KONČAR team wins first place at the International IEDC Case Study Competition in Bled
The KONČAR team won the international IEDC Case Study Competition held in Bled from 13 to 15 October 2026 and organized by IEDC – Bled School of Management.
The team had previously won the national competition in Zagreb, securing a place at the international finals, where it competed against the winning teams from Slovenia (NLB d.d.), Serbia (NLB Banka Beograd), Montenegro (CKB Banka) and Romania (Confederatia Patronala Concordia).
The teams were given 24 hours to analyse the current position of Marriott Group, the world’s largest hotel chain, and propose a strategy in response to a range of potential uncertainties and challenges in the near future. The proposed strategy then had to be presented to an expert jury consisting of Slovenian business professionals Anja Järnberg, Brane Kalpič and Rok Prapotnik. The jury evaluated the KONČAR team’s presentation as the best among all competitors.
During the award ceremony, it was highlighted that the KONČAR team successfully summarized and clearly presented the current state of the hospitality market, key trends and uncertainties, while proposing strategic actions to strengthen resilience and support the continued growth of the analysed company group. The team was particularly praised for its use of the PESTEL analysis, the development of a risk matrix, the identification of potential critical scenarios and the strategic responses proposed for each of them.
The KONČAR team consisted of Barbara Tubić Bulat, Production Technology and Planning Engineer (Dalekovod), Marko Blažević, IT Technician (KONČAR Inc.), Loren Frančin, Mechanical Engineer – Researcher (KONČAR – Electrical Engineering Institute), Branimir Miličević, Key Account Manager (KONČAR Inc.), Petar Novaković, Project Manager (KONČAR – Transformer Tanks) and Ivan Pašalić, Technical Lead (KONČAR – Digital).
The team members highlighted the excellent atmosphere and strong collaboration throughout the preparation process and the development of the solution, as well as the value of the overall experience. The exchange of ideas, the diversity of knowledge and professional backgrounds, and the use of modern technologies all contributed to the development of the winning presentation. Despite the complexity of the challenge, the KONČAR team delivered a high-quality solution and secured victory in this important competition.
