Key Takeaways

The presentation focuses on key shifts shaping the future of retail and FMCG: new business models, evolving store formats, and changing consumer behavior. Special emphasis is placed on digitization and the pressure on purchasing power, highlighting the strategic decisions that separate winning companies from stagnant ones. Featuring real-world case studies from Europe, Asia, and Latin America, attendees will gain clear insights into strategies for long-term growth.

 About the Speaker

Boris Planer is a renowned analyst and consultant with 25 years of experience in retail, FMCG, and consumer trends. He has worked with Retail Intelligence (now part of Mintel), Planet Retail/Edge by Ascential, and WGSN.

He developed macroeconomic and retail forecasting models that help global clients spot investment opportunities across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. A frequent media commentator (Financial Times, The Economist, BBC, Handelsblatt), Boris is also a regular speaker at major global industry events, including the World Retail Congress, Retail Week Live, and EuroCIS.

Igor Jokić is a business leader with more than 15 years of experience in sales, commercial operations and business transformation across the FMCG, distribution and tobacco industries.

He is currently the Founder and Lead Consultant at Velostra, advising companies on commercial transformation, sales excellence and digitalization. Previously, he served as Sales & Distribution Portfolio Director at Nelt Group, where he led an organization of more than 600 employees and contributed to the company’s strongest business results between 2022 and 2024.

Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions at Philip Morris International, Henkel and Lactalis, leading sales development, distribution network optimization and digital transformation initiatives.

Ognen Ognenoski, Founder and CEO of Biznis Mreza, the leading platform for business intelligence and financial analysis in North Macedonia. With over 12 years of experience in credit analytics and data management, he has built the largest corporate database in the country, currently used by more than 1,500 companies and institutions. A serial entrepreneur and expert in business intelligence and economic analysis, Ognen is recognized as one of the leading voices in promoting corporate transparency and strategic decision-making in North Macedonia.

Nenad Nikolovski is a commercial leader and expert in commercial strategy, business turnaround, and sales organization development, with more than 20 years of experience in the FMCG industry across local, regional, and global markets.

He began his career at Dnevnik and joined P&G in 2001, where over the course of 18 years he held a range of leadership positions across sales, modern trade, sales capability, business development, distributor operations, and trade marketing. His experience spans markets across North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Southeast Europe, as well as global emerging markets.

Following P&G, he served as Commercial Director at L’Oréal Serbia and later as Chief Executive Officer at Baby Food Factory. Since August 2024, he has been Head of Operational Excellence in Sales at Nelt Group, Serbia.

Today, as Founder of AxisCore Consulting, he works with companies on developing and implementing commercial strategies, improving sales performance, strengthening distributor capabilities, and driving business transformation, with a focus on sustainable growth and people development.

Gaul is the co-founder and CEO of Retail Cities and a world-renowned expert in retail competition. He began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine during the post-Soviet era, where he witnessed giants like Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble revolutionize retail almost overnight. Inspired by these shifts, he pursued graduate studies at Boston University, specializing in Eurasia and the former CIS to better understand global economic transformations. Over the last 20 years, he has focused on studying the strategic moves of retailers and brands, and today, through Retail Cities, he explores the modern wave of retail transformations disrupting global companies.

Poleksena Jankulovska is a marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in the FMCG and dairy industry. As Regional Marketing Manager at Imlek Group, she leads marketing for Bimilk in North Macedonia, as well as the marketing strategies and business development across the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Throughout her career, she has gained significant experience in strategic planning, business development, brand and category management, innovation, and integrated marketing campaigns, working on the development of well-known brands such as Bitolsko, Moja Kravica, and Balans+. In her work, she connects market and consumer insights with strategic thinking and a commercial focus to drive sustainable growth and create long-term value.

Katerina Teovska is the Marketing Director at Pivara Skopje and holds a Master’s degree in Public Relations as well as an MBA in Marketing, with over 19 years of experience working with global FMCG brands. Within Pivara Skopje’s 24/7 portfolio vision (a joint venture of Coca-Cola HBC and Heineken), Katerina is responsible for commercial and brand strategy, innovation, trade marketing, and driving sustainable business growth through strategic portfolio management.

Her extensive experience includes managing globally recognized brands such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Amstel, Schweppes, Fanta, Sprite, and Monster Energy, as well as the iconic local beer brand, Skopsko. She has a proven track record of driving market share growth through clear brand, channel, and shopper strategies, consistently delivering outstanding commercial results.

Iljas Neziri is a technology leader specializing in artificial intelligence, enterprise architecture, and digital transformation. As CEO of XToka Solutions, he has led the development of AI-powered platforms and enterprise solutions across aviation, retail, and other industries. His work focuses on bridging business strategy with emerging technologies, helping organizations adopt AI, optimize operations, and build scalable digital solutions.

Prof. Dr. Andrej Vizjak, a Slovenian economist and international strategy expert, has held senior leadership roles in management consulting (Kearney and PWC) and FMCG (Mercator, Conrad Electronic, Bertelsmann / RTL Television) and now leads AV.Consulting with headquarters in Dubai. He has extensive experience in restructuring, innovation and digital transformation, and has been advising corporations and international institutions such as the World Bank. As Professor of Business Administration at the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany, he lectures on family business strategies and change management. He has authored influential theories on AI and niche strategies, published numerous books in multiple languages, and won the PwC Advisory Challenge, a global competition for the most influential advisory concept. In 2025 he was invited by the OECD Secretary-General to present his new book “AI: From Hype to Impact”to the Global Leadership Team of OECD.

First Slovenian to Deliver a Keynote Address at an OECD Summit 

Paris, 20 October 2025 – Dr Andrej Vizjak became the first Slovenian to deliver a keynote address at a meeting of the Friends of the New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) Group at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. The event was chaired by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, who personally invited Dr Vizjak to participate.

In his keynote address, Dr Vizjak presented the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on business models and corporate competitiveness, while also summarising the key findings from a series of ten books on artificial intelligence that he had prepared over the preceding year. The presentation received an exceptionally positive response, reflected in the numerous questions from participants and strong interest in further cooperation.

This represents an important milestone for Slovenia, as it marks the first occasion on which a Slovenian expert has appeared as the sole keynote speaker at an official OECD event chaired by the Organisation’s Secretary-General.

From macroeconomic indicators to concrete business decisions in the FMCG industry, Milica Živadinović’s professional path connects data and practice, showing that behind every good decision lie quality data and the right interpretation. Živadinović is a Master of Economics with years of experience in statistics, analytics, and international projects. Throughout her career, she has worked on the calculation of macroeconomic indicators and the development of statistical methodologies, while pursuing professional development at the University of Vienna and the statistical office in Kraków. She later applied her acquired methodological knowledge in the FMCG industry, focusing on market analysis and understanding consumer behavior. Currently, she works as a Client Service Executive at NielsenIQ, where she helps clients make better business decisions through sales and analytical insights.

Aleksandar Bozhinovski is a business leader with more than 20 years of professional experience in sales and business development, and today he serves as Head of Division at Atlantik Grupa. Throughout his career, he has successfully worked on the development and positioning of international brands, as well as building new and lesser-known brands, transforming them into recognizable and relevant players on the local market.

In his work, he is focused on creating growth strategies, developing people and teams, and building partnerships with principals that enable the long-term development of brands.

His experience spans various categories and markets, with a continuous focus on innovation, market relevance, and sustainable commercial development.

Jovanka Trajkova is the Commercial Director at Reptil, where she has been part of the company’s development and growth for 17 years. She began her professional career at Reptil as a marketing specialist, and over the years her role expanded to encompass key segments of commercial operations—from managing assortments, sales, and profitability, to supplier negotiations, marketing activities, and the development of retail positions.

Her work focuses on products and assortments, sales results, targets and profitability, supplier contracts, as well as marketing activities, product positioning, and promotion. She manages all of this with a dedication to lawful operations and respect for employees, business partners, and organizational values.

An important part of her work involves daily coordination with markets, supervisors, suppliers, and the commercial and marketing teams, as well as close collaboration with accounting, logistics, the main warehouse, distribution, and the team responsible for the development and expansion of the retail network. Behind these results lie teamwork, good coordination, and a shared commitment to established goals.

Over the course of her professional journey, Reptil has grown from a company with four retail locations into a retail chain with 30 locations—28 markets and two specialized stores. This growth is a significant part of her 17-year experience and a testament to the company’s continuous development.