Weekend.19 begins in just two days, and from September 24 to 27 in Rovinj, visitors will have the opportunity to hear from some of the most prominent Croatian, regional and international figures from the worlds of media, business, technology, healthcare, finance, investment, energy, education and human resources.
From Journalism to Physical AI
The Weekend.19 program brings together a wide range of perspectives on media, creativity, society and culture.
Ulrik Haagerup, founder and CEO of the Constructive Institute, will explore the future of journalism and constructive approaches to news, while internationally renowned creativity expert Fredrik Härén will speak about ideas and creative thinking.
British journalist and author James Bloodworth is also coming to Rovinj, alongside veteran international journalist and editor Gerard Baker.
Other speakers include Laura Bermudez, SVP of AI Strategy and Engineering at Tao Digital, Emil Tedeschi, President of the Management Board of Atlantic Grupa, and writer, journalist and columnist Miljenko Jergović.
Tedeschi will also appear outside his well-known business role, taking part in a conversation that explores music, personal interests and perspectives beyond the corporate world.
From observatories and laboratories to university lecture halls and business decisions, Education.Weekend places education in a much broader context.
The program will feature astronomer and educator Korado Korlević, Prof. Dr. Ranko Rajović, creator of the NTC learning system, astrophysicist Gregor Čavlović, Kenan Crnkić, Rector of Algebra Bernays University Mislav Balković, and BOSQAR founder and university professor Stjepan Orešković.
Part of the program will also be moderated by director, screenwriter and Head of Media Studies at Baltazar Zaprešić University of Applied Sciences Arsen Oremović, who will later move from the moderator's chair to the DJ booth at the Listening Room powered by Rotary Audio.
In his set, The Wrong Genre Reaction, he will connect seemingly incompatible artists, genres and eras across seven decades of music, ranging from John Lee Hooker and post-punk to The Clash and Stevie Wonder.
While companies are still adapting to the first major wave of artificial intelligence, Tech.Weekend powered by Telemach is already looking one step further toward automation, robotics and Physical AI.
One of the program's biggest names is Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Group, who will take part in an exclusive one-on-one conversation about the development of Croatia's technology scene, global competitiveness, innovation and the future of one of the country's most successful technology companies.
A broader perspective on technological change will come from the people who develop, finance and turn new technologies into real-world business solutions every day.
Among them are Srđan Kovačević, co-founder and CEO of Orqa, investor Moaffak Ahmed of Nordic Makers, Jelena Jurišić, CTO of ENT Group, Božidar Pavlović, Partner at AYMO Ventures, and Imtiyaz Basharat, Startup Partner at Stripe.
How We Will Work, Live and Learn
Technology is also transforming what happens inside companies.
How we choose leaders, develop talent and make decisions in the age of artificial intelligence are among the topics that will be explored at HR.Weekend.
One of its most prominent speakers is Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor at University College London and Columbia University and Chief Science Officer at Russell Reynolds Associates.
The program also includes Dr. Meri Tadinac, Head of the Department of Biological Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb; Jasmina Punek, Chief People Officer at Ergomed Group; Aneta Godzwon, HR & Capability Development Director at Orbico Group; Mirko Đukić, Director of bmM Consulting; and Marina Vulović, People & Culture Director at Bambi, part of the Coca-Cola HBC Group.
Weekend.19 begins this year on Thursday, September 24, with the inaugural Health.Weekend, which places health in a context that goes beyond doctors' offices and connects it with technology, business, innovation and quality of life.
Coming to Rovinj is Jack Kreindel, CEO of WellFounded Health and a physician focused on the application of technology in healthcare, human performance and healthy ageing.
Other speakers include Victoria Loomes, Senior Trend Analyst at TrendWatching; Ana Soldo, President of the Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists; cardiologist Borka Pezo Nikolić from University Hospital Centre Zagreb; Natko Beck, radiology specialist and Head of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Srebrnjak Children's Hospital; and Ognjen Bagatin, manager and serial entrepreneur from Futura Medical Group.
From Capital to Kilowatts
Energy takes center stage at Energy.Weekend poweredUP by E.ON Hrvatska, with discussions focused on the energy transition, electrification and sustainability.
Participants include Zsuzsanna Ortutay, President of the Management Board of INA; Marijana Bačić, Management Board Member and Chief Operating Officer for Business Customers at Hrvatski Telekom; Dave van der Meer of Sparta Rotterdam; Alan Mijoč, Chief Operating Officer at Bauwerk Group Croatia; and Neven Vranković, Vice President for Corporate Activities at Atlantic Grupa.
Finance.Weekend once again brings together professionals who make financial and strategic decisions every day at major companies.
Speakers coming to Rovinj include Stuart Mauchline, Senior Vice President of Finance at Virgin Music; Milena Radosavljević-Đorić, Country Finance Director at Al Dahra; Léa Raiche-Marsden, VP of Finance at Leanspace; Jacek Popielewicz, EMEA & SA Finance Director at Nexteer Automotive; Marina Balenović Lacković, Head of Group Controlling at EuroTeleSites AG; and Matija Nakić, CEO and co-founder of Farseer.
The program will focus on the transformation of finance functions, leadership and the application of artificial intelligence in finance.
At Investment.Weekend, one of the standout speakers is Igor Čanadi, a member of OpenAI's technical team and a software engineer focused on the development of large-scale data systems.
He joined OpenAI through the acquisition of Rockset, where he was one of the founding engineers, and previously contributed to the development of the RocksDB database at Facebook.
Joining him to discuss capital, markets and investment opportunities are Marko Bogdan, Growth Strategist at Genius and host of the O novcu YouTube channel; Slaven Kordić, Managing Partner at Invera Equity Partners; and Ana Zovko, Executive Director for Digital Business and IT at Croatia osiguranje.
Three days, eight festival tracks and just a few minutes' walk between conversations worth hearing.
From September 24 to 27, see you at Weekend.19 in Rovinj.
All information about the program, speakers and tickets is available on the official Weekend.19 website, as well as the festival's Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok channels.
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