THINGS TO REMEMBER FROM 2015: Ronald Seeliger

(Ronald Seeliger)

Ronald Seeliger began his career in Serbia in late 2011 as a member of the management of STADA group, while in the following year he was appointed as the general manager of the Hemofarm Group. He gained corporate experience holding high managerial positions in numerous significant industrial companies across Europe, Australia and Asia: Formula 1, Pixelpark AG, Land of Ideas FC Deutschland GmbH, RUHR GmbH, the European Capital of Culture Organizing Body.

He also assumed the position of the President of the German-Serbian Business Association (DSW) on 1 April 2013.

Seeliger graduated from the Technical Faculty in Berlin and also attended the London School of Economics. He earned a doctorate degree with the thesis "Controlling Process in Media Companies". Mr. Seeliger is fluent in German, English, French and Spanish. Over the past few years he has been living in Belgrade and Berlin.

EVENT OF THE YEAR

- War in Syria and its consequences – from killings and terrorist attacks to the refugee crisis, geopolitical earthquakes and the powerlessness of world leaders to come to important agreements. It is a ringing alarm that would have to awake the elementary human consciousness.

The noise this alarm is creating overshadows everything else, including the exceptional business success of Hemofarm, which I, as its CEO, would have naturally declared the event of the year.

FAIL OF THE YEAR

- It's definitely Volkswagen. This is also an example of how one bad move can jeopardize everything that generations of people have been creating for centuries, which is primarily the recognition of German quality and responsibility. The fact that I am German made me feel even worse about this.

PERSON OF THE YEAR

- People of Paris because they do not let the fear paralyze them despite everything. The spirit of civic Paris defies the consequences of this tragedy.

BEST MOVE BY THE STATE

- The results that have led to the opening of first chapters in EU accession talks. Citizens are yet to feel that in their everyday life, but it is a good sign that Serbia is trying to establish standards of modern democratic society.

WORST MOVE BY THE STATE

- Sluggishness in solving the problems the state officials even point to themselves. Serbia has smart people who know very well that inefficiency, bureaucracy and "hard wires" make the implementation of necessary reforms harder, but the country still has enough time to move from giving a diagnosis to starting the appropriate treatment.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2016?

- I expect challenges. They will exist on all levels and have one thing in common - the fight between good and evil. Neither of these terms is exclusively reserved for countries, religions, nations or industries, but for people. Therefore, each individual bears a big responsibility and everybody must find strength in themselves to do their best. The quality of teams as a whole depends on the choices made by these individuals. We will cope with global challenges and challenges in our industry by contributing to the nation's health and health system, making new investments, opening new plants, improving the quality and expanding the portfolio of products, as well as through increasingly significant philanthropic work.