Amel Kosovac was born in 1981 in Sarajevo. He completed his studies at the Faculty of Traffic and Communications at the University of Sarajevo in 2006. Since 2007, he has been engaged at the Faculty of Traffic and Communications, Department of Postal and Telecommunication Traffic, teaching subjects such as “Marketing in Traffic,” “Economics,” and “Infrastructure of Postal Traffic” after being appointed as an assistant.
He defended his master’s thesis on February 14, 2011, titled “The Impact of Direct Marketing on Improving the Business of Telecommunication Operators in a Liberalized Market,” earning the title of Master of Technical Sciences in the field of transport and communication technologies. He defended his doctoral dissertation on February 10, 2016, titled “The Application of Business Intelligence in the Logistics Processes of Postal Operators” at the Faculty of Traffic and Communications at the University of Sarajevo.
Currently holding the position of Associate Professor, he teaches courses in the field of postal and logistics technologies, as well as subjects such as “Technological Marketing” and “Customer Relationship Management.” He is the author of books such as “Drones and Their Use in Logistics,” “Innovative Technologies in Traffic and Transportation Safety,” “Infrastructure of Postal Traffic,” and “Processes of Logistics Operators,” as well as over forty scientific and professional papers. He has participated in numerous domestic and international conferences, congresses, and symposia, and has been involved in several research projects and studies. He held the position of Vice Dean for Business and Development at the Faculty of Traffic and Communications at the University of Sarajevo starting from December 28, 2018, and assumed the position of Dean on November 20, 2019.
Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, was born on 16 August 1972 in Sarajevo, where he completed his primary and secondary education. In 1999 he graduated from the University of North Carolina, School of Media and Journalism, gaining a B.A. degree. In 2001 he completed his Master studies at the University of Columbia in New York, Master of International Affairs, majors: International Finance and Business, gaining the MIA degree. He lives in Sarajevo. He is married and has two children.
Matej Zakonjšek is an experienced government and private-sector leader dedicated to supporting the integration of Western Balkans’ transport markets into the European Union. He began his career as a diplomatic attaché at the permanent representation of Slovenia to the European Union, focusing on the enlargement process of the EU. During the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2008, his focus was the European Union’s relations with Asia and Oceania, including 27 countries and six regional organisations. Subsequently, Mr Zakonjšek joined the Embassy of Slovenia in London, where he worked on economic and trade cooperation between the United Kingdom and Slovenia. He also assisted the representative of Slovenia to the International Maritime Organization. In 2011, he ventured into the private sector as General Manager for the Indian multinational CKGS, initially based in London, overseeing the European region, and later in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he was responsible for the Middle East and North Africa markets. Returning to Slovenia in 2014, Mr Zakonjšek joined the Cabinet of Prime Minister Miro Cerar as a Foreign Trade and Cooperation Advisor. In 2015 he was appointed Head of Cabinet for the EU Commissioner for Transport. In this role, he led and organised the cabinet, supporting the Commissioner in formulating, communicating, and implementing EU transport policy. In December 2019, Mr Zakonjšek joined the European Commission’s Directorate for Mobility and Transport, focusing on the EU’s transport relations with the countries of the Western Balkans. Following a positive opinion from the Ministerial Council of the Transport Community, he was appointed the first Director of the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat on 6 July 2020. Based on the proposal of the European Commission and following the positive opinion of the Ministerial Council of the Transport Community, the Regional Steering Committee has decided to renew Mr Zakonjšek’s mandate for a period of three years, starting from August 2023.
Mirsad’s professional career started in Bosnia and Herzegovina where he was a software developer and IT administrator in companies ranging from defense to medical electronics. Dr. Hadzikadic joined the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA) in 1987 after receiving his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Southern Methodist University (USA) where he was a Fulbright Scholar. Mirsad also holds MS degrees in Computer Science from the University of Banjaluka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Harvard University (USA) in Public Administration. Mirsad has published three edited books and over 45 scientific papers published in journals and conference proceedings. His research activities have been primarily focused on machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science, cognitive science, health informatics, and complex adaptive systems. From 1991 to 1997, Mirsad served as the Director of the Department of Medical Informatics and the Department of Orthopedic Informatics at the Carolinas HealthCare System (Charlotte, NC, USA). In 1998, he joined Deloitte and Touche Consulting Group as Manager in the Health Systems Integration Service Line. Dr. Hadzikadic returned full time to the University in January 1999 to assume Chairmanship of the Department of Computer Science and serve as the Associate Director of the School of Information Technology. Mirsad helped to shepherd the transition from a school in the College of Engineering into an independent College of Computing and Informatics, and served as its Founding Dean. Until 2018 Mirsad served as the Founding Executive Director of the Data Science Initiative at UNC Charlotte. Mirsad is currently a professor with a joint appointment in the Software and Information Systems Department and the School of Data Science, as well as the Founding Director of the Complex Systems Institute at UNC Charlotte.
Namik Hrle is a Vice President of Development in IBM’s Software division and the Director of its development lab in Germany. He holds a title of IBM Fellow, the ultimate distinction of IBM technical career given to a small number of individuals who demonstrated the highest level of technical leadership, innovation, business impact, social eminence and talent building. He is a holder of 76 patents, numerous outstanding technical achievements, author recognition and corporate awards, Namik has a world-wide reputation as the ultimate expert in using data and AI for digital transformation and reinvention of enterprise applications. He is an international member of Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Eddie is a qualified engineer with a Ph.D. in electronic engineering. He is a business owner, entrepreneur, thought leader, mentor, philanthropist and global citizen. As a global ambassador for Bosnia & Herzegovina, he’s deeply committed to innovation and positive change, using engineering and entrepreneurship to empower individuals and boost local economies. He was an academic for over 15 years at La Trobe University, Australia and directed some of the most successful programs relating to student employability, including the Work Integrated Learning program that ranked engineering no.1 in the state for employability.
Currently, he is the director of Scientific Instruments Australia, an innovative company involved in the design of instrumentation & software for plant science, biotechnology and agriculture.
Together with his brother Resad, he founded Bosnia & Herzegovina Futures Foundation in 2015.
In 2022, he received the prestigious IEEE Theodore W. Hissey Outstanding Young Professional Award for his global leadership in technology development.
Elma Dervic is a Postdoc at the Complexity Science Hub. She completed her PhD at CSH and the Medical University of Vienna in January 2023. Elma holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Montenegro, which she earned in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Before joining CSH, Elma was a junior researcher at the First Center of Excellence (BIO-ICT) at the University of Montenegro. Additionally, she is a co-founder of BeeAnd.me, a venture-funded IoT startup that uses technology to help beekeepers and bees through data science. Elma is known as a 3-time “share positive impact” TEDx speaker. Elma’s research interests include machine learning, network science, and everything impactful related to data science. Currently, she is working with medical data on unraveling disease trajectories. Furthermore, she is working on trading data to analyze systemic risk in supply chains.
Meet Edin Mehic, the force behind Bloomteq, Bosnia’s aspiring tech leader. As Chief Strategy Officer, he’s redefining entrepreneurship with unmatched expertise. With over 25 years of experience, Edin is more than a serial entrepreneur and accomplished executive; he’s an angel investor and trusted advisor to top CEOs. His strategic vision and business acumen have propelled numerous successful ventures and guided fellow entrepreneurs towards success. But Edin’s influence doesn’t stop there. As a motivational speaker and guest lecturer, he inspires ambitious minds to chase their dreams. His captivating speeches resonate deeply, igniting the entrepreneurial fire within each listener. Key Achievements: * Founded Development Studio, later acquired by Daily Mail and General Trust. * Created MojPosao.ba, the region’s largest job board, leading to a multimillion-dollar exit. * Founded Ant Colony, a pioneering private startup studio with a portfolio of over 100 projects used by renowned companies worldwide. * Successfully invested in various startups and projects. In our current focus, we’re strategically leveraging organic growth, mergers, and acquisitions to position ourselves as one of the most successful IT companies in the region. As part of this strategy, the establishment of the Bloom AI Institute is pivotal. We aim to elevate our country and region to the forefront of the tech industry, similar to of past achievements with companies like Energoinvest.
Semir Ibrahimović completed his studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Sarajevo, earning a Dipl. El. Ing. degree, and later pursued his master’s and doctoral degrees in management at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director for Information Technology at BH Telecom. With over 25 years of experience in various areas of management and information system development, he has spent the majority of his career as an IT director in the financial sector. There, he worked on projects involving the implementation of core banking systems, electronic banking, mobile banking, business continuity planning, as well as projects in business analytics and machine learning. As a consultant, he has led projects in digital transformation, business process reengineering, IT team management optimization, business analysis, ERP system implementation, and information system implementation in public administration. In the early stages of his career, he worked in the field of systems engineering and holds one of the first ten Microsoft certifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina in this field (MCSE).
From 2006 to 2016, he was a member of the Department of Management and Information Systems at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, and as an external collaborator, he was appointed as a senior assistant. He taught courses in Business Informatics, Web Architectures, Database Management, Fundamentals of Programming, and Structures and Databases. For the past three years, he has been teaching in the postgraduate study program in Management Information Systems, where he covers Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and Microsoft Power Platform within the Business Information Systems course.
As a co-author, he has published three books on information system management with American publishers CRC Press and IGI Global. He is the author of several scientific articles published in ranked journals and presented at scientific conferences.
He is an active member of professional associations in the field of information systems, including the IEEE Computer Society, ACM (Association of Computer Machinery), and the Association of IT Managers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, CIO Club. He has participated as a jury member in the selection of the best IT manager in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was a member of the doctoral study council at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, representing the business community and students.
Nerma Šečić-Haračić is an accomplished electrical engineering expert with extensive experience in software development for information and telecommunication systems. She holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Sarajevo and has completed postgraduate studies in telecommunications.
Fluent in Bosnian and English, and proficient in Czech, with basic knowledge of Russian and German, she has over 21 years of professional experience, including 18 years in leadership roles. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Director at BS Telecom Solutions in Sarajevo.
Her career highlights include leading complex projects involving CRM and billing systems for telecom operators and utilities, designing and implementing IP and TDM telecommunication systems, and managing intelligent transportation systems. She is certified at the IPMA C-level in project management, demonstrating strong organizational and leadership skills.
Nerma’s technical expertise spans various programming technologies, telecommunication system architectures, and next-generation network solutions. She has successfully executed projects across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia, focusing on traffic management, telecommunication systems, and infrastructure development.
In addition to her professional achievements, Nerma has contributed to international conferences and published papers on topics related to IPTV services and IMS application layer management. Her work continues to impact the fields of telecommunications and intelligent transportation systems.
Kemal Kečo is currently Head of New Business for MENA region and B&H in Infobip, global cloud communications platform provider. He holds a master’s degree in Islamic Banking and Finance from Bolton University in UK and School of Economics and Business at University of Sarajevo. During the 10 years of experience in Infobip, he witnessed development of cloud communication industry across MENA region, leading the efforts of establishment of Infobip presence across the region in countries like UAE; Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During that time, he also led various projects of digital transformation in a segment of B2C communications within different industries; most notable ones being in Banking and Finance, Retail, eCommerce and Transportation and Logistics. He has acquired extensive experience in international business development, leadership, change management and sales which allowed him to develop a deep understanding of diverse markets and cultures.