Dragoljub Damljanovic is the new SAM president, new board members elected
The Serbian Association of Managers has elected a new president, Dragoljub Damljanović, who will take over from Stanka Pejanović and head the largest association of managers in the country for the next three years.
Dragoljub Damljanović works for Schneider Electric as Vice President of Energy and Services in Southeastern Europe. He has been a member of SAM since 2014. He has received valuable business honours, including the 2017 Manager of the Year Award and the 2018 Youth Leadership Promotion and Development Award.
“I have been entrusted with the responsible task of continuing to work on strengthening and developing the Association. We will continue to focus on the individual, the manager who wants to move forward, but our focus will also be on empowering young people, those who will become the pillar of the business and community. I want SAM to be a strong social stakeholder and to be even more vocal participant in this society. Using years of experience, I believe that, together with all members, I will contribute to SAM becoming even more influential and to use our community and capacities in the right way and for the right things, “says Dragoljub Damljanović, the new President of SAM.
Addressing the members, Stanka Pejanović, who led the Association for the past three years, underlined that she was proud of the results achieved, especially of launching new programmes, but also of solidifying the cooperation with the largest European organization of managers.
„I am particularly pleased with the accomplished results. We have launched numerous training programmes for managers, and have had excellent cooperation with relevant institutions. SAM has become a full-fledged member of the European Confederation of Managers, which opens the space for the dissemination of knowledge and best practices at the international level and supports professional development, “said Pejanovic.
The Managing Board of the Serbian Association of Managers will now, as decided by the Assembly, include Dušan Basalo (Atria Group), Biljana Bogovac (PwC Serbia), Marija Desivojević Cvetković (Delta Holding), Slobodan Djinović (Orion Telekom), Mihailo Janković (Nectar Group), Dragomir Kostić (Atlantic Brands), Nebojša Mandić (DHL Global Forwarding), Nebojša Matić (Microelectronics), Miloš Milisavljević (Strawberry Energy), Stanka Pejanović (Hisense Gorenje Europa), Miloš Perović (Termovent), Dragan Popović (Aigo Business system), Dejan Randić (DNA Communications), Aleksandra Stojanović (MK Group) and Dejan Turk (Vip mobile).
The ‘fresh blood’ of the Association will be working towards the two-way exchange and improvement of knowledge used by managers, and above all, the use of that knowledge and experience to achieve greater accountability in terms of important business and social topics such as circular migration, brain drain, digital transformation, changing business models, communications, etc. By taking responsible action SAM will seek to create a better and more secure future for new generations and society.
In 2019, SAM organized more than 40 various activities aimed at the development of managers, networking between them and improving the environment such as the traditional June Meeting, meeting with members of the Fiscal Council and the Tax Administration, and introducing members at the ‘Evening with … at the Crowne Plaza’ event.
The promotion of leadership and professional development of young managers continued through a unique and exclusive Mentoring Programme, with the fifth generation attending.
At the end of the year, the Serbian Association of Managers presented the prestigious SAM Annual Awards at the SAM Gala 2019 event.
During the past year, SAM members highlighted the topic of keeping young people in Serbia at the Managers Forum, which brought together the biggest companies, government representatives and student organizations to jointly find solutions that can contribute to attracting staff and investing in people. This topic will also be a priority in 2020.
About SAM
The Serbian Managers Association (SAM) is an association of professional managers that brings together 450 members, executives from successful companies and teams of more than 70,000 employees which companies annually generate 9 billion euro worth of turnover. SAM focuses on the professional development of managers, affirmation, professionalization and promotion of the management profession, networking of managers and promotion of best business practices and companies, and responsible, ethical and sustainable business. SAM is also focused on continuous cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia and its institutions through joint activities aimed at improving the business climate in Serbia and improving regional cooperation. Dragoljub Damljanović is the president of SAM, while Jelena Bulatović is the Executive Director.