – All rights reserved.

Amila Pita, Senior Director of Client Success at HTEC Group Inc.

———————————— Our vision is to position the Futures Leaders Summit as the leading platform in the country for ongoing collaboration between young STEM leaders, the local economy and the global community with the aim of creating the next generation of changemakers that will transform Bosnia and Herzegovina into a prosperous nation. Learn more at www.fls.ba.

Zlatko Tanovic, CEO and Co-Founder Gazzda

———————————— Our vision is to position the Futures Leaders Summit as the leading platform in the country for ongoing collaboration between young STEM leaders, the local economy and the global community with the aim of creating the next generation of changemakers that will transform Bosnia and Herzegovina into a prosperous nation. Learn more at www.fls.ba.

Edin Skaljic, FabLab BiH, Founder Digital Innovation Hub 'Digital Storm'

———————————— Our vision is to position the Futures Leaders Summit as the leading platform in the country for ongoing collaboration between young STEM leaders, the local economy and the global community with the aim of creating the next generation of changemakers that will transform Bosnia and Herzegovina into a prosperous nation. Learn more at www.fls.ba.

Welcome to "EmpowerHER: Mostar"s Trailblazer in Brussels" podcast that unveils the inspiring journey of Elma Orucevic, women hailing from the picturesque city of Mostar, and her remarkable experience working in the heart of European politics in Brussels. In this podcast we delve into the personal narratives tracing her footsteps from her early life in Mostar to the prestigious halls of the European Parliament. Tune in as we unravel the untold story of ambition, dedication, and empowerment. Learn about unique perspective Elma brought to the European Parliament, enriching dialogue on the crucial issues that shape the future of Europe and beyond. Her journey is not only inspiring story but also a statement to the strength of character and the power of tenacity.

Join us for an insightful conversation with Selma, an experienced professional in the automotive industry. We explore her international journey, her decision to return to Bosnia, and the evolution of her knowledge in automotive development. Discover the concept of agile development, its impact on innovation and efficiency, and recent advancements in software development within the industry. We discuss the future of software development amidst the rise of electric and autonomous vehicles and learn about the guest's experiences abroad and their current projects in Bosnia.
Selma Kunosic is mechanical engineer with a passion for innovation. With seven years of experience in the automotive industry, she has made significant contributions to companies such as Skoda Auto, Audi and Circuit Business Consulting.

Selma's expertise lies in vehicle electronics, connect functions, and digital products. Beyond her professional achievements, Selma is a strong advocate for gender diversity in engineering and actively encourages young women to pursue STEM careers. 

With her dedication and creative thinking, Selma continues to shape the future of the automotive industry, driving it towards a more connected and sustainable tomorrow.

The theme of "Leading by Example: How Volunteering can Champion Change" emphasizes the power of volunteerism as a catalyst for positive change in communities. It highlights the significance of leaders who inspire and motivate others through their selfless acts of volunteering. By setting an example through their own volunteer efforts, leaders can galvanize others to follow suit and contribute to social, environmental, or humanitarian causes. This theme emphasizes the transformative impact of volunteering, not only in making a tangible difference in the lives of those in need but also in fostering a culture of empathy, compassion, and civic engagement among individuals and communities.

How many of us can say that we have worked for tech giants such as Google, PayPal, eBay and Roku? Better yet, how many people do you know that passed on a career in classical singing to conquer the tech industry? Well, Danijel Barač did exactly that and more. In 2003 he became the first employee from Bosnia & Herzegovina and one of the first from Yugoslavia to work at Google, helping expand their services to eastern Europe. From his childhood in Sarajevo to the Silicon Valley, Danijel knows all too well what it means to pivot and power through difficult times. 

Danijel studied mechanical engineering at the University of Sarajevo, Industrial Business Administration at the Munich School of Commerce & IT, Business Administration and Management at Menlo College in the heart of silicon valley. He also spent some time at Stanford University focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship and advanced project management.

He has over 20 years experience managing global products, operations, payments & risk systems in US & Europe providing. The projects and systems he has overseen are measured in billions of USD in revenue!   

Today, he is a dynamic & innovative leader fuelling growth at the intersection of tech innovation & regulated financial services. 

Danijel Barač is a real changemaker!

Most of us who watched the Tokyo Olympics were in awe at the athleticism and multiculturalism, but we probably didn’t give too much thought to the thousands of incredible professionals that made the Olympics happen in the most difficult times. One of those people is Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Fedja Delalic, the Technology and Energy Manager at the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Behind every success there are many untold stories of adversity. Fedja’s story starts in Mostar where he grew up and as a teenager found himself in the middle of a war, watching neighbours shoot at each other. In the midst of the chaos his father was sent to a concentration camp and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, she succumbed to the illness while he was attempting to build a new life in Australia. The passing of his mother and the new life challenges impacted Fedja deeply, as he dropped out of his computer engineering studies at the prestigious University of Melbourne. He worked numerous jobs to support himself but got his lucky break in the oddest of places, at Crown Casino (at the time, the world’s largest casino). He worked as a croupier on the tables while completing several IT courses and later landed a support role with Crown. The rest is history.

Fedja worked his way up in the technology management space through numerous companies but he got a taste of his dream in 2005 when his two loves (sport & technology) suddenly came together. He became part of the tech team supporting the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. His taste for this world would ultimately become a driving force in his professional career leading him to London where he to become a venue technology manager at the 2012 Olympic Games. Since that time, Fedja has worked with numerous large and complex sporting events including work with the AFL, European Games in Baku before settling in the role of Technology and Energy Manager at the International Olympic Committee, based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

We explore Fedja’s inspirational life journey and get a sneak peak behind the scenes of the Tokyo Olympics. What happens when technology is in focus at the Games? What technology trends can we expect to see in the near future at the Olympics? Tune in and find out.

Wouldn't we all want to know what it is like to work at Netflix? Melita Kurtović is a Talent Operations Analyst at household entertainment name Netflix where she is combining art and science to equip the Human Resources teams with the tools, the knowledge and the data acumen to do their best work with our employees and candidates. However, Melita's journey to Netflix is far from simple one. She was born in the beautiful town of Bihac and raised and educated in Valdobbiadene, Italy after moving there in 1993 as a result of the war. She landed her first job at the age of 14 as a waitress in the town’s one and only café. Like many refugee families, the beginning was very difficult and Melita was eager to contribute financially to her family as soon as she could. Since then she worked numerous jobs as a means of supporting her family but also professionally developing herself; including working for a micro-credit financial provider, picking grapes at wineries and managing events for Expats in the Netherlands.

She studied foreign languages and communication at the University of Padova and relocated to the Netherlands in 2015 to complete a masters in Consultancy and Entrepreneurship at the Rotterdam Business School.

Melita says that she always embraced fear and discomfort in order to grow. In this podcast we discuss with her work ethic and resilience that have been standout features in her early career. We explore how she transformed her career direction from study of languages to the current role she performs and how we need to examine our own career paths. "Networking and continuous learning are crucial in getting a better insight of all the possibilities in our lives" says Melita. Finally, we touch on the importance of time management in today's busy world and how important an entrepreneurial mindset is in the modern economy.

From growing up in Banja Luka to becoming the Senior Vice President of Deutsche Telekom today, Borislav Tadić has always known the importance of listening and taking action. With 20 years of experience in media, IT, networks, innovation and security in multinational companies, Borislav is not your everyday executive you might expect to meet. After obtaining his Master of Science degree in Knowledge Management from the University of Technology in Graz, Austria, Borislav has taken on various roles that shaped his career path and brought him to where he is today, leading an organisation with more than several thousand employees. In this week’s episode, we’ve discussed the importance of technology and digitalisation for the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the world, overcoming obstacles and the importance of interpersonal skills for any career that requires leadership. Listen to us as we explore what it takes to be a good leader!

As a 10-year-old boy, Dennis Savic wanted to build a motorcycle. Then, pretty soon, he decided: no, he wanted to build a motorcycle company. “By the time I was 14, it had become an obsession,” he says. “Everything I did was for this one goal – to create my own electric motorcycle brand.”

Today, Savic Motorcycles is all about obsession: the obsession of a young and passionate team that Dennis has handpicked for their capabilities to design and build Australia’s first high-performance electric motorbike. They are backed by some of the biggest brains in the automotive industry, including the CEOs of multinational joint ventures, techpreneurs who’ve launched multi-million- dollar start-ups, and engineers who have worked on World Championship-winning Formula 1 cars and air-racing teams.

But despite his impressive global alliances, Dennis’s engineering credentials stand on their own. By the age of 25, he had worked for two of Australia’s largest energy companies and was serving as Ford Australia’s optimisation engineer. Dennis resigned from automotive giant Ford so that he could pursue his dream. At just 28, he’s developed Savic Motorcycles into a thriving business, launched three successful capital-raisings, and appointed a team who share his passion and bring the vision to reality.  In early 2021, despite the ravages of a major global pandemic, Dennis hopes to launch one of the most highly anticipated new vehicles to come out of Australia in recent years. Not bad for an Australian-Bosnian boy from Perth who dared to dream big.

Have you heard of language engineers? No worries, not many people are familiar with this profession, as it is very new. Dunja Veselinovic is one of the endemic people who compute around language.

The story of Dunja Veselinovic shows the turnovers of life and the personal transformation. She graduated from the Grammar School in Sarajevo, Druga gimnazija. A highly mathematical school shaped her interest rather towards language, which is why she studied English Language and Literature, convinced that she would work on literary translations until the rest of her life. She had a job at the Federal television of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but searched for ways to expand and received a scholarship in the US where she completed her PhD. Her studies brought her back to her mathematical and computational background as she had to apply different skills for her linguistic research that helped her land a job at the tech giant Amazon!

Dunja shared with us the beautiful sides of language, with all the untapped fields of the world of language. We discussed the challenge of the BiH diaspora kids and ways of joyful language exercises that would help all the Bosnian-Herzegovinians to keep the BiH linguistic heritage alive.

How many of us can say that we played basketball against Mirza Teletovic, performed together with hip hop superstars Edo Maajka, Frenkie, Jala Brat, and presented on the same stage where Steve Jobs launched numerous products at Apple? Miralem Salihovic, also known as King Mire in the hip hop world, was passionate about technology and music but due to a lack of opportunities, he became a German language teacher. He was destined to lead a simple life in his homeland Bosnia & Herzegovina. However, he took a chance and quit his job as a teacher to pursue his true passion, producing hip-hop music and performing. Miralem very quickly established himself on the scene producing hundreds of hits with millions of views on YouTube. Little did he know that his passion for music and technology would years later be the exact reasons for being headhunted by technology giant and household name Apple. 

Are you up for a game?

Despite a difficult start, Kenan Huremovic graduated as a star of the Faculty of Math and Natural Sciences and got a position at the Sarajevo School of Economics.

Finally, earning a decent living and having a secure job. Yet it didn’t make him happy, so he opted for another challenge. His interest shifted more to Economics and Applied Math so he completed his MA and PhD at the European University Institute, Florence. Playing games and jumping from one level to the next was apparently his passion, so he started researching game theory, networks, and patterns of employment.  He was teaching the Game Theory at the European University Institute in Florence, worked as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Aix-Marseille School of Economics & GREQA, and is now an Assistant Professor at IMT Lucca.

Even though some of his publications took years to get published after long periods of research, it took him only a couple of minutes to share some of his findings. What does it take to get employed? What roles do networks play? How does the Game Theory work in the job market?

Maybe some of these insights help you find your next job!

At the age of 17 he narrowly escaped with his life, when one of the two buses that was transporting refugees Zivinice, Bosnia & Herzegovina to Germany was bombed. His life would never be the same. Being haunted by images of war, he felt a mix of guilt and gratitude for the gift of life and woke up every morning in Germany to work at a factory while finishing his high school studies. His life took a very positive turn when he moved to the “Lucky Country” - Australia.

He earned his degree in Computer Science and got a job at a local IT company. A few years later, Igor established not one, but three companies: “GIS People”, “Gruntify”, and one particularly interesting company “Open Declare” through which Australians ensure the transparency of donations for political campaigns. His ethics is led by a few simple rules: being on time, and what difference one can make. The business model he applies as an entrepreneur is based on income from his consumer instead of external investment. His hard work was rewarded with the Brisbane's Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014 and brought him as far as SiliconValley, where he attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2016 hosted by President Barack Obama and the US Government to represent Australia.

Being on time and taking the first bus when feeling his homeland ultimately saved his life, but his ‘never give up attitude’ and determination are the driving force of his success today.

Growing up in the 1980s in the neighbourhood of Otoka, Sarajevo, Sejo who was a little boy then couldn’t have dreamed of becoming the owner of a consulting company in California. His story is a perfect example of not being afraid to make impromptu decisions and trusting your inner voice. Today Sejo Jahic is the owner of ECHO Technology Solutions, an engineer, and a biocybernetics expert.

Sejo graduated from high school in his hometown, where he started his electrical engineering studies, but soon his life took a different turn. After seeing everything that had been going on in the region, Sejo trusted himself and started making unplanned decisions along the way which proved to be the right ones. Trusting his inner voice moved Sejo to Prague where he continued his studies, without speaking Czech at all. To this day, Sejo points out how one of his greatest accomplishments was getting a passing grade in the Theory of Electromagnetic Fields. A few years later, Sejo established his career as a consultant in San Francisco, where he lives to this day and works on his business.

We discussed growing up in Sarajevo, circumstances that made Sejo choose electrical engineering, and the courage to make unplanned moves that turned into life-changing results.

He went to school wanting to be a politician in the US in order help Bosnia & Herzegovina but ended up working at Facebook designing the publishing user experience. This is the story of Meaz Hajdarovic, a political science graduate and self-taught user experience designer who took a very unconventional path to his true calling. He was born in Capljina and his early childhood is marked by memories of constantly being on the run during the war in Bosnia & Herzegovina, taking refuge in different homes between Stolac and Mostar where his family lived. Years later he has established himself as a highly sought after designer and is now ready to give back to his homeland. We unravel the design world with Meaz, exploring how the user experience is designed and implemented at a company like Facebook, examining the phases and importance of them, lessons learned and importance of being open to constructive criticism. The next time you post a story or share an image with the world via Facebook, remember that Bosnia & Herzegovina’s very own Meaz Hajdarovic played a part in creating that experience!

Born and raised in Sarajevo, studied engineering and ended up as a globally recognised leader in the communication and advertising media world. The circumstances back at her home country set Gordana on a journey she had never envisaged. Today she is a marketing and advertising media professional with extensive experience in leading global clients and their business and digital transformation agenda. 

She enlightened us with insights about the importance of media, ethical conduct in the industry, protecting brand integrity and how the trust in media has been shaken by recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the US elections. We also explore the difference between mentoring and coaching and advice on uncovering your true passion.

Gordana started her career as an assistant at Zenith Media agency in London and became its media account director after four years.She ran multi-million dollar accounts such as Aviva, Bacardi-Martini, Electrolux, and Reckitt Benckiser. As Head of Business Strategy and Commercial Planning at Publicis Media, she worked with some of the most renowned companies across the globe with over 23,500 employees worldwide. In her current role as EVP, Global Client Transformation at Havas Media, her focus is on helping renowned Global clients with their business and digital transformation by designing the bespoke solutions.

Someone said that science rewards you for every effort you put in. Adnan  Mehonic is the real proof of it. He graduated in Electronic Engineering from the University of Sarajevo as the best student in the 2006-2009  cohort, receiving the Golden Badge award. He continued his education in  London, finishing MSc in Nanotechnology at University College London,  and received the Oxford Instruments award for the best MSc project award  in 2010. In 2014, he obtained PhD in Nanoelectronics and was recognised among the top 3 PhD students in Department of Electronic &  Electrical Engineering, UCL. He published more than 100 journal articles and international conference proceedings (including Nature publications). He holds 5 international patents and was awarded the UCLB  "One to Watch Award" for the most innovative UCL's researcher in 2015.   In 2017 he received the highly prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering  Research Fellowship allowing him to establish the own academic group and was appointed as an assistant professor in 2019 at UCL. He currently leads a group of 3 PhD students and serves as a programme director of the MSc Nanotechnology programme. He is not a typical academic,  co-founding "Intrinsic", a spinout company, established to commercialise  the novel memristor nanodevices. He is currently the CTO at the company. We explore with Adnan his career path, how nanotechnology is changing the world, and why scientists are working towards brain-inspired  computing to drive energy efficiency in computing.

Are you stuck in your career and think you have to be there forever?

Then listen to the story of Milan Vručinić a senior consultant at Accenture, London, a fortune 500 company with revenues of $43.2 billion in 2019 and had 492,000 employees, serving clients in more than 120 countries. His life started in Lušci Palanka, in a small village in north-eastern Bosnia & Herzegovina. He graduated as the best student of his generation at the Faculty of Science, University of Banja Luka. He was continually involved in extracurricular activities, from CIVITAS during high school, through which he raised awareness about different social challenges. He led workshops and achieved many results through his social engagement. During his undergraduate studies, he actively worked on different opportunities for students through IAESTE and other associations. He completed his master studies at the University of Utrecht and received a scholarship at Cambridge University where he completed his PhD in Physics. Despite the demanding study programmes he pursued, he connected with people and organisations, and created new networks like the Cambridge Yugosphere Society.

His goal has always been to contribute to transformation and positive impact, which is why he changed his academic career path for the corporate world. He shares his life journey and delves into advice for everyone around the world when it comes to questions on mastering the art of change, career transition balancing IQ, EQ with TQ  and persuasion.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is well-known for its rich natural resources, but also human potential. It is so common to hear in the news that young Bosnian-Herzegovinian talents won Math and Physics Olympic medals, who later land at top world universities.

Is it luck, hard work or raw talent? Haris Brkic is a Math olympian who shared his experience with us and his path to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

MIT has a 10% acceptance rate and has educated almost 100 Nobel Laureates, which would discourage many from even applying. Haris Brkic was encouraged by his father to try it and was admitted, graduating among the top 3% of his class. He is pursuing his master's degree and shared a little about his busy life at campus, the interdisciplinarity, and labs to help other young talents with big dreams.

Listen to the story of a young lady who made it from a small village in Banja Luka to an Ivy League University! 

Ivana Devic spent her primary and secondary education in studying, competing at different school contests, but devoted her time to teach less privileged children. Life offered her an amazing opportunity to study at Dartmouth College as a James O. Freedman Presidential Scholar where she explores how Engineering, Science, and Mathematics can help solve the global energy crisis and move towards a more sustainable future for all. She works as a teaching assistant,  she pursues different projects aimed at helping the planet and society, while being part of a triathlon team.

There is no peak that can’t be conquered. Nina's life is worthy of a Hollywood movie about Adventure and Science as if it was written by Jules Verne personally. She grew up on Grmeč mountain in Bosnia & Herzegovina where she fell in love with mountains and nature. She survived a Taliban attack, lost a loved one, saved the life of a rugby player, received significant honors, spent 3 days in a Pakistani jail, and climbed numerous mountains around the world.

Currently, she is working on projects integrating technology such as VR into the educational ecosystem to help climate literacy. She is super enthusiastic about scientific expedition in extreme environments, educational technology, and data analysis. 

Listen to the podcast and get inspired by a story of loss, life, and the decision to choose hope and the fight for a better future over giving up. 

One day everything changes: suddenly an awful war erupts and you find yourself across the ocean over several different time zones. You can’t make things undone, but you can decide to impact and create the future. This is the story of Mizra Cifric who utilised all available opportunities of the  “American Dream”. He co-founded Veritas, together with world-famous Harvard University Prof. George Church, and helps to do tens of thousands COVID-19 tests a day in collaboration with Harvard Medical School.  He dreams of replicating the Boston entrepreneurial tech-driven ecosystem in Bosnia, with entrepreneurs who are driven by meaningful impact.

Are you lost and demotivated along with your studies or career? No worries. Get inspired by this incredible person and get convinced that your “undergraduate studies don’t define what you will do in the future.” They rather define your ability to adapt and transfer skills.

Listen to how artificial intelligence will impact healthcare and genomics, why genomics is revolutionising healthcare, and much other information, to learn how he came to be listed among one of the Disruptor Top 50 in 2018 and 2019, alongside Tesla, Amazon, and other giants. 

Degrees in Psychology, Spanish & Literature, Environmental, and Water Resources Engineering - sound like a random collection of topics? Well, it is everything but that! Azra Tanovic completed her education in the US and worked in organisations like Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and EU supported projects. Having changed her New York address to Mostar , she has taken an unusual step, backed by her passion for her home country, its vast and underutilised natural resources, but also her passion for social and environmental impact. She works as an environmental consultant and entrepreneur without borders. Azra shared with us her life story details about her startup that is going to revolutionise the food supply chain, how she would design cities of the future in a way where we reconnect and reconcile with nature for a greener world, and how she would transform the Herzegovinian beauty queen - Mostar.

Kenya: doesn't it sound exotic? Dragana Marinkovic combined her background in International Relations and Public Policy with technology and business to green the planet and develop sustainable forestry at "Komaza". Her professional life evolved around different roles and while she managed to make her social science background an asset in contributing to social impact through Komaza's pursuit of digitalisation and technological transformation of agriculture and forestry. What is it like to live and work in a  developing country like Kenya and what do Bosnia and Kenya have in common?

We unleashed these and more exciting topics with Dragana, an amazing woman who is contributing to the preservation of our planet through "Komaza".

A Herzegovinian's life path made a sudden turnover and transformed his life. After years of "jobbing" around and hard work in the pursuit of education, he risked and said "yes" to a completely unexpected opportunity that took him to China where he became a Science teacher.  Listen to his road to China where he works with students, while his heart still beats for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Goran shared with us his experience as a teacher in China, the crucial role of teachers in the lives of youth, the secret ingredients for a good school system and his role as an online educator at the BH Futures Foundation. 

Maja Paleka is the co-founder and director of Juggle Strategies -  an Australian consultancy that specialises in the capability and  leadership development, as well as implementation of flexible working  practices. She has almost 20 years experience in leadership roles across  a variety of areas - engineering, operations and sales gained working  in Canada, UK and now Australia.  For the  past three years Maja has been advising executive teams on how they can  take advantage of business and people benefits of flexible and agile  working, and helping them devise a strategy that is tailored to their  organisation. We discussed productivity and efficiency on a daily basis with her, and learned a dozen of great tips! 

For over 10 years, Elma's passion is to empower people by creating simple and meaningful digital experiences. She is mentor at our Foundation, mother of three, and she also works at IKEA as Experience Design Lead, and Design Thinking is a big passion of hers. It is an innovation process by which new products and services are developed, and we talked about using this process to feel joy and make your dreams come true in life. This is not an ordinary podcast, because you will have to take some notes and get dozens of useful tips to help you organize yourself better and achieve your goals! You can find tips she mentioned here: bit.ly/ElmaTips

Innovative and  analytical clinical development professional with many years of  experience in healthcare industry ranging from direct patient care to  pharmaceutical industry.  Almasa has been a lead clinical scientist on  many Phase 1-3, pediatric, and post-marketing clinical trials and is  responsible for the clinical strategy that enables new drug  applications.  She is a good friend of BH Futures Foundation and a  co-founder of Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and  Sciences (BHAAAS), a non-profit, non-partisan, multi-ethnic and  multi-cultural organization whose aim is to provide connections between  Bosnian-Herzegovinian scientists, artists, and professionals in North  America and build the bridges of cooperation with the homeland.

Artist, consultant, AI advisor for G7, futurist, TED speaker, engineer and then some. It is impossible to describe Michela with only one or two words, but we are glad to have her as a friend of our Foundation. Since her childhood, she has been involved in creative processes of architecture and design and she has not stopped ever since. We talked with her about the importance of creativity in business and life, but also about how problems can easily become opportunities, especially if you live in the Balkans. In this episode, you will also find out what is the skillset we will need 50 years from now, and how exploring yourself can lead to the discovery of extremely interesting talents.

How often do you have an opportunity to talk with one Senior Radio Frequency Engineer? Vedran's life journey took him from Sarajevo in the 90s, over to Germany and Australia. Thanks to his dedication and hard work he has worked for some of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world, including Ericsson and Optus. He is also a mentor in our Foundation and a few other organisations, and he understands the power and benefit of mentoring for young people. We discussed the importance of good connections people-wise but in terms of future mobile technologies involving the 5G hype and other exciting things. 

Amir is someone who wears many hats, he is Artificial Intelligence protagonist, digital transformation strategist, professional speaker, general manager at Symphony.is and mentor in our Foundation. In this episode we talked about crazy potential of human brain through various topics - social media and how its poor usage can lead to idiocracy,  how students can create a personal brand at LinkedIn and why is that important, but also about Balkan macho culture and its effects to adopting new knowledge in this part of the world.