Changes are coming - EBAN Winter University 2016

Just before one of the largest business conferences "EBAN Winter University 2016" held this week in Zagreb, we talked to Davorin Štetner, the first man of CRANE, who says that it is time to change attitudes towards entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.

As for the conference, he emphasizes that the aim is to connect people and open us to the modern world.

The conference you have organized aroused much attention. Does this mean that the entrepreneurial climate and attitude towards entrepreneurs are finally changing?

I'm glad to hear that the interest is high. Usually business conferences do not cause broader public interest, but we must have scored by throwing in a dose of glamor and celebrities. The primary mission I'm led by is to finally change the negative attitude towards entrepreneurs and to adopt modern business forms and frameworks. The problems in business are more and more talked about and I must tell you that things are very easy to change even though politicians always justify that the changes are impossible because of this and that. Political will is a key element of the changes and I'm glad that the reactionary rhetoric of political leaders is replaced by moderate positions faced toward the economy.

What do you expect from the conference - from the teachers, the atmosphere, what is the ultimate goal?

The goal is to connect people and open us to the modern world. People in Croatia are still afraid of challenges, but I believe they will think differently when they hear the experiences of the world's greatest entrepreneurs. At this conference, we will bring together crème de la crème of the European and international business and this is the opportunity for them to soak in a part of these experiences. Already now, I can tell you that some important agreements and contracts will be concluded resulting from this conference.

How did you manage to bring such interesting speakers?

Acquaintances are everything. The arrival of most lecturers is part of a wider networking. Case in point, I met the director of Bloomberg Tom Tyler recently at a panel London, Allyson Reneau - superwoman from NASA, Senator Begich, and excellent New York startup lawyer Viskovic at a conference of our club Croatian American Professionals this year in Washington, and Candace Johnson, Riku Asikainen and others I know from EBAN. It is always important to make contact and maintain good relations, and the fact that most of them came for free speaks volumes about the support CRANE enjoys in the world!

Do you plan to continue with such conferences?

For now, no. We have put more than 500% into this event and I honestly cannot wait for it to be over. However, as I have shown a lot of times - never say never! What is most important to me is that in preparing this conference we have had a really strong support of the President Grabar-Kitarović, mayor Bandić and other important partners without whom we would not be able to do everything at this level. This is proof that the result is inevitable when the institutions support private businesses.