Iztok was appointed to the position as the Managing Director at the Slovenian Spas Association (SSA) 17 years ago, after he spent almost 25 years in the tourism business. He finished his active work at the end of April. Before this position, he was CEO of Globtour, one of the leading Slovenian Tour Operators at that time. He also spent several years in the Slovenian Tourist Board holding the position as the Manager of Sales and Marketing. He founded the Slovenian Incoming Workshop in 1997, still today recognized as the leading tourism Incoming event in Slovenia.
Iztok established strong connections to the Spa, Health and Wellness industry in the Region, holding and running many presentations and events. He is a regular speaker at various conferences and other Health and Wellness events. During the 60th celebration of the SSA, Iztok organized an European Conference – ENSPA (European Natural Spa & Wellness Conference) that gathered the world leading Associations in the field of Balneology, Hydrology, Spa and Wellness business, as FEMTEC, ESPA, ISMH, OMTH and the prestigious GWI (Global Wellness Institute). He was recently also apinted as the Co-chair of the Hot Spring Initiative within the GWI.
During Iztok’s work, The Slovenian Spas Association joined ESPA (European Spas Association) where he is responsible for Communication & Marketing activities. One of the most important projects that he established and is running for the 16th year now, is the B2B event called “SPA-CE Experience” – Specialized Workshop and Meeting place of Spa & Wellness Industry. It’s the first and only business event of its kind in Central Europe. Since the organisation of the ESPA Congress in Slovenia in October 2020, the SPA-CE Workshop became part of the annual ESPA Congress joint with the ESPA Innovation Award.

Branko Petrović is the founder and CEO of the ACX+ platform, one of the regional leaders in the crypto industry, particularly in the application of cryptocurrencies in business and investment. He entered the world of cryptocurrencies as a cybersecurity expert with a background in law enforcement.

Back in 2007, while still in high school, Branko began working as a freelancer developing websites. He later enrolled at the Higher School of Internal Affairs in Banja Luka, now the Faculty of Security Studies at the University of Banja Luka. He also completed the Police Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska as one of the top cadets, beginning his career as a police officer.

After several years, he left the police force and joined a software company in Banja Luka as a cloud engineer, later transitioning to a managerial position. From there, he moved into the role of cybersecurity officer in another company and fully dedicated himself to the field of cybersecurity. Through prestigious certifications and market-proven expertise, Branko built a reputation as a recognized specialist, as demonstrated by his work on UNDP, EU in BiH, and other projects where he conducted training for nearly all law enforcement agencies in BiH, the Ministry of Security, and other institutions.

Branko founded ACX – Adriatic Crypto Exchange, a cryptocurrency platform introducing innovation to the regional market. In 2024, ACX secured a $3.2 million investment from the U.S. company Modulus Global, establishing ACX as one of the regional crypto market leaders. With further development, ACX began implementing new features such as enabling users to access crypto debit cards, conduct international transactions within seconds 24/7 regardless of amount, company tokenization, and many other services—ushering in a new era for the domestic financial sector.

ACX also became the first tokenized company on the domestic market, with the aim of expanding into new markets like the EU—an effort realized through the acquisition of a Slovenian crypto company.

Branislava Simanić has served as Director of the Entrepreneurship Sector (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurs) at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia since March 2017. Prior to that, from 2015 to 2017, she held the position of Secretary for Entrepreneurship at the same institution.

She was born in Belgrade, where she completed the IX Belgrade Gymnasium (mathematics track) and graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade. She speaks English, German, and Spanish.

Simanić is a member of various working bodies and advisory councils, where she contributes her experience to the development of entrepreneurship. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including:

• “Most European Woman” for outstanding efforts in the field of entrepreneurship;
• Recognition from His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia for her contributions to the economy, diaspora relations, and support for the Holy Mother Church (February 2020);
• Award from the Bar Association for her contribution to the development of women’s and youth entrepreneurship in the Republic of Serbia;
• “Top Woman of the 21st Century” for contributions to the development of SMEs and entrepreneurship in Serbia;
• “Lady of the Year” for contributions to the development of SMEs and entrepreneurship in Serbia;
• “Woman Leader” for her contributions to the development of SMEs and entrepreneurship in Serbia.

Graduated in economics, specialist in foreign trade, PhD on the subject of free zones. For the past 20 years, he worked in the field of free zones and held the positions of marketing director and assistant director of the free zone Pirot, member of the Executive Board of the world federation of free zones FEMOZA, currently employed in the Pirot Chamber of Economy and the company Drumovi A&D in Pirot, where he leads development projects.

He is a member of the management board of the Pirot Chamber of Economy, Co-President of the Bulgarian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Organizing board of eight scientific conferences “Regional Development and Cross-Border Cooperation” and two “Age of Digital Transformation” conferences.

Studying free zones, he visited more than 300 of them in 119 countries. He received his doctorate on the topic ” The new direction of the free zones development in Serbia in the the role of economic growth and improvement of the investment climate”.

He is the author of more than 40 scientific papers on the subject of free zones and was actively involved in the formation of more than 20 free zones. He participated in more than 300 conferences on free zones and was a speaker at more than 50 of them. He speaks Serbian, English, Russian and Bulgarian languages.

Andrés Ibarra is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Araujo Ibarra International Business Consultants, a leading firm in international business advisory. Additionally, he serves as the Director of IR Family Office, an organization dedicated to developing comprehensive solutions to optimize Family Office business models and their enterprise management systems.

He actively works with various global organizations, promoting the empowerment and integration of business families and Family Offices. Among these, he collaborates with Family Office Exchange (FOX), a leading organization in the Family Office sector worldwide.

Currently, he holds the position of Executive Vice President of the alliance with the World Trade Center Association (WTCA) – Araújo Ibarra “Free Zones Go Global”, where he leads efforts to internationalize free zones and strengthen strategic connections between WTCs, free zones, and special economic zones (SEZs) around the world.

Dimovski is a PhD with experience in various institutions and companies, as well as in the implementation of investment projects financed by international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the German Development Bank KfW.
His long-standing work experience includes engagements in institutions and companies such as OSCE-ODIHR, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the National Park “Mavrovo”, the Public Procurement Council of Macedonia, the Public Transport Company Skopje, Pelagonija AD Gostivar, the Ministry of Finance with projects for improving municipal services (MSIP and MSIP2) funded by the World Bank, and the Council of the Municipality of Gostivar.
Additionally, Dimovski has experience in implementing investment projects financed by various international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the German Development Bank KfW.