The Management Board of Gorenje, d.d.

The Management Board consists of a Management Board President and at least two Management Board members, of which one is a worker's representative. The number of Management Board members is defined by the Supervisory Board. Management Board's term lasts five years, with an option of reappointment. Current Management Board members assumed their respective terms on July 18th 2008; their terms last until July 18th 2013.

Members of the currently five-member Management Board are assigned their responsibilities, or fields of work, by the Supervisory Board, in compliance with the relevant organizational rules. When appointing the Management Board members, the Supervisory Board shall consider their professional knowledge, work experience, management and leadership abilities, and the ability to coordinate various activities.

The Management Board shall report regularly, and at least once per quarter, to the Supervisory Board, on all issues of relevance to the performance of the parent company and the Group.

Management Board members shall also perform managerial duties in Gorenje's subsidiaries; they shall receive no compensation for such work.

On January 1st 2012, new redistribution of Management Board member responsibilities became effective, which effectively introduces a shift from divisional to functional organizational structure.

Franjo Bobinac

President of the Management Board and CEO

Franjo  Bobinac was born in 1958 in Celje. He graduated in international economic relations in 1982 from the Faculty of Economics and in 1997 finished his MBA at Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Paris. He has a fluent command of English, French, German and Serbo-Croatian.
 
He started his career in Emo Celje and worked there for three years. In 1986 he joined Gorenje Commerce as assistant to the Director of Export. Four years later he was appointed Director of Export in Gorenje Household Appliances and 1991 took over the position of Marketing Manager. In the period from 1993 to 1998 he acted as the Managing Director of Gorenje Sidex France, a branch office of Gorenje in Paris. Since March 1998 he was a member of the temporary Management Board, and thereupon member of the present Management Board of Gorenje, d.d., responsible for sales and marketing. He was appointed President of the Management Board in 2003 and was re-elected for another five-year term on 18 July 2008.
As board member, Franjo Bobinac is engaged in sales and relations with key customer in the field of trade and industry. Gorenje's growth recorded heavy increases over the years irrespective of the fact that it operates in a mature line of business. He also played an essential role in the process of developing new products as he was in charge of product management.
 
Since he took over as President of the Management Board, Gorenje continues with its sales growth and increasing its market share, whereas it also successfully takes over new markets and develops new products and services. Its diversity grounds on design and innovation.
 
In addition to its basic activity of developing, manufacturing and selling home appliances, Gorenje consolidates under his leadership also activities on new strategic business segments as energy and ecology.
 
Franjo Bobinac propelled Gorenje to the seven biggest European makers of home appliances. Prior to his leadership, the Company started with the internationalisation of the production aimed at improving the competitiveness. In 2005 Gorenje took over the Czech manufacturer of home appliances Mora Moravia, and in 2006 opened a manufacturing plant for cooling-freezing appliances in Serbia and thus implemented its first greenfield investment. Another manufacturing plant for thermic and heating appliances was opened a year later in Stara Pazova.  
 
He manages the Gorenje Group by way of individual development and by acting as a cohesive force in the line of business. In 2008 Gorenje took over the leading Dutch producer of household appliances Atag, and in 2010 acquired to sole ownership over the Scandinavian based company Asko Appliances Group.
 
He boasts of extraordinary international experiences from various business functions and holds in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge that he occasionally shares at the IEDC Bled School of Management and at the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana, where he occasionally gives lectures for the managerial training. Further, he is engaged as guest lecturer at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School.
 
He is a member of the Steering Committee of the International Association CECED, member of supervisory boards in some renowned companies, member of the Management Board of the IEDC Bled School of Management, of the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, member of the collegiate economic body of the University in Ljubljana, member of the Business Advisory Board at the Faculty of Economics (University of Ljubljana), President of the Handball Association Slovenia, and Vice-President of the Manager's Association of Slovenia. In the period from 2004 to 2009 he acted as the Vice-President of the Manager's Association of Slovenia.
 
Awards
  • 15 April 2009 – The French National Order of Merit given by the president of the Republic of France.
  • 7 March 2008 – Award by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia for exceptional results achieved in 2007.
  • 9 June  2008 – The title 'Slovenia's most reputable manager' awarded by the Kline & Partner agency after studies showed that Gorenje is the second most eminent and investment-friendly company in Slovenia.
  • 27 November 2008 – The medal of Janez Vajkard Valvasor for economists, first awarded in 2008 by the International Postgraduate School of Jožef Stefan in Ljubljana.
  • 18 October 2007 –  The Primus Award 2007 granted by the Slovenian Association for Public Relations for the best Slovenian manager at excellence in communication.
  • 27 November 2007 –  The Merit Excel Award 2008 (Excellence in Communication Leadership)  for extraordinary communication skills and their impact on Gorenje's value and growth, granted by International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

Marko Mrzel

Member of the Management Board in charge of Sales of Major and Small Appliances (CSO) and Member of the Management Board in charge of the Finance (CFO)

Mr. Mrzel graduated in 1995 at the Faculty of Engineering (Polytechnic) in Maribor. After completing the university studies, he enrolled in the post-graduate MBA program in Radovljica, run and managed by the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics, and earned his Master's degree in 1999. He is fluent in English and Serbian.

He completed his internship at the Velenje Coal Mine. In 1997, he found employment in the finance department of Era trade company where he was ultimately promoted to the head of wholesale. His career at the Gorenje Group took off in 2001 when he was appointed head of complementary program at the parent company. In 2003, he was assigned director of Gorenje's sales subsidiary in Belgrade that is in charge of sourcing, distribution, and sales, as well as development and management of the Gorenje brand in Serbia. His assignments at the company included the tasks of the CFO. He also took part in other Gorenje Group projects in Serbia.

He assumed his term as a Management Board member on March 3rd 2011.

Till the appointment of the new member of the Management Board in charge of the Finance (CFO), Marko Mrzel remains in charge of finance.

Branko Apat

Member of the Management Board in charge of Major Appliances Operations and Heating Equipment Operations and Sales (COO)

In 1984 he graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Maribor in foreign trade relations. In 1988 completed post-graduate study at Chamber of Marketing in USA. He speaks English and German. After his study he worked at the company Gorenje Commerce, as probationer, after that he worked as commercialist for so - called green program. He was continuing his business career as Export Manager, responsible for the Near East. In 1988 he became Deputy Export Director for the programs out - of white goods and was responsible for sales and marketing in South America. After Gorenje transformation in 1990, he was appointed as Purchasing Director at Gorenje gospodinjski aparati, d.o.o., in April 1993 he was appointed as Sales and Marketing Director. In September 1999 was entered upon the restructuring of the company Gorenje Tiki, d.o.o., where he is at present the General Director of this company. In 2003 he was appointed Executive Director by the Management Board, responsible for coordination’s between some companies within Gorenje Group, covering the business areas of industrial equipment and tool & die making and from 2006 he was also responsible for supplementary program within Gorenje, d.d. In September 2007, he was appointed for the first time to the company Management Board. Until March 2009, he was responsible for complementary programs, procurement, and logistics. Holding in Gorenje: 626 GRVG shares

Uroš Marolt

Member of the Management Board in charge of Corporate Services and Kitchen Programme (CCO)

In 1997 he graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana in sales and marketing relations, and he is finishing Master’s degree at the Faculty of Economics in Maribor. He speaks English, German and Polish. In the period 1996 - 1997 he worked at the company MGA Nazarje as Controller in Controlling Department of MGA Nazarje (BSH Nazarje), and started to work at Gorenje, d.d., in 1998. Till the year 2001 he worked as Commercialist, responsible for Russia region, afterwards he was managing commercial business area at the Gorenje subsidiary Gorenje Polska Sp. z o.o., Poland, where he was in 2002 appointed General Director. In September 2005 he took over the Management at the Gorenje subsidiary  Gorenje Austria Handels GmbH, Austria. First appointed to the Management Board in 2007, he was in charge of marketing and sales until March 2009.

Drago Bahun

Labour Director

In 1979 he completed the study of sociology – human resources and education at the Faculty of Sociology, Political Sciences and Journalism of the University in Ljubljana. He also completed post-graduate study in human resources at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University in Ljubljana. He speaks English and basic German and French. In January 1979 he joined Rudarsko elektroenergetski kombinat in Velenje, where he was the head of the Department for the organisation of the business system until 1984. At the beginning of Gorenje rehabilitation he was invited to the Gorenje business system management as a young expert in the field of human resources. He has been employed in Gorenje since 1985, from 1985 to 1987 as the vice-president of the management committee of the compound organisation for the field of socio-economic relationships, from 1987 to 1990 as the member of the management committee Gorenje Gospodinjski aparati for the field of human resources, and from 1990 to 1997 as the Director of the human resources and general affairs. He was a member of the temporary Management Board, and he is a labour director. Holding in Gorenje: 9,032 GRVG shares

He is active in several institutions and professional organisations (Chamber of Economy, Ministry of Labour, Slovenian Association of Employers). He was second time elected councillor in the National Council of the RS, where he represents the interests of nine municipalities of the Savinjsko-Saleška region.