Zlatko Mateša, Ph.D.

Zlatko Mateša, Ph.D. completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb in 1974, after which he passed the bar exam in 1978, and earned his Master’s Degree in the same field in 1990, again from the University of Zagreb. Mateša earned his Ph.D. at Beijing Sport University in 2009.

Over the years, Mateša has held many distinguished positions, in both the private and public sectors, as well as in government. He was the Director of Legal Affairs, and then Assistant General Director for managing organizations within the portfolio of Croatian oil giant, INA. From 1992 to 1993, he was the Head of Croatia’s Agency for Restructuring and Development, from 1993 to 1995 he was a Minister in the Croatian government, and in 1995 he became the Prime Minister of Croatia, a position he’d hold until 2000.

He has also taken part in many project which require a superior level of managerial skills, such as the founding of Croatia’s national airline, Croatia Airlines, where he was also a board member, INA Rent a Car, he was a board member for Privredna Banka Zagreb and Croatia Osiguranje (1995), Croatia’s electric utility, Hrvatska Elektroprivreda, and Croatian Radiotelevision (2000).

Mateša has completed additional education at Harvard University, through the Executive Education for Leaders in Development Program, as well as at Henley Management College, where he completed specialized seminars. he is a member of several prestigious organizations, such as the Institute of Directors in London, the Strategic Management Societs in the United States, and the Turnaroud Management Association.

From 2002, Mateša has been the President of the Croatian Olympic Committee. At the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, he is a Vice Dean, and lecturer for the Strategic Management course at the undergraduate level, and for the Strategy course at the graduate level. He is also a distinguished author of many books and articles, some of his titles include Strategic Management, Sport Management, and An Introduction to Sport Law.