CFO conference 2019
As part of the CFO Conference 2019 – Leading Finance to the Future, which has been organized for five years in a row by Deloitte for finance directors, a panel called “Leadership in Exceptional Time” was held, attended by Kristina Laco from Communication Office Colić, Laco and Partners, Tatjana Divjak, life and business coach, Zoran Primorac, table tennis player, Sonja Popović from SAP Croatia, Darko Pappo from DIV Group and Marinko Došen, President of the Management Board of AD Plastik Group.
“Our strategy relies on two principles. The first one is the constant growth and investment in our competences and the second one is risk management. The automotive industry is very specific, especially when we talk about customer and supplier relationships. AD Plastik represents global partners for its customers on the markets we have determined for. In this way, we expand our portfolio and manage risks,” Marinko Došen pointed out.
He explained the readiness and reactions in sudden and unforeseeable situations by the example of a five-year crisis in Russia. “The crisis in Russia was unpredictable because it came after a remarkable growth at rates of 20 percent a year. However, diversification of the market has helped us to share arisen shocks with our partners in the first place and to continue to work and develop on the markets that have not been affected by the crisis,” Došen explained.
He also briefly spoke about the specifics of the automotive industry which is based on long-term contracts. He also commented on the acquisition of the Hungarian company Tisza Automotive which was part of the company’s growth and portfolio expansion strategy. “We have been constantly monitoring and examining market and opportunities, but we have to be ready before we decide to take such a step. Before buying the Hungarian factory, we had seven factories in four countries and a fully-defined model of operation, regardless of the markets in which we conduct business. The industry is well known to us and it is necessary to implement existing and proven standards and business models to a new production site. This is an absolutely adrenaline business and you must have a very good organization and high quality standards to survive,” Došen said.
