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Žiga Debeljak, Msc, Appointed As President of SSH Management Board

Today, on 23 August 2022, the Supervisory Board of Slovenian Sovereign Holding held an extraordinary meeting and unanimously appointed Žiga Debeljak, Msc, as the President of SSH Management Board. He will take office on 1 September 2022, on which date the term of office of Dr Janez Žlak, who concluded an agreement on early termination of his mandate with the SSH Supervisory Board at the end of June, will expire. 

Following the conclusion of the early termination agreement, the Nomination Committee of the SSH Supervisory Board carried out a selection procedure to select suitable candidates in accordance with ZSDH-1 and in cooperation with the international HR agency, Profil, d. o. o., for the purpose of appointing the new President of the SSH Management Board.

The HR agency identified a number of potential candidates who expressed their interest in participating. The short-listed candidates had undergone structured interviews and had been evaluated by both the HR agency and the Nomination Committee. Following the interviews and assessment of the candidates, taking into account the candidates' experience, other statutory provisions applicable to the position of the President of the SSH Management Board and criteria for determining and assessing the suitability of candidates, the Nomination Committee proposed the SSH Supervisory Board to appoint Žiga Debeljak, Msc, as the President of the SSH Management Board.

On the basis of an in-depth assessment of the candidates’ profiles, taking into account their professional, strategic, operational and managerial, organisational and personal competences, as well as their specific competences, the SSH Supervisory Board approved the Nomination Committee's proposal to appoint Žiga Debeljak, MSc to the position. He will take office on 1 September 2022.

After the meeting, Karmen Dietner, the President of the SSH Supervisory Board, said: "In the coming months, SSH is entering into extremely intensive and professionally demanding processes of merging BAMC with SSH, of the annual planning process for the management of capital assets for 2023 and of the preparation of the expert basis for the new capital assets management strategy.  Žiga Debeljak, MSc, brings a wealth of leadership experience and a strong set of expertise and competences that SSH needs for the successful implementation of the above-mentioned projects, as well as for the further development of the institution and key governance activities in the future. We look forward to working with him and wish him every success".

On the occasion of his appointment, Žiga Debeljak, Msc, said: "I would like to thank you for the trust you have placed in me, and I look forward to my new role. I am confident that, together with my colleagues at SSH and the new ones who will join us when we take over the activities of BAMC, we will successfully and responsibly implement the outlined strategies for the management of state assets in a very challenging and uncertain economic environment and implement the best practices of corporate governance in companies with state capital assets."

Žiga Debeljak, MSc, (1971) holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Business and Organisation. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ljubljana. He continued his studies at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, where he completed his Master of Science in Business and Organisation. He is currently employed as the Managing Director of the Advico Group, which is engaged in business and financial consulting, and provides financial and accounting services in Slovenia and Serbia. Previously, he held the position of the Member of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer at Gorenje Group, an international manufacturer of household appliances, and the Managing Director of the holding companies Gorenje BeteiligungsgesmbH, Austria, and Gorenje Nederland BV, the Netherlands. From 2006 to 2012, he served as the President of the Management Board of Mercator Group, prior to which he was the Member of the Management Board for Finance and Economics of Gorenje Group.  Prior to joining Gorenje, he was Director of Controlling and Accounting of the Mercator Group. In 2003, he obtained the professional title of Certified Accountant, and in 2009 the title of Certified Appraiser, awarded by the Slovenian Institute of Auditors. He has experience of membership in a number of supervisory boards of financial companies and has obtained the certificate of the Slovenian Directors’ Association.  He has also been a senior lecturer in business economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Ljubljana.  He has co-authored two books and several articles in the field of corporate finance and business economics.

 

The Supervisory Board concluded an agreement on early termination of the term of office with Peter Drobež, Member of the SSH Management Board

At an extraordinary meeting, the SSH Supervisory Board concluded an agreement on early termination of the term of office with the Member of the SSH Management Board, Peter Drobež.  His term of office will expire on 31 August 2022. 

The SSH Supervisory Board thanked the Member of the Management Board for the good work he had done during his term of office and wished him continued success in his business career. As of 1 September 2022, the SSH management Board will therefore be composed of two members, namely Žiga Debeljak, MSc, President of the SSH Management Board, and Janez Tomšič, Member of the SSH Management Board.  At this point in time, there are no plans to add a third member to the Management Board.