Selectium young business leader wins in national ‘AmChamps’ competition in Serbia

A young business leader from Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium and his mentee have won through to the finals of the national ‘AmChamps’ professional development competition in Serbia. Marko Stojanović (mentor) and Aleksa Antić (his mentee) beat 25 rival teams during the group phase on May 26, and on June 9, semi-finals were held and the team progressed to the finals.

The finals are designed in such a way that from July to October 2022 teams will be working on a project given to them by the top management of the mentor’s company. The project will need to fulfil two goals: development of leadership skills of the mentor (and mentee) and also bring concrete benefits to the company.

The project should be original, done from scratch and shouldn’t have anything to do with the current mentor’s daily jobs or position, so that the mentor is forced out of his/her comfort zone. Additionally, mentor and mentee are developing their project under mentorship of three members of AmCham Board of Directors. The AmCham Directors will help with suggestions and comments, track the projects and finally, choose the winners.

ten people are seen in a group shot
The winning semi-finalists with AmCham Directors, from the left: Aleksandar Vratonjić Gligorijević (Telegroup, AmCham Board of Directors); Tina Kostić (AmCham); Ivan Milosavljević (IREX, AmCham Board of Directors); Andrej Gavrić (AmChamps mentee); Ivan Vučićević (AmChamps mentor); Milana Maravić (AmChamps mentee); Aleksa Antić (Marko’s AmChamps mentee); Marko Stojanović (AmChamps mentor); Nina Petrović (Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, AmCham Board of Directors); Anđela Stojanović (AmCham). Photo credit – AmCham

Earlier, at the group phase in May, Marko from Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium and Aleksa also received a special award from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the mentoring pair that provided the best solution for a case study regarding Corporate Strategy. The winning prize for the mentor, Marko, was funding for a PwC mini-MBA and mentee Aleksa was awarded two PwC courses to complete.

Each year, the scheme gathers up to 50 participants, an equal mix of 25 students and 25 managers from AmCham member companies. AmChams are American Chambers of Commerce – international business fellowship organizations formed under two systems: the system of their host country and the system of the United States.

four people side by side at a presentation
Winning the group stage in May: Marko Stojanović and Aleksa Antić (center) with, left, Vera Nikolić Dimić, Executive Director at AmCham and, right, Stefan Lazarević, NCR Vice President and General Manager for Serbia, and also President of the AmCham Board of Governors. Photo credit – AmCham

AmChamp students are in their final year of undergraduate studies or enrolled in master studies at the state Universities in Serbia and can be up to 25 years of age. AmCham members and mentors are young and prospective mid-managers who are usually up to 37 years old.

According to the program website, AmChamps was launched in early 2014 as a showcase for how academia and the corporate sector could work together to develop the next generation of leaders of the future. Throughout the program, participants work in pairs on assignments and projects, or embedded into larger teams, developing together their mentoring relationships, team spirit and learning about modern business management.