WCED Lecture. “Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets: Managing and Financing Growth Strategies.”

Emil Tedeschi, CEO, the Atlantic Group. <br>Sponsors: WCED, International Policy Center, Ross School of Business.

Emil Tedeschi is the founder and majority shareholder of Atlantic Grupa, one of the largest consumer goods companies in Southeastern Europe. In 2007, Atlantic Grupa had the largest initial public offering (IPO) of any private company in Southeastern Europe. In November 2010, Atlantic Grupa acquired Slovenian company Droga Kolinska for 382 million EUR, making it the largest transaction in Southeastern Europe in 2010 and the largest cross-border transaction of the last 20 years on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The Croatian magazine Globus voted Atlantic Grupa’s acquisition the most important business event of 2010. According to Financial Times, Atlantic Grupa is the “standard-bearer for economic reintegration in the fragmented lands of the former Yugoslavia.”

Mr. Tedeschi was awarded the state medal for extraordinary contributions to the economy by the President of Croatia in 2010, and he has been honored as businessman of the year by media outlets and business associations on several occasions. He is a member of the parliamentary committee overseeing Croatian negotiations with the European Union, the Croatian Social and Economic Council, and the Croatian President’s Economic Advisory Council.