Press Release - Annual General Assembly of American Chamber of Commerce

The American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia (AmCham) held an Annual General Assembly meeting, which featured the presentation of the activities of the Chamber and the financial report. Also, the members elected four members to the Board of Governors of the Chamber who will serve two-year terms:

• President: Rina Musić, Executive Director Croatia and Slovenia, Merck Sharp & Dohme d.o.o.
• Secretary-Treasurer: Boris Petrušić, Country Leader Croatia, Oracle Hrvatska d.o.o.
• Two Untitled Governors: Igor Grdić, Regional Director, CEE, Vertiv Croatia d.o.o. and Sandra Velasco, President for Adriatic Countries, Novartis Hrvatska d.o.o.

AmCham has again marked an increase in membership this year, and it represents companies which employ over 95,000 people in Croatia, which proves the continuous quality of its work. Companies based in the US and Croatia as well as other international companies from more than 20 countries comprise more than 326 members of the American Chamber of Commerce. As the oldest foreign chamber in Croatia, for over 25 years AmCham has been strongly contributing to the improvement of business operations by advocating the best business practices as well as a range of recommendations for making Croatia an attractive investment destination, and it has been distinguished as one of the most successful business organizations of the Croatian private sector. These are exceptional results, especially considering that AmCham is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental organization funded exclusively by its members.

During 2023 AmCham has continued its efforts to advocate for public policies and published 12 position papers on topics including recommendations for digital transformation of healthcare, improvement of the Electronic Public Procurement Classifieds of the Republic of Croatia and proposals for amendments to the Labor Act. AmCham's successes include the announcement by the Ministry of Finance to enable stock option plans of limited liability companies, which the IT sector has been particularly vocally demanding for years, as well as enabling unilateral correction of VAT for uncollectible claims. These are significant steps that showed excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and their openness to the needs of the economy. The work on the recommendations of necessary reforms in the area of economy has continued as well, especially regarding the recommendations for the tax system reform and the improvement of legal and health systems.

AmCham’s detailed position papers on certain topics are published on the Chamber’s webpage.

During 2023 AmCham has organized 50 own events. Among other things, these events include conferences on the challenges and opportunities of healthcare, sustainable tax system, future of digitalization in Croatia and business sustainability with ESG principles.

This year, AmCham celebrated 25 years of activity in the Republic of Croatia with a celebration for almost 1,000 guests in the Lisinski Hall. As the leading and oldest international business organization in Croatia, AmCham has been the voice of international companies in Croatia for 25 years and the first choice in advocating public policies and connecting business leaders.

In 2023 AmCham has continued with the eleventh generation of the socially responsible program for young leaders, AmCham Talents, with a goal of developing leadership skills of promising young business professionals.

AmCham again this year organized a business delegation to the USA (San Francisco, Sillicon Valley, Austin i Houston) for the board members of AmCham member companies to have the opportunity to see the digital transformation at its source. American Chamber of Commerce business delegations provide an in-depth look at some of the most exciting and successful transformation processes in a variety of industries.

Furthermore, in cooperation with AmCham Finland, in 2023 AmCham Croatia has continued with the program Launchpad USA which helps Croatian companies make their first steps on the US market.