AI2FUTURE 2025

Kristijan is a technology visionary, entrepreneur, and AI enthusiast with over 20 years of experience bridging business, design, and software development. He began coding in the early 80s on a ZX Spectrum 48K and has since led enterprise projects in Drupal, marketing automation, and AI-augmented development.

As CEO of Web Solutions, he built one of Croatia’s leading Drupal agencies serving clients worldwide. Through Vybrid.ai, Kristijan pioneers vibe coding — a new approach to product development that blends human creativity with AI tools to drastically shorten time-to-market.

A father of nine, devoted Catholic, and passionate photographer, Kristijan believes that technology should empower people and creativity, not replace them.

Desislava Sarbinovska is the co-founder of Service Design Digital, an international agency specializing in service design, digital transformation, and responsible AI. She works with global organizations to create human-centered innovations that drive both business and social impact.

With 15 years of experience in the IT industry and a strong background in financial services, education, and digital innovation, Desislava blends strategic leadership with deep design expertise. She holds an Executive MBA from IEDC-Bled School of Management (Slovenia) and a specialization in Service Design for Innovation from IED Design School (Barcelona).

Presentation: AI Needs Designers: Why Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Is the Missing Link in Responsible AI

Stefan Martinić is an attorney with years of experience in leading Zagreb law firms, specializing in corporate law, European Union law, and technology law (including GDPR, artificial intelligence, intellectual property, etc.). He has held all positions—from trainee to partner—before establishing his own law office.

He gained his education and experience at some of the world's leading institutions: he earned an LL.M. from the London School of Economics (EU Law & Tech Law) and Harvard Law School (Cyberlaw), participated in an exchange program at Université Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, obtained the CIPP/E certification and an AI certification from Saïd Business School (Oxford), and completed internships at the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Parliament.

He is a member of the working group of the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Croatia for drafting the national law implementing the AI Act.

Head of Press and Media Andrea Čović Vidović has over 15 years of professional experience in EU affairs, diplomacy, communication, management and mentoring. Since July 2022 she has been Head of Media at the European Commission in Croatia and Deputy Head of Commission Representation since February 2023, with the role of Acting Head of Representation since 1 July 2023. She was in charge of public relations for the European Parliament in Croatia since its inauguration in February 2013 until July 2022. She worked at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs as a diplomat on Croatia's EU membership negotiations and as EU policies lecturer. Thereafter she headed EU sectors at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy.

During her studies, she was a freelancer on international cultural projects at the Institute for International Relations and Development in Zagreb, before being recruited as regional coordinator of international ICT projects for UNIQA insurance. She holds a Master's degree in contemporary European Studies from the Sussex University in the UK, as well as in German and English Studies from the University of Zagreb. She studied International Relations and German Studies at the Technical University of Dresden and conducted her PhD research in Comparative Politics at the University of Zagreb and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Relations in Washington DC.

She is alumna of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the US Fulbright Programme and the British Chevening Programme. A volunteer in several non-profit organisations, she is the author of projects 'Women in the Lead' for the Academy for Political Development and 'AI in PR: Educating the Next Generation of Communicators' for the Croatian Public Relations Association.

Martina Dragičević, MA, MBA is Director of the Regulatory Affairs and EU Funds Department at A1 Croatia, with more than 20 years of experience in the electronic communications sector and related industries. She graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb, obtained a Master's degree in EU Competition Law from King's College London, and earned an MBA in General Finance from the Swiss School of Business Management (SSBM).

At A1 Croatia, she leads a team responsible for sector-specific and competition regulation, supporting business operations across wholesale and retail electronic communications markets, the energy sector, cybersecurity, and digital and media services, as well as contributing to the implementation of the company's ESG strategy. Her work also includes ensuring the effective use of EU funds to advance business processes and strategic objectives, alongside maintaining strong communication with public institutions at both the national and EU level.

Martina is actively engaged in industry working groups such as the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), the Croatian Chamber of Economy, AmCham, FIC, and the XEnergy Association. Within HUP, she chairs the Working Group for Telecommunications and Connectivity, serves as Vice-Chair of the ICT Executive Board, and leads the Cybersecurity Coordination.

Marko Đuričić is a legal counsel with extensive experience in various fields of law, gained through his work as an Attorney at Law and as an In-House Legal Counsel. He is actively engaged in legal counselling in the field of technology, with a particular focus on intellectual property, AI regulation, data protection and privacy. Currently serves as a Senior Legal and Data Protection Counsel at Visage Technologies and also operates as an external tech compliance consultant. Through his work, he helps identify and manage legal and business risks by providing concrete, tailored solutions that promote a culture of compliance and ethical business.

Klemen Rizman is the head of the R&D department at CREAPLUS, where they develop custom data and AI solutions for companies. He has been working with machine learning methods and their application to business processes for the past 10 years.

Zlatko Matokanović is the Director of AI R&D at Q agency, with a strong background in software development — from developer, to mobile team lead, to Director of Frontend Engineering.

He has worked on digital product development across various environments — from startups to large software agencies — giving him a broad perspective on development processes and team dynamics.

Today, he leads Q's internal AI transformation, integrating artificial intelligence into all aspects of development and business operations, while simultaneously working on advanced AI solutions for clients.

His focus is also on standardizing AI-driven development to achieve speed, quality, and stability - without compromise.

Tomislav Bronzin is the founder and director of the IT company CITUS, an innovator and visionary. He has more than 25 years of experience in managing projects and creating innovative products, for which he and his team won over 100 international awards for innovation in IT, six patents, and numerous others. He is an expert in strategic IT consulting, specializing in using new and advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR), cloud computing, big data, and analytics. Tomislav holds the honorary title of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and is one of the few with the title of Microsoft Regional Director.

He is the author of numerous professional and scientific works in information technologies, especially on software design and development, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, innovation, project and risk management, and entrepreneurship. He is a regular lecturer at IT conferences, a senior lecturer at Algebra University, an invited lecturer at other higher education institutions, and a mentor to many individuals and teams.

Tomislav is the vice president of the Association for IT of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Directors of the IT Association of the Croatian Association of Employers, the president of the Association of Innovators of Entrepreneurs at the Association of Innovators of Zagreb, a member of the Thematic Innovation Council for Security within the Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) of the Republic of Croatia, and a member of the working group for ASOO curriculum – Agency for Vocational Education and Adult Education. He is a member of the National Council for Digital Transformation of the Republic of Croatia.

Nino Požar is an experienced data scientist specializing in the application of data and artificial intelligence in the development of automated, end-to-end solutions that enhance business processes. His extensive experience covers data science, machine learning, software engineering, and product management, and through his work he develops AI products that increase efficiency, productivity, and profitability across various industries.

His expertise includes classical ML models, process optimization algorithms, recommendation systems, BI tools, as well as working with GenAI and RAG technologies. In his daily work he uses tools such as Python, SQL, Databricks, Power BI, the Django framework, and Azure Cloud, and he is also known for his excellent communication with clients and teams.

Ena Aničić is machine learning engineer at Atomic Intelligence. She holds bachelor's degrees in mathematics and a master's degrees in mathematical statistics from the University of Zagreb. She works on a variety of projects in AI, some of which are music source separation, document layout analysis and synthetic data generation for medical applications. Her work involves both research and generation of novel ideas and solutions, as well as engineering and efficient implementation of her results. Ena is also actively engaged in the AI community, regularly participating in conferences and events to stay at the forefront of trends and advancements in the field.

Presentation: Unlocking LLM Potential for Text-to-SQL

Andrzej Marosek is an Enterprise Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, specializing in generative AI, security architecture, and cloud transformation. He helps enterprises across Central and Eastern Europe design secure, scalable, and intelligent cloud solutions, leveraging services such as Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker, and Polly to drive innovation. His experience spans cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise architecture, having worked at organizations including Capgemini, BNP Paribas, ASSA ABLOY, and AWS. Passionate about sharing knowledge, Andrzej regularly leads workshops, builds AI-driven tools, and publishes insights on AI and cloud strategy at marosek.cloud.

I am the CEO and co-founder of Optibiomics, a health-tech startup bridging microbiome science and AI. I hold a PhD in gut microbiota and have extensive experience in systems biology and personalized nutrition. My mission is to bring microbiome insights into preventive healthcare through AI-powered solutions.

Igor Mijić is a senior engineer and lecturer with an almost 10 year background in various applications of deep learning, like speech processing, computer vision and natural language processing. Currently he's focused on providing the best AI powered financial tools to small and medium businesses. Throughout his career he had a special interest in Affective Computing, e.g., the interplay of human emotions and computers, while in his engineering work he's passionate about dockerizing all the developmental components of the models he develops and deploys.

Mihael Španović is Head of Engineering at Protostar Labs, leading ML/AI development across BioTech, industrial vision, and space sector. He specializes in model engineering, pipeline automation, and cloud/on-prem deployment. Mihael previously conducted robotics research at the University of New Mexico and is pursuing an M.Sc. in AI at Johannes Kepler Universität Linz. In his spare time, he’s an avid competitor who participates in ML competitions.

Mislav Ćaleta is an R&D engineer at a hydrographic processing company, Hidrocibalae. Having a masters in computing, he bridges the gap between computing and hydrography. His work mostly focuses on the development of automated hydrographic processing solutions, which aim to increase the efficiency of conventional data processing workflows and aid data processors in their work. These tools often range from simple data processing tools to complex all-in-one frameworks. Reflecting his professional work, his ongoing p.h.d focuses on brining together the world of geospatial data and computer science.

Nebojša Popović is Project Manager for Product Development in Intesa Sanpaolo's International Banks Division, where he oversees large-scale digital-banking and transformation programmes across seven European subsidiaries. With 15 years of experience in financial-technology project governance, he has held roles as Chief IT Auditor at Privredna Banka Zagreb and Product Manager at the travel-tech firm Lemax. Nebojsa earned a Master of Engineering in Computer Science & Electrical Engineering from the University of Zagreb and holds ITIL and Project-Management Specialist certifications. His expertise spans digital-channel delivery, service management, and identity & access solutions. Based in Zagreb, he regularly collaborates with multicultural teams and speaks at regional fintech events.

Domagoj Kovač is a Business Development Manager with a strong technical background. In the first half of his career, he specialized in software development, gaining hands-on expertise in building various software solutions. Today, he leverages that technical background to drive business growth, focusing on strategy, partnerships, and innovation.

Currently, Domagoj leads partnership development with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and n8n, enabling joint go-to-market initiatives, and creating value for clients through cloud and automation solutions.

Jakob is a Senior Consultant at Solvership with a strong background in software development and a Master’s degree in Process Computing from FERIT Osijek. His work focuses on creating and managing data pipelines, Kubernetes clusters, and cloud services. With a passion for automation and practical, results-oriented solutions, he strives to make complex systems reliable, efficient, and easy to manage.