At the 27th Regular Annual General Assembly, members of AmCham Slovenia elected new leadership. The new President, with a two-year mandate, is Beno Ceglar, an internationally recognized manager, CEO of NIL Slovenia.
Both presidential candidates, Beno Ceglar (NIL) and Borut Čeh (Labena), emphasized in their presentations the importance of cooperation and openness, and advocated for close dialogue to create more opportunities in Slovenia. They see AmCham Slovenia as a business community of opportunities, built on ambition and a culture of dialogue.
Upon his election, Beno Ceglar emphasized the importance of innovation and courage in times of constant change, noting that the business community must always be bold enough to successfully navigate the challenges of the future. He concluded with the thought: “Because I believe in Slovenia, and because all of us here believe in it, I look to the future with great optimism.”
At the General Assembly, new members of the Board of Governors were also elected: Marta Bulhak, Pivovarna Laško Union; Nevenka Črešnar Pergar, NP Consulting; Mohamed Hammam, Pfizer, and Branko Žibret, Kearney. Samo Kumar, Bankart, was re-elected. The newly elected members will join the existing Board of Governors: Tomislav Čizmić, Telemach Slovenija; Luka Podlogar, NLB Skladi; Matjaž Ulčar, CERHA HEMPEL Ulčar in partnerji; Alenka Mejač Krassnig, Visa Slovenija; Gregory Meier, U.S. Embassy; Jure Kocman, Roche, AmCham Top potencial leta 2025, and Ajša Vodnik, AmCham Slovenija.
The Assembly was also attended by Brian Greaney, the new Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy, who arrived in Slovenia this August as the Ambassador’s Deputy Chief of Mission. At his first meeting with the business community, he highlighted the importance of AmCham Slovenia’s work and the strong economic ties between the United States and Slovenia, which drive innovation, investment, and growth in both countries.
Ajša Vodnik, MsC, CEO of AmCham Slovenia and Chair of AmChams in Europe, emphasized on this occasion:
On September 9, 1999—exactly 26 years ago—AmCham Slovenia was founded with one purpose: to help shape a better business and living environment, and to strengthen transatlantic ties. Much has changed, but our mission and values remain strong and even more meaningful today.
Vida Dolenc Pogačnik, COO and Director of International Cooperation, who chaired the Assembly, thanked the members: »Since AmCham Slovenia is entirely funded by its members, thank you for all your trust and support. Without you, none of what we do would be possible.«
Mojka Mišič, MsC, presented the work of one of AmCham’s four pillars – advocacy – and outlined five key topics for the coming year: health, knowledge and people, international competitiveness, welfare society, and resilience and responsibility. She stressed that special focus will be placed on the latter, as »we believe we must be resilient enough to survive the present, while also being responsible for the future.« She also highlighted the importance of the initiative “I am a Teacher!”, which showcases best practices of Slovenian teachers and helps raise recognition of the teaching profession. The initiative has been running for eight years, featuring more than 130 inspiring stories and awarding five Teachers of the Year, each competing for the prestigious Global Teacher Prize. This year, the title contender will be Teacher of the Year 2025, Milan Mandeljc from Rudolf Maister High School, Kamnik.
Gregor Hočevar, Membership Manager, added that despite challenges, the AmCham Slovenia business community grew in the past year, noting: »What matters most is that our members are committed supporters of the values of ambition, trust, cooperation, optimism, and integrity – and they allow us to bring these values to life through our work.«
AmCham Slovenia – Looking Ahead with AmCham YOUng and International Cooperation
At the Assembly, an overview of AmCham Slovenia’s activities over the past year was also presented. More than 100 events were organized, addressing key challenges and opportunities in the business environment.
The AmCham YOUng platform, now uniting more than 2,500 young business leaders, enabled career development of young professionals through four programs and numerous events. At its core remains AmCham Young Professionals™, which welcomed its 16th generation this year.
On the international stage, AmCham Slovenia continued strong cooperation with U.S. partners. In cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, we launched a new platform this year to support companies in Slovenia entering and investing in the U.S. market (USA Navigator), as well as a working group to strengthen U.S. investments in Slovenia (USA-Slovenia Business CoLab). With the support of SPIRIT Slovenia and other partners, we carried out successful business delegations to the United States. In cooperation with the Slovene Enterprise Fund, we successfully organized a five-day business visit to Austin, one of the world’s leading technology and entrepreneurship hubs, as part of the Startup Overseas 2024 program.
