Executive coaching provides benefits for both individuals and companies. It involves regular sessions between a coach and coachee to help improve leadership skills and performance. Coaching helps executives better understand their strengths and weaknesses, develop strategies to overcome challenges, and achieve business goals. It leads to benefits like increased self-awareness, improved decision-making, and enhanced leadership abilities. Coaching is becoming increasingly popular in Serbia as a way for companies to develop their managers and get the most from their talent.

1. Executive Newswire
Stanton Chase Belgrade September 2012
EDITOR’S LETTER
In this issue:
Milos Tucakovic
Managing Director
Stanton Chase Belgrade
Dear readers, Serbian businessmen Pg.2
We have established this electronic – Vaso Lekic –
journal without great pretensions, but
Banking sector in Serbia Pg.4
with the desire to promote Serbian
econom y an d business w orld.
Recycling of electrical Pg.6
Cooperation with our friends and new
tendencies in the market will help us to and electronic waste
introduce something fresh and interesting
Executive Coaching Pg.8
quarterly. Your suggestions and ideas are
welcome. E-mail us, call us to share
impressions and work together on Professional networking Pg.10
creating our NEWSWIRE. – LinkedIn –
I wish you an interesting reading!
Stanton Chase Belgrade Pg.11
belgrade@stantonchase.com
Editions

2. Executive Newswire
SERBIAN BUSINESSMEN – VASO LEKIC, Owner of
Foodland Company
Interviewed by Milos Tucakovic
Company Foodland was founded in 1998. with central office in Belgrade and it
employs more than 190 people. Today Foodland presents stable and flexible company,
which is consumer oriented and with tendency of steady growth (puts consumer in center
of its activities). During the years, Foodland became Serbian brand which is well-known to
consumers in more than 25 countries ( ex YU, Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia,
Sweden, Holland, Germany, France, Austria, Great Britain, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia,
USA, Canada ) and it offers blend of contemporary and traditional food products to its
demanding customers. Company is a synonym for top quality – with the slogan “Best from
Vaso Lekic the nature”. We talked with the owner of the company, Mr. Vaso Lekic.
Where is Serbia in the production of healthy food compared to the EU?
First of all, we should bear in mind the characteristics of Serbia in the agricultural terms. 45% of the
population lives in rural areas, the average farm size is about 3 acres, 50% of the land is rough, and the site
is not damaged by pesticides and fertilizers and it is very good in quality, so the potential for production of
healthy food is great. Unfortunately we have very few manufacturers. According to some studies in the EU,
30% of the population in Serbia has the perception that they eat organic food, but unfortunately Serbian
people do not distinguish between healthy and organic food. The concept of organic food in our country is not
clearly defined. Serbian peasant, agriculturist, stock farmer, fruit grower or winegrower, should focus more on
healthy food of higher quality, primarily due to favorable natural and climatic characteristics. In this situation
we have an advantage from the begging because the quality of such raw materials is greater, compared to
the raw materials from other countries, in which era of industrialization is present and affects badly food
quality. Also, such raw material base is an excellent basis for cooperation with manufacturers of food that
would offer great quality of products in the international market. It is inevitable that in such circumstances,
price of land increases in our country. This raises the question of strategy, which has a goal to prevent people
from leaving the villages, especially nowadays when unemployment is high and opportunities for work in the
countryside are many. It is necessary to work on the branding of the quality of our country, which also means
branding products that are produced in Serbia. Serbia is now exporting raw materials, but is clear that we
should focus on exporting finished products. The state should stimulate the export of the finished products
from Serbia, because it is clear that one dinar invested comes back into the budget as three. Production of
food and renewable energy is the future. Nature has provided us great potential, over 20% of GDP comes
from the agricultural economy, but on the other side, state invests only 2% in agriculture. As a country we
have a surplus only in this area, but the imbalance is obvious. Solid agricultural strategy that will show which
factors make profit for agriculture, is inevitable. For example, in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, 10-15% of
revenues in the production of food comes from organic food, and in Serbia it is below one percent.
What is the strategy of companies involved in food production in Serbia?
There is no strategy. With a clear agriculture policy and constant support of primary agricultural producers,
processors and exporters of finished products Serbia may become competitive. By food production we
support the primary agricultural producer and create connected chain that guarantees prosperity for all.
Serbia can and must produce high quality food, because it has the potential to do so.
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3. Stanton Chase Belgrade
What is the Serbia ability to export and comparative advantages, if any, in relation to foreign
producers?
This is again a question of strategy, which wasn’t encouraged enough by our country. Our competitiveness is
low compared to other countries such as Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria. We have no access to significant funds
and developed agricultural policies. Entering a new foreign market costs company about half a million. That is
a great investment. Also, the state needs to encourage primary producers to build large warehouses, which
enables selling goods when it reaches the highest price. The best example is the regulation from 2007. which
encouraged agricultural holdings by giving them 40% of the grant for the purchase of equipment and
construction of storages. Due to this regulation, Serbia became a major exporter of apples, because these
funds were invested in construction of ultra low oxygen refrigerators that allow the storage of apples
throughout the year and export when the best price is achieved. Unfortunately, this regulation is no longer in
force. This is an example which should be followed for other agricultures. Just wise
public regulations will promote Serbia in the world. It must be a constant process that
does not change depending on who is in power. If we are talking about products
GRANNY’S SECRET , these are premium quality products for which there is a great
demand overseas. We are trying in every way to improve the quality of our products
and we have recently introduced a system of cooking at low temperatures, which enables significant increase
in the nutritional value of products. Our raw material base, due to climatic conditions, is excellent. We are
adaptable to global trends and have the "know-how".
How did you decide to start the project Foodland?
I have lived in Greece for few years. When I came back, as I studied healthy eating the whole life, I was
thinking about benefits of the Mediterranean diet. I realized that there is space for such thing in Serbia. We
started with the import of olives and other raw materials, and then in 1999.we launched our own production of
the brand Amffisa. We imported raw materials and processed them. Realizing that we're going in the right
direction, we started with the development of raw materials from Serbia. Our area offers an excellent
combination of organic acids in fruits. In 2003. we began with brand GRANNY’S SECRET and now it is our
biggest asset and export potential.
What is the secret of GRANNY’S SECRET ?
GRANNY’S SECRET found its place, an empty space on the world market. We have
understood "red ocean" scenario with many sharks, small margins, just to spare,
overproduction, and then we developed the "blue ocean" strategy and found calm
seas and good water in which we now sail. We have a premium product with high
quality, authentic traditional recipes with exceptional nutritional value. GRANNY’S
SECRET does not contain additives and preservatives. We have invested our spirit, our raw material, the
tradition, but we all adjusted to global trends. We used Serbian know-how and the great design. 2008. in
Barcelona, we received the award „World best inovation juice“ for the world's best juice (nectar of wild
strawberries) from Foodnews from England. This year we received the award for best packaging design in the
food industry in the region. All this forces us to further improve and constant challenges us to create new
products and to further advance the existing. There are always challenges if you put them in front of you.
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4. Executive Newswire
BANKS CONTINUE TO LEAD IN THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY SECTOR IN SERBIA
By Jasmina Milosevic, Principal Consultant, Stanton Chase Belgrade
Banking sector in Serbia has driven the development of the overall economy
in past years and, although highly regulated, it remains the most dynamic and liquid
sector, still showing rates of growth.
Despite the crisis, financial situation of the banks is not worrying as it might have
been expected. It seems that the strict regulation of the National Bank of Serbia
has contributed to sustaining a sound system which surpasses the crisis without
any great difficulties.
Serbia is one of the few countries in the world that provided no financial aid to the
banking sector during the downturn. Owing to a restrictive monetary policy in the pre-crisis period
and prudent supervision, banks in Serbia are now highly capitalized.
CHANGE OF FOCUS
Nonetheless, it is obvious that the banks will have to change slightly the way of doing business in
order to keep the increase rate. One of the ways could be participating in various Government
programs organized to stimulate activity of the economy, like Government subsidized loans and
moreover, loans for agriculture.
It is also expected that the banks will have to offer in the
" Serbia is one of the few countries in future more sophisticated service and tailor-made products in
the world that provided no financial aid order to attract and maintain clients. The escalation of the
to the banking sector during the financial crisis have proven that the over production of the
downturn " banking loans with very shallow insight in the clients’
business and its needs, with nothing but the will to sell,
cannot sustain as banking business policy in the long-run. Therefore, the know-how combined with
deep understanding of clients’ needs will have to provide future guidelines for all the banks on how
to run their business.
BANKING FOR WOMEN
Following the international trends banks in Serbia have also shown some creativity and decided to
include for the first time special credit offers for unemployed women and women entrepreneurs.
Credits for financing acquisition of the equipment are intended for entrepreneurs and women
founders of the small business being active less than three years. Credits for startup programs are
intended for unemployed women and represent credits for acquisition of equipment and operating
capital for following activities: production and processing, tourism, trades and old crafts (in
accordance with the Regulations which define crafts as old and artistic) and production services.
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5. Stanton Chase Belgrade
Serbia has also seen the opening of the first Lady Branch of one commercial bank, which fully meets
the needs, expectations and the sensibilities of a modern woman.
FIGURES
At the end of last year, the Serbian banking sector comprised
33 banks and six representative offices of foreign banks. The
sector's total assets amounted to EUR 25.3 billion, “Total assets of banking sector
representing an increase by 4.47 percent in real terms amounted to EUR 25.3 billion,
compared to the same period in 2010. As in previous years, representing an increase by 4.47
the top three banks accounted for more than 30 percent of percent in real terms ”
total banking sector assets. Business loans represented the
largest share of bank lending, amounting to 54.1 percent of
the total (EUR 9.3 billion), while loans to private households and to the public sector stood at EUR
5.1 billion and EUR 2.1 billion, respectively. Although foreign currency loans still accounted for 67
percent of the loan portfolio, their share was down from over 70 percent in 2010.
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
The other stakeholders in the market of financing services in Serbia are commercial insurance
agencies (27), leasing companies (17), stock markets (1), and broker companies (44). In addition,
there are 6 companies managing 9 voluntary pension funds
as well as 9 companies dealing with the investment funds
(they manage 21 investment funds). "Banks have 92 percent share in total
balance sum, followed by insurance
Despite the rising business of other stakeholders, banks
with 4 percent, as much as it is the
continue to play the dominant role in the financial system in
share of all other stakeholders on this
Serbia with the share of 92 percent in total balance sum. It is
market "
followed then by the insurance sector with the share of 4
percent, as much as it is the share of all other stakeholders
on this market.
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6. Executive Newswire
KEEPING SENCE FOR TENDENCIES: Recycling of electrical and electronic
waste
Vladimir Zivaljevic, Co-owner/GM, E-Recycling
Interviewed by Milos Petrovic, Partner, Stanton Chase Belgrade
In 2009, when I left IT industry, I believed that in the next 15 years, 4
branches of economy will be on an upward spiral: healthy food, luxury sales,
recycling and internet based services. Because of poorly developed consciousness
and absence of legislative procedures, which led to the absence of important
stakeholders on the market, recycling is a great challenge, but at the same time, a great potential.
In 2009 we started gathering and recycling PET packaging. The business was growing slowly and
there were many challenges, but after three years of work we became the leader on the market,
with 40% share. The law that was introduced in may 2009 regulated managing of waste and aligned
our law with the European legislation. This law allowed us to further invest in the recycling industry -
we started recycling electronic waste. The experience we had with the PET packaging and contacts
achieved during 15 years of working in IT industry, allowed us to initiate the start-up in a very short
period of time.
Unlike the PET packaging, the recycling of electronic waste had grown much quicker. From January
2011 till December 2011 the quantity of recycled waste had
grown from 50 tons a month to 300 tons a month, while the
number of employees had grown from 10 to 50. But even
growing this fast, cheap work force and working in three shifts
wasn’t enough to recycle all the waste that was gathered. The
quantity of the waste was in a constant growth and the only
solution for us was to choose technology that could recycle 50
tons of waste a day - the quantity that was recycled a
month, 18 months ago. Even though 15 different companies
have license, with 50% of a total amount of recycled waste in the Republic of Serbia in 2012 -we can
freely say that we are the leader in the business of recycling electric and electronic waste.
In 11 months, we achieved to invest in new facilities that have the capacity to recycle 20 tons a day.
The process of choosing a strategic partner demanded that we visit the existing facilities in the
region and attend a number of fairs, as well. Ultimately, we decided to go with the solution of a
German company Mewa.
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7. Stanton Chase Belgrade
By implementing the system we are able to recycle 1000 refrigerators a day, which is the biggest
installed capacity on the Balkans. The facility has a hall that is 12 000 m2 big and has 2 ha of
surrounding space, where we store the waste. Currently, we have 140 employees and we are
successfully recycling:
1. Refrigerators
2. Small and big house appliances
3. Television sets and cathode Ray tubes
This project, worth 8M Euros, with ROI period of 7 years will hire 250 employees. We wouldn’t make
it without the synergy of all the stakeholders.
• 500.000 € of irreversible incentives from a
state agency to support the export • 15.000 tons of electric and electronic waste
is gathered
• 50.000.000 € long-term credit from domestic
AIK bank, that recognized the opportunity for • In total, there are 15 companies with the
development of the city and a great flexibility license to recycle and 44 to gather the waste
in understanding the special needs of a start
• 20.000 tons of new waste is gathered a year
-up
• In total, there are 4000 people employed in
• 1.000.000 short-term commercial credits
the recycling industry
• 1.000.000 € of our own recourses
Finally, the most important thing for the success of the recycling industry in Serbia is the
development of consciousness of citizens through education, public campaigns and local activities.
That would not be possible without the cooperation with NGOs, the media and the local government.
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8. Executive Newswire
EXECUTIVE COACHING – WHAT IT IS AND WHY IS BENEFICIAL
By Marina Petrusevski, Managing Director, Wilson Learning Serbia
Most corporate career paths lead to a role in management.
However, being prepared for that step up in responsibility can be tough; the
move from player to a leader is not a natural transition for most people. In fact,
it can be slightly traumatizing, particularly when one is elevated to having
responsibility over their longtime peers.
Also, we can almost recognize the standard in corporate world that people are
promoted for being good at what they do, as opposed to having the requisite skills for leading others
in doing what is required. Companies are hoping to ease this transition by hiring executive coaches
to work with newly-promoted managers at the top management roles.
So, this begs the question: What exactly is executive coaching?
When it comes to defining coaching, the International Coach Federation (ICF) states that coaching is
about “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to
maximize their personal and professional potential.”
So, an executive coach may serve as trusted advisor, learning guide, personal skills trainer and / or
expert consultant.
Through being a trustworthy advisor or, so to say, a thought partner, an executive coach typically
focuses on the issues that come with managing/relating to people.
New skills required of managers including defining goals or expectations of others, conducting tough
dialogues, dealing with conflict and motivating teams, influencing key stake holders, being politically
savvy or leading cross-cultural teams, are not necessarily skills that come naturally.
Nadler, executive coach and author of “Leading with Emotional Intelligence”, believes that coaching
is about “bringing more depth and focus to particular challenges.”
He also says that those in leadership roles often need “a thought partner for support and guidance”
when dealing with complex issues.
The idea behind working with an executive coach is to bring clarity to the issue and develop a plan
of action for tackling it.
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9. Stanton Chase Belgrade
Executive coaching starts with identification of top business needs and developing a prioritized
action plan. The process has a focus on practical skills development and immediate application.
Usually, the expected outcomes are establishing positive relationships with key stakeholders,
building a strong, cohesive team and managing the stress and pressures related to the demands of
the executive new role or responsibilities.
There is no doubt that executive coaching has become mainstream in major international
companies. These coaches review the plays, provide feedback, and jointly develop action plans for
improvement with their clients.
We are all victims of living in our own heads and at times we all need help getting perspective. It’s
not easy to evaluate ourselves, which is why there is so much value in having that thought partner
bring perspective to our internal conversations.
• Wilson Learning company is specialized for training in management i.e. training aimed at
developing managerial skills as well as programs aimed at sales representatives (all sales
levels, from beginner to managerial positions).
• Wilson Learning mission is providing help to employees and organizations to achieve better
work results
• Work of Wilson Learning is based on belief that employees will make better work
performances if they are satisfied with work and they will be more motivated if they achieve
higher level of work performances
• Wilson Learning, with more then 3.000 accredited trainers in 38 countries, is now the world’s
biggest global executive development provider.
Source: Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD, a CEC certified professional coach who holds a PhD
in organizational psychology.
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10. Executive Newswire
SIGNIFICANCE OF LINKEDIN IN THE BUSINESS NETWORKING
Maja Manojlovic, Researcher, Stanton Chase Belgrade
In 2007, just before the expansion of Facebook and other social
networks, a friend sent me the request for joining LinkedIn network. I
accepted, totally unaware that in the future LinkedIn will become a very useful
business tool. Step by step I have been discovering what it is for and the
importance of connecting through it.
In short, LinkedIn is the "Business Facebook" - network that offers unlimited possibilities for
searching and connecting by various criteria - education, business, interests, etc. It appeared in May
2003 and became the largest social network for business people and companies with more than 175
million members in over 200 countries worldwide. Every second at least two people open new
account on LinkedIn and more than 2 million companies have their own profiles.
Today, employment through social networks is very popular and LinkedIn certainly leads among
them. According to research conducted at the site Jobvite (www.jobvite.com) 89% of U.S.
companies use social networks for recruitment, of which 87% use LinkedIn, 55% Facebook, 47%
Twitter. 95% of participants in the survey, who were successful in finding candidates through social
networks, used LinkedIn as a source. The importance of LinkedIn is that it offers business
networking specialisation. At the same time it allows searching information by various parameters
such as title of the position, company, industry or level of experience.
Besides individuals, companies can create profiles on LinkedIn too, and there is also possibility of
creating groups. Groups enable discussions about various topics, and through them you can find
very useful and interesting things and hear what people around the world think about certain topic.
Due to the large number of business and marketing possibilities, LinkedIn is becoming very
important tool in promoting individuals and companies, so it’s the right time to think about it if you
have not already.
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11. Stanton Chase Belgrade
STANTON CHASE BELGRADE EDITIONS
In 2008 Stanton Chase Belgrade decided to conduct a CEO survey in order to find out the
opinion of the executives within companies in Serbia, having in mind that the majority of surveys are
related to evaluating the satisfaction of employees and their line managers, very rarely inquiring the
opinion and satisfaction of CEOs as well. With this survey we wanted to make the difference and
hear the opinion of the executives. This survey has left a good impression on the market and has
become a traditional issue of Stanton Chase, edited once a year, in January. The number of
respondents, both domestic and foreign executives, increases with each new issue, giving us thus
more realistic picture of business trends.
Stanton Chase International Belgrade conducted for the first time
this year a survey among its candidates with the aim to hear their
impressions and comments about the cooperation and suggestions
on how to improve this cooperation.
All editions by Stanton Chase Belgrade you can read on:
http://stantonchasebelgrade.wordpress.com/
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12. Stanton Chase International
Belgrade Office
Blvd. oslobodjenja 75
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +381 11 3973 676
belgrade@stantonchase.com