Jože Mermal, born in 1954, from Ljubljana, a university graduate in economics, became the president of the company’s board of directors in 2019 when the BTC company switched to a one-level management system. Prior to that, for more than 26 years, he successfully led the BTC company as president of the board, where he created and worked in various responsible positions since 1978. He was the initiator and manager of the restructuring and transformation project of former public warehouses into a successful, dynamic, and fast-growing business, and at the same time into one of the largest business, commercial, entertainment, recreational, cultural, and innovation centers in Croatia. Europe BTC City. As the founder and strategist of modern society, BTC strives to continuously invest in development that leads to the long-term goal of “BTC – an open society, a society of future generations”. Under his leadership, it connects with long-term business partners through numerous activities and becomes a unique ecosystem that sees challenges in the wider society, globalization, innovation, and sustainable development in the search for business opportunities.
In cooperation with the City of Ljubljana, he actively participated in the development of the 230 ha urban project of the city of Ljubljana “Partnerstvo Šmartinska”, within which the Crystal Palace, Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, and Ikea were built. Together with the City Municipality of Ljubljana, he participated in the creation of the Ljubljana Intermodal Logistics Terminal. Under his leadership, the company ABC Accelerator was founded in 2015 is the fundamental mission of the development of the start-up ecosystem. He also performs key management functions in sports organizations and in the context of international sports events. Under his leadership, BTC received numerous awards and recognitions for projects in the wider environment. He also participates in cultural, sports, educational, humanitarian, and scientific events, which he personally supports and engages. He received many awards for his work, including the award for Manager of the Year in 1997 and the first professional award of the Slovenian Society for Public Relations and Communication Excellence in 2001. For supporting culture, he was awarded the title of patron of culture in 2011. For his visionary management and creation in BTC in 2012, he received the Vision Manager award, which is awarded by public relations experts from Southeast Europe. In 2013, the Municipality of Ljubljana awarded him the Marjan Rožanac Award for achievements in the field of sports. He also received an award from the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia for exceptional economic and entrepreneurial achievements in the category of large companies in 2013. Under his leadership, BTC became the first and to date the only Slovenian company whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 2015, he received a gold plaque from the Association of Managers for more than two decades of support for the association, and in 2016, he received the honorary award Manager of Southeast Europe, awarded by the European Independent Agency. In 2017, he received the highest recognition of the Municipality of Ljubljana, the title of honorary citizen of Ljubljana, for his services to the reputation, significance, and development of the Municipality of Ljubljana and the development of its good intercity and international relations. After the selection of the best managers and companies from Central and Southeast Europe, in 2019 he received the award for the best European manager and the best company, which is awarded for lifetime achievement. In 2020, he received the Association of Managers award for life’s work in the field of management.
