Milos Jelic, CEO of Nelt Group - I am still learning

(Milos Jelic)

For Milos Jelic, the chief executive officer of Nelt Group, this year started off more than successfully. He is the winner of an award for successful company management presented by magazines Ekonometar and Magazin Biznis, while Nelt received the AmCham Leader in Change Award in Serbia.

- Last year was exceptionally important for the development of Nelt in the territory of Serbia. Some new partnerships were made in the area of distribution and logistics, additional 220 people got a job, and new technologies were successfully applied to our storage operations. I am glad that the business community has recognized these achievements. I am grateful to colleagues and partners who followed our work and dedication in all segments of business. It is also my pleasure that such a serious editorial staff has recognized me as a successful leader. Although this award indeed confirms the quality of Nelt Group management in 2015, it just gives me a reason to continue to work on the development of my managerial skills - Milos Jelic says to eKapija.

Even though he has more than 30 years of work experience and attention-worthy business results, Jelic has always been pointing to the achievements of the company he works at, putting his personal contribution aside.

In an interview with eKapija, Milos Jelic speaks about his education, career, life and business philosophy.

Economist

Milos Jelic graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo.

- The first time I was seriously thinking about my future profession was when choosing the faculty. After completing the grammar school, I was to decide if I am going to study natural or social sciences. Most of my peers picked economics or law, so I followed the general trend in my generation and enrolled in the Faculty of Economics.

He says that he would make the same choice again and advises young people to do the same.

- Throughout my education I got a comprehensive picture of how the economy functions, and through the prism of what they taught us, I was able to understand every single business system I worked in. Today education and business reality are not so aligned with each other, which is why it is important to open the company door to young people prior to their first job in order to gain insight into business processes and prepare for the future career.

He earned his first money while still in grammar school. Later, as a student, he was doing occasional summer jobs, ranging from physical to vocational.

- I was so proud the first time I came home with the money I earned and said parents I had enought to go on a summer vacation, and it was also a great feeling to know I can help and contribute to the home budget – says Jelic.

When he looks back, he admits that events which took place in the 1990s have changed his view of the world to a certain extent.

From Sipad to Nelt

He began his professional career at Sipad eksport-import, where he held managerial positions in foreign trade, after which he spent few years working for consumer goods distributors D&D and Dolce Bell, where his positions ranged from sales director to general manager.

- I came to Nelt in 2000 - at the recommendation and with a letter of recommendation from a friend of mine. Nelt was recommended to me as a company in which I should resume my career, while Nelt saw me as a person suitable to organize the distribution of Kraft portfolio (today Mondelez), which was just starting at the time. After holding various sales positions for few years, I was appointed as the general manager of Nelt Serbia. Following the organizational changes in 2013, due to diversification and business expansion, I assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Nelt Group.

Loyalty

- My career in Nelt developed in line with the development of the company. At the time I came, distribution of Kraft products in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia was just starting. For Nelt, as well as for me personally, this was a very imortant step at that moment. Neither we, as a company, were able to know how exactly our portfolio would expand in the years to come nor I, as an individual, could clearly foresee how my career would develop to date and assume that Nelt would one day become a group comprised of as many as 12 companies.

Although they operated in the time of recession, they achieved good business results, our interlocutor continues his story.

- Nelt has managed to grow from a local company into an organizational system that operates in seven markets and two continents, whereas I advanced from an operations manager to the CEO of the Nelt Group. We established quality business processes by learning from our principals, and I was taught about efficient operations and good management primarily from the founders of Nelt and through cooperation with colleagues within all the teams of which I was a member. Some of them today hold high managerial positions in some other domestic companies.

Considering that he has spent 16 years at the same company, we've asked our interlocutor what loyalty means to him.

- From my personal experience I can say that Nelt is a very specific environment when it comes to a sense of belonging and individual readiness for making an extra effort to help Nelt achieve and sometimes even exceed the set goal. And while it is a common thing that loyalty comes as a result of many years of work, Nelt makes you feel that way from the very first day. Despite the growth and expansion of business, Nelt has maintained that family atmosphere which you can sense on your first visit, entrance to the office, meeting with colleagues and superiors. It is interesting that all employees describe this phenomenon the same, regardless of whether they first met with Nelt in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Podgorica, Skopje or some other place. Ever since I came to the company, I have always worked with exceptional people and enjoyed the support of my associates.

Family – his greatest pride

I take the greatest pride in my family, says our interlocutor. He has very little leisure time, and when that time comes, he does his best to fill it with sports and fun with friends and family.

At the end of the interview, Milos Jelic talks about his plans for the following period.

- On a business level, I have some goals that we set in late 2015 and early 2016 to achieve. On a personal level, I will do my best to establish a better balance between my private and business life.