Two terms of office, 12 committee members, 5 Managers of the Year and 5 winners of lifetime achievement award.

In the five years of presiding the committee for the selection of the Manager of the Year and the lifetime achievement award winner in the area of management, we met extraordinary candidates and award winners. To assess top-quality managers whom I respect is no easy task. But it is also a privilege to be able to read stories created by them. Wishing to also get to know the candidates personally, in 2016 we revised the criteria for the Manager of the Year award and invited the candidates to an interview. In addition to the 360 degree method, the latter gave us an insight into the candidate's way of thinking, their ethical attitude and their values.

Frequently, the society only sees the position of managers as associated with influence, power and privileges. However, to be a manager primarily means to assume responsibility. Responsibility towards the employees, the company, the society, the environment and, last but not least, oneself. A good manager is aware of the significance of human capital. They are aware that each individual is unique, and therefore encourage them to develop their skills. A successful manager stimulates people to do what they were born for, and does not force them to assume roles that are not appropriate for them. I believe in this and it is also because of this that I accepted the role of the chairman of the committee for the selection of the Manager of the Year in 2012.

Successful individuals who take the above into account in their work deserve our respect and award for the work they do. Their personal beliefs often co-create the vision and policy of the company, which is crucial for strengthening the company's position on the domestic and international market, and simultaneously strengthens the cooperation with the environment in which the company operates.
Since I believe in the knowledge and competences of managers, I remain a member of the committee, and I wish to the new chairman Andrej Božič an excellent group of extraordinary candidates and much pleasure in cooperating with them.

With the right people in the right places, the compass of the Slovenian economy will never miss the direction.

Tomaž Berločnik, MSc
President of the Management Board of PETROL and Vice-President of the Managers' Association