Marin Mlinarić holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, graduating from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in 1994, majoring in Industrial Electronics. More than 32 years ago, he began his professional career at Podravka d.d. in Koprivnica as a Maintenance Engineer. That same year, he moved to Panonska pivovara d.o.o. Koprivnica (later Carlsberg Croatia d.o.o.) as IT Manager, where he began his IT career. From the ground up, he established the ICT infrastructure across all business segments, including a greenfield investment involving the construction of a new factory. He subsequently implemented an ERP system that efficiently and cost-effectively supported all company operations.
With significant experience working independently in an international company, he was recruited by Philip Morris International at the end of 2005 and in 2006 became Head of Information Services Central Europe South, responsible for six countries in the region, as well as an authorized signatory (procurator) of Philip Morris Zagreb. Within a short period, he achieved outstanding results in SAP system implementations and expanded his responsibility to eight countries and more than fifty IT employees. Over four years, he received two major awards: the “Recognition for Excellence Award” and the “President’s Award,” presented by the CEO of Philip Morris International.
After 18 years in ICT, the company recognized his capability for a complete career shift. Following executive education at Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in the United States, along with numerous management development programs throughout his career at Philip Morris International, he was promoted in 2012 to Director Human Resources Central Europe South. He has worked in HR roles across various countries for more than 14 years. With the largest transformation in the company’s history, he assumed the role of Director People & Culture at the beginning of 2018, focusing on internal transformation, the implementation of company culture, and new leadership approaches. Recently, these efforts have increasingly centered on artificial intelligence, which is driving significant changes for employees, companies, and labor markets. Since joining Philip Morris International in 2006, he has been part of management teams in various countries and has served as procurator of Philip Morris Zagreb. Since 2019, he has formally been a Member of the Management Board.
What can you expect from the panel "The Position of HR on the Board: The Reality of Practice"
This panel brings together HR managers who are also members of their organizations’ management boards - professionals who daily balance business strategy with responsibility toward people. Through personal experiences and concrete examples, we will discuss the evolving role of HR at the highest decision-making level, the new responsibilities that come with such a position, as well as the challenges and pressures HR leaders face as part of the executive team. The goal of the panel is to open an honest and realistic conversation about the true impact of HR at the board level, without idealization, but with a clear focus on the future of HR leadership.
U ovoj zanimljovoj raspravi uz moderiranje Domagoja Lipošinovića, sudjelovat će Mojca Domiter, potpredsjednica Grupe, ljudski potencijali i kultura, Atlantic Grupa, Marin Mlinarić, Director People & Culture Croatia and Slovenia – Member of Management Board at Philip Morris International, Marija Zovko, People & culture director Carlsberg Croatia group i Marija Felkel direktorica ljudskih potencijala, članica Izvršnog odbora, Perutnina Ptuj Grupe.