IICA-ESG - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Expert in the Financial Aspects
Following the completion of a math/IT curriculum at the Karlovac General High School, Hrvoje Novosel graduated from high school in Karlovac in 1991. From 1991 to 1996 he studied economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Zagreb, majoring in management.
During his career he attended numerous finance, management and project management education courses. He also completed the General Management Program at ZSEM, the Basel II program at the Bocconi School, as well as a number of other courses, such as ATTF Luxembourg's Credit Assessment and Credit Management, RR. & CO. Knowledge Center Ltd. Slovenia, European Union - School for Practical Preparation of EU Grant Projects, RRIF's Independent Accountant Training, and eventually the Mini MBA program at the PWC Academy.
His business career began in 1997 with Oriflame Croatia, and continued in 1997 with the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), where he initially took the position of credit officer at the Credit Division. At that time he was in charge of processing and approving loans, guarantees, bills of exchange and other banking products.
In that role, he participated in the financing of a series of projects such as guarantees for the purchase of agricultural products, mitigation of the effects of VAT introduction (in particular lending to large corporates), infrastructural investments, renewable energy and environmental preservation investments, initiation of investment in entrepreneurship in former war-torn areas, remediation of disadvantaged businesses, introduction of financial restructuring programs, export and export preparation, project lending in co-operation with the Croatian development funds, and financing of the Republic of Croatia's projects and reconstruction of war-damaged houses. He also engaged in foreclosures.
In 2001 he became the Head of Large Corporates Department, and in the beginning of 2004 the founder and the first Managing Director at the Credit Analysis Department. From 2006 to end 2007 he was acting Executive Director at the Analysis Division, and from 2011 to date he has worked as Managing Director in charge of the Business Process Management Department.
As such, he has led the business process modelling and analysis project, then continued with the introduction of best practices in organizational management, process approach implementation and business change management, process analysis, identification of change priorities, design, implementation and control of improved business processes and solutions. As part of his lifelong engagement, besides the management team, he has been an active participant in the identification, organization and implementation of new regulations, methodologies, products and organizational changes in the area of risk, credit analysis, sales and organization, and in general banking business. He is also closely involved in the State aid regulation and requirements.
Expert in finance, banking, strategic planning and project management
Expert in the financial aspects of Climate Change
Job Titles:
- Secretary / Inga Žaler Kušec Is a Student of the Faculty of Croatian Studies in Zagreb, Attending a Two - Subject Study in Communications and Sociology
Inga Žaler Kušec is a student of the Faculty of Croatian Studies in Zagreb, attending a two-subject study in communications and sociology.
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Senior Consultant for Voluntary Carbon Markets
Javier Manzanares Allen has over twenty-five years of management experience in international organisations, multilateral development banks, and financial institutions, working with significant stakeholders and political leaders in multicultural and complicated environments. He has substantial decision-making expertise in climate investments and operations, committees, and fundraising, as well as a strong background in climate change adaptation and mitigation, legal frameworks, ESG, carbon markets, digital MRV, and innovation and technology.
Javier is the World Bank's Senior Consultant for Voluntary Carbon Markets in Middle Income Countries, CEO of ALLEN MANZA INC, Co-CEO of ClimateCoin, Co-Chair of SURECO & Partners, Executive Board Member at Biocarbon Registry & Standards, Advisor to Africa's Green Economy and the former Deputy Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund in South Korea.
Previously, he held the positions of Director and Regional Representative of UNOPS for MERCOSUR, based in Argentina and Manager of the Investment and Development Banking Division at "CABEI/CABEI" based in Honduras. Javier also worked as Executive Vice President of two private banks of Grupo Fierro in Miami and Guatemala. His career in banking and finance began with Banking and finance with Banco Santander/BSCH in the United States, Hong Kong and Japan.
He also has a Ph.D. in "Sustainability Management" from INHA University in the Republic of Korea, an MBA/EMBA in Finance from Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University in the United States, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Javier has lectured at universities in the USA, Spain, South Korea, and Guatemala, and has written several publications on sustainability and climate action.
Job Titles:
- President of the Board of Directors of IICA - ESG
Marija was born in Dubrovnik and graduated from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb.
After a multi-year career as a judge, she moved to the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency in 2009, where she managed the Fund's organizational and personnel structure, as well as the development of projects in the fields of environmental protection and energy, before opening her own Law Office, which focuses on environmental law cases.
She enrolled in several specialist courses in environmental protection, and in June 2013, as part of Mr. Al Gore's "The Climate Reality Project", she was educated and earned the title of Climate Leader - climate change expert.
She is the co-founder and president of the International Institute for Climate Action (IICA), which was founded in 2012. She is a member of several Commissions at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and participated as an expert in 4 working groups for climate change during the Presidency of the Republic of Croatia in the Council of the EU.
She is an official member of the delegation of the Republic of Croatia at the climate change negotiations in Paris in 2015 - COP21; Katowice (COP24), Madrid (COP25), Glasgow (COP26), and Sharm-el Sheikh (COP27).
She has published several articles in the field of environmental protection, participated in the drafting of the first Climate Law of the Republic of Croatia, and regularly participates as a lecturer or panelist at conferences in the Republic of Croatia and abroad, where she is, among other things, a permanent lecturer at the World Summit in China organized by BiT - China.
She was a member of the Board of Directors of several institutions: the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia (AmCham), the International Chamber of Commerce in the Republic of Croatia (ICCC), the International Organization for Sustainable Economy (IASE) in London, and a member of the Task Force in charge of climate change and policy disputes (ADR) at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC).
She is a member of the Croatian Diplomatic Club, and in 2022, the Croatian Bar Association recognized her Environmental Law specialization as the first of that kind in the Republic of Croatia.
International expert in environmental and climate law and policies (Climate Leader), and ESG
International foreign policy and diplomacy expert with a focus on climate diplomacy
Job Titles:
- Expert in the Field of Waste Management
Teo graduated from the University of Zagreb's Veterinary Faculty in 1993. He has worked as a salesman, field veterinarian, head of the veterinary service, and director of VS Dvor d.o.o., where he has been a senior expert advisor for the establishment of a system of animal identification and monitoring in traffic in the veterinary department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Croatia since 2007.
He participated in the negotiations for the Republic of Croatia's accession to the European Union as a specialist. He has worked at the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund since 2009. As Assistant Director, he implemented several measures to improve the special waste management system. He has been an advisor to the Director of the Fund for Climate Change, ESG, and Waste Management since 2011.
Participated in numerous domestic and international veterinary medicine, environmental protection, and energy efficiency conferences, seminars, and educations. He is involved in several international projects. Teo is also the author and co-author of several professional waste management papers, as well as a waste management paper reviewer. He is a lecturer and assistant in the courses "Waste Management" and "Green Logistics" at Velika Gorica University since 2015.
In 2019, he passed the Project Manager exam at the Special Skills Academy Ltd. in London, which was funded by EU funds. He graduated from Shaw Academy Dublin in Ireland with a Professional Diploma in Leadership & Management, EQF Level 5. Furthermore, in 2022, Teo completed his education and got a Professional Certificate in INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS (ISB®), Level I Advisor exam, which was organized by the International Association for Sustainable Economy, Putney Hill, London. He is currently pursuing Level II, Specialist certification.