Inventing
Tomorrow
No.7
From the Editor
Inventing Tomorrow
The New Adria Power List
Ten Visionaries Born in Adria. Their Work Now Touches Millions. This Is Who’s Rewriting the Rules.
WHAT DEFINES A TRUE INNOVATOR IN 2025? It’s not just capital raised, patents filed, or lines of code written. It’s the ability to scale ideas that change how...
Milk, Markets & Measures
Across the Adria region, the dairy trade is no longer flowing smoothly. In just a few weeks, a patchwork of bans, tightened controls, and shifting market dynamics has emerged, redrawing the rules of a once-integrated sector. Serbia has halted milk imports. Croatia is...
Vanja Mugoša, Managing Partner at JMV
JMV Legal Legacy Modern Mission
Known for its deep-rooted legal expertise, active role in shaping regulatory reforms, and strategic counsel to both domestic and international clients, JMV has long stood at the intersection of tradition and transformation. This year, the firm marks 41 years of legal excellence— a...
Europe Is Watching: Can the Western Balkans Deliver as One?
Regional economic cooperation in the Western Balkans has long been praised and prepared — but less often practiced.
Politicians routinely endorse it as a key to growth and EU integration, yet connectivity remains poor, markets fragmented, and trust fragile.
The numbers don’t lie. The...
Adria & the World
Japan & Adria
H.E. Wada Mitsuhiro, Ambassador of Japan in Croatia
From Tokyo to the Adria
As Japan deepens its footprint in Croatia and the wider Adria region, Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro speaks on trade, innovation, and trust in uncertain times.
Japan may be thousands of kilometres from Croatia, but as Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro explains, the two countries are closer than...
Gordan Tomac, Director of Shimadzu d.o.o. Croatia
Shimadzu’s Adria Blueprint
Its regional operations deliver cutting-edge medical and analytical technologies to sectors ranging from healthcare and pharmaceuticals to environmental monitoring and academia.
Gordan Tomac, Director of Shimadzu d.o.o. Croatia, shares how the company’s vision, local leadership, and long-term commitment have shaped its role as a...
Seiko Epson Corporation
How Epson Prints the Future
Epson (Seiko Epson Corporation) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in printing, visual communications, industrial automation, and digital processing.
Renowned for the quality of its products, commitment to innovation, and dedication to sustainability, Epson is synonymous with precision, durability, and trust. From...
Viktorija Zadro-Huml, General Manager at Takeda in Croatia, Slovenia, and BiH
Takeda Builds Trust
Drawing on Takeda’s 240-year Japanese heritage, she works to align global expertise with local needs — championing access to treatment, cross-sector collaboration, and patient-first solutions throughout the Adria region.
This year marks more than two decades of Takeda’s presence in Croatia — a milestone...
Roundtable
Is Adria Ready for Premium Tourism 3.0?
There’s a quiet shift underway in the Adria region. The yachts still dock, the villas still shine, and the menus still boast truffles — but behind the polished welcome, a deeper question is emerging: what does luxury mean today, and can we truly...
Architecture
ZAHA HADID Returns to the Region
From the curves of Dubai to the future home of Nikola Tesla’s legacy, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) are shaping a new architectural language across the Adria.
In January 2025, it was announced that ZHA had won the international competition to design the new Nikola...
Artificial Intelligence
Slovenia’s AI Leap: Building the Future
With one of Europe’s fastest supercomputers and a UNESCO-backed AI research hub, Slovenia is stepping onto the global stage with a bold message: ethical innovation can come from small places.
At first glance, Slovenia’s AI revolution seems improbable. With just over two million people...
Connectivity
Building Corridors 8 & 10d
Major Transport Projects Are Reshaping Regional Connectivity, With Corridor VIII And Corridor 10d At The Forefront Of The Western Balkans’ Infrastructure Transformation
Across the Western Balkans, a quiet transformation is underway— one measured not in headlines, but in highways, rail tunnels, and construction cranes....
Renewables
The Wind Is Changing
With €500 million in investment, North Macedonia is betting on renewables — and regional influence
North Macedonia is making headlines — not for political discord or regional debates, but for wind. The construction of what will be the country’s largest wind farm, backed by...
Luxury & Identity
Maja Bručić, CEO of Lotus Group
LAD 1 Studio – Lotus Architecti
With a bold vision rooted in innovation, sustainability, and contextdriven design, she speaks to The Region about transforming spaces into experiences — and why staying present from concept to completion is key to building a better future.
You’ve led Lotus Architecti and LAD 1...
Tijana Stanimirović, Director Magioni
The Silent Value of Gold
Born into a family of master craftsmen, she transforms heirloom tradition into conceptual elegance, creating pieces that carry memory, meaning, and spirit. In this interview, she speaks to The Region about storytelling through metals, honouring roots, and why true luxury resonates even in...
Crowne Plaza Belgrade: Where Business and Hospitality Meet with Class
As part of the prestigious IHG group, this hotel has long been the first choice for business travellers, international delegations, and corporate partners from the region and around the world.
The hotel features 416 modern rooms and suites, including newly renovated units that reflect...
Berina Bajrović, CEO of Europe Group
Redefining Luxury From Sarajevo
As CEO of Europe Group, Berina Bajrović oversees some of Sarajevo’s most iconic hotels — and she’s not stopping there. Her newest project, Europe Square, is among the most ambitious urban investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a 50,000-square-metre destination blending hospitality, culture, luxury...
Tourism
5 Must-Experience Sailing Routes in the Adria This Summer
Sunlight on the sails. Islands on the horizon. Welcome to the summer of freedom
Few places rival the Adria when it comes to sailing — a coastline etched with elegance, wilderness, and centuries of seafaring history. With crystal waters, tuckedaway coves, and a breeze...
Big Question
Big Question
What’s One Risk Worth Taking in the Adria Region Today?
In a region balancing tradition with transformation, the real question for forward-looking businesses is not whether to take risks — but which ones. As innovation gathers pace and digital capabilities expand, the decision to act boldly can define a company’s future. We asked...
Borderless
Nova Gorica–Gorizia: Where Culture Rewrites the Map
In 2025, two cities once divided by barbed wire are celebrating a shared future — united through art, memory, and imagination
At the edge of the European Union, where Slovenia brushes against Italy, two cities are doing something remarkable — they’re not just cooperating...
The Other Side of Progress
In Season
Festival Radar
From mountaintop orchestras to seaside raves, summer in the Adria region means one thing: festivals everywhere. Between July and September, the region transforms into a cultural circuit of music, film, theatre, and tradition — inviting travellers to dance, reflect, and connect.
MUSICEXIT Festival –...
Aleksandar Perišić, Comedian, Writer, Balkan Bureaucracy Survivor
How to Solve a Problem the Balkan Way (Hint: Don’t)
ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE BALKANS — at least that’s what you’ll hear from every local, especially those who’ve never travelled anywhere else. But if you do find yourself on one of those roads, and by some twist of fate you land in...
