# AI Leadership — COTRUGLI: the full text > AI Leadership is the thought-leadership part of COTRUGLI's AI lab (cotrugli.tech): the cases, the record and the people of CDayZ 2026, held in Zadar, Croatia, 5–9 October 2026, by COTRUGLI Business School with SOIS, AI and Gaming EDIH, HashNET, the University of Zadar and Terešak Law Office, in partnership with the European Commission. Every case is a chapter of Codex Mercatorum, the public book; the full text of this site is at /llms-full.txt. ## The record of CDayZ 2026 ### Monday 5 October — Arrival & Opening (University of Zadar) The University of Zadar, 17:00–20:00 — a roundtable on AI in education, the opening addresses, the welcome reception. - 17:00–18:00 — Roundtable (by invitation) — AI in Education: Part of Every Degree, or a Degree of Its Own?; at the table: Gordan Akrap, Tomislav Petković, Marko Šarlija, Iva Kapusta, Dražen Kapusta - 18:00–18:20 — Opening addresses - 18:20–20:00 — Welcome reception ### Tuesday 6 October — Art of Intelligence (Providur's Palace) The encyclical Magnifica humanitas, security and cognitive superiority, peak performance, the NEO8ra federation. - 09:00–10:15 — Registration - 10:15–10:30 — Welcome note; at the table: Iva Kapusta · Gordan Akrap - 10:30–11:00 — Addresses; at the table: Archbishop of Zadar Milan Zgrablić · EU Commissioner Dubravka Šuica - 11:00–13:00 — The Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (lead: Dražen Kapusta); at the table: Milan Zgrablić, Tonko Obuljen, Gordan Akrap, Iva Kapusta, Tali Režun - 15:00–16:00 — CEO Fire Chat (lead: Iva Kapusta); at the table: Zoran Mabić, Vjekoslav Majetić, Vesna Jurković - 16:00–17:00 — The Gold Medal the Model Did Not Win (lead: Dražen Kapusta); at the table: Sara Beram, Herman Vukušić - 17:00–18:00 — 75% Data Problem, €250 Billion Opportunity, Fog, Solution (lead: Dražen Kapusta); at the table: Alessio Manca, Nena Dokuzov, Boštjan Gomilšek, Tadej Slapnik, Gordan Akrap ### Wednesday 7 October — Art of Trade (Providur's Palace) AI for security and business, robots in business, hotels, the AI office, the rail that never decides, the eighty-percent decision. - 09:00–10:00 — Registration - 10:00–11:00 — AI for Security and Business (lead: Gordan Akrap); at the table: Dražen Kapusta, Tomislav Petković, Dalibor Franjić, Tali Režun - 11:00–12:00 — Imagine Robots in Business Three Years from Now (lead: Iva Kapusta); at the table: Tadej Slapnik, Luka Slapnik, Mario Celan, Vladimir Terešak Jr., Vandri 1 - 12:00–13:00 — The Meeting Where Everyone Was Right and Nothing Moved (lead: Srđan Jovanović); at the table: Petar Đurić, Igor Vukašinović - 15:00–16:00 — AI Office (lead: Tali Režun); at the table: Đorđe Cakić, Mislav Bašić, Borna Segulin, Denitsa Stoyanova - 16:00–17:00 — Problem, Solution. All the Rest Is Noise (lead: Snežana Ilić); at the table: Tomislav Anadolac, Marija Lovrić, Budimir Milić, Srđan Jovanović - 17:00 onwards — Participants' cases — presented by their authors ### Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (Hotel Hyatt) AI in the firm, the expert and the agent, AI on the board, selling, building twice, the AI hackathon — then the participants' cases at the tables. - 09:00–10:00 — Registration - 10:00–11:00 — The AI Everyone Used but Underperformed (lead: Dražen Kapusta); at the table: Andreja Čović Vidović, Edo Mujkić, Tvrtko Dolić, Kristina Bukilić, Zlatko Galešić - 11:00–12:00 — The Best Person for the Old Job Was Ready for the New One (lead: Snežana Ilić); at the table: Vesna Jurković, Hrvoje Lisak, Marija Lovrić, Miroslava Jocić, Jurica Vuković, Nevenka Bilandžić, Alenka Jajac Knez, Andreja Čović Vidović - 12:00–13:00 — The Board Pack Was Perfect. The Decision Was Not. (lead: Luka Gauta); at the table: Helena Schmidt, Siniša Čolević, Kristina Bukilić, Ljudmila Bjelić - 15:00–16:00 — The Sale That Happened Before the Meeting (lead: Saša Pavlaković); at the table: Ivor Baksa, Bruno Pavić, Zvonimir Šimić, Mario Martinek, Marija Nikolić - 16:00–17:00 — The Executive Who Built Twice (lead: Irena Grofelnik); at the table: Hrvoje Strepački, Hrvoje Lisak, Zlatko Rizvić, Budimir Milić - 17:00–17:30 — The Hackathon Where Nobody Wrote Code (lead: Dražen Kapusta); at the table: The room — the hackathon needs no panel - 17:30–18:30 — Participants' cases at the tables — tables of six, one case each, no stage ### Friday 9 October — Art of Leadership (Hotel Hyatt) The new role for MBA alumni, the first Monday as CEO, from Lex Mercatoria to the AI economy, the tribe, the journey — the Zadar Declaration and the closing session, then the participants' cases at the tables. - 09:00–10:00 — Registration - 10:00–11:00 — Three Titles Arrived Before the Job Did (lead: Aco Momčilović); at the table: Saša Milinović, Marin Validžić, Boris Bajtl - 11:00–12:00 — The First Monday as CEO (lead: Vlatka Šrajbek); at the table: Hrvoje Tretinjak, Jerko Bačić, Hrvoje Merki, Krešimir Lokas, Vukašin Stanisavljević, Miroslava Jocić - 12:00–13:00 — From Lex Mercatoria to the AI Economy (lead: Dražen Kapusta); at the table: Vladimir Terešak, Siniša Čolević, Ana Blažević, Loris Dessardo, Vjekoslav Majetić · The room joins the table - 15:00–16:00 — Do You Need a Tribe in the NEO Era? (lead: Zrinko Petener); at the table: The EMBA cohort at the table — and whoever is in the room - 16:00–17:00 — The Trip They Still Talked About Years Later (lead: Ivana Babić); at the table: The EMBA cohort at the table — and whoever is in the room - 17:00–17:30 — The Zadar Declaration and the Closing Session (lead: Iva Kapusta) - 17:30–18:30 — Participants' cases at the tables — tables of six, one case each, no stage ## The cases ### 02. The Gold Medal the Model Did Not Win Tuesday 6 October — Art of Intelligence · Lead: Dražen Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/02.html Sara Beram won a gold medal at the Mediterranean Games. Behind that moment were years of training, coaching, mental preparation, discipline, and continuous analysis of her performance. AI also became part of that process. Her coach used fight footage and AI-supported analysis to review rounds, identify patterns, and ask better questions. ### 03. CEO Fire Chat Tuesday 6 October — Art of Intelligence · Lead: Iva Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/03.html ### 04. Why Smart People Still Produce Weak Decisions Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/04.html The meeting began on time, which made it look disciplined. The agenda was clear. The slides had been sent the evening before. Finance had prepared numbers. Sales had brought market signals. HR had employee concerns. Operations had capacity constraints. Marketing had customer data. ### 05. Imagine Robots in Business Three Years from Now Wednesday 7 October — Art of Trade · Lead: Iva Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/05.html Imagine a warehouse in 2029. It is highly automated. Robots move goods, AI analyses operations, and different technology providers manage different parts of the process. At 2:17 in the morning, two robots stop in front of the same loading area. ### 06. From Lex Mercatoria to the AI Economy Friday 9 October — Art of Leadership (II) · Lead: Dražen Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/06.html Imagine two companies doing business across borders. AI agents help exchange offers, specifications, and delivery details. The buyer sends an updated specification. The supplier’s AI agent acknowledges receiving it. ### 07. The Season Was Full, but the Destination Wanted More Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/07.html Imagine you are a hotel owner after a successful summer season. The hotel is full, guests are happy, and one guest asks: “We would love to come back in November. Could someone organise the whole stay for us?” ### 08. 75% Data Problem, €250 Billion Opportunity, Fog, Solution Tuesday 6 October — Art of Intelligence · Lead: Dražen Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/08.html Europe is facing a major digital challenge. By 2030, the EU wants 75% of European businesses to use cloud-edge technologies. At the same time, more than 70% of Europe’s cloud market is currently served by the three largest American providers. ### 09. The Sale That Happened Before the Meeting Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (I) · Lead: Saša Pavlaković · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/09.html Imagine a sales director preparing for the most important meeting of the quarter. Twenty-four slides. Product demonstrations. Customer references. Seven minutes into the meeting, the customer interrupts. ### 10. The First Monday as CEO Friday 9 October — Art of Leadership (II) · Lead: Vlatka Šrajbek · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/10.html Imagine it is your first Monday as CEO. On Friday everyone congratulated you. By Monday morning, everyone needs something. Pricing approval. Cost decisions. HR issues. Board questions. Suppliers calling. ### 11. The Executive Who Built Twice Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (I) · Lead: Irena Grofelnik · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/11.html For years, we treated executive leadership and entrepreneurship as opposite career paths. One represents governance, responsibility, and organisations. The other represents ownership, speed, and risk. ### 12. Problem, Solution. All the Rest Is Noise Wednesday 7 October — Art of Trade · Lead: Snežana Ilić · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/12.html Imagine a company where most meetings last ten minutes. The person responsible states the problem in one sentence. The team considers no more than three options. A decision is made, ownership is assigned, and the team agrees when to review the outcome. ### 13. The AI Everyone Used but Underperformed Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (I) · Lead: Dražen Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/13.html Imagine a company where almost everyone already uses AI. Sales writes proposals faster. Marketing creates more content. Finance analyses data instantly. Managers arrive with polished presentations. Every department has an AI success story. ### 14. AI Office Wednesday 7 October — Art of Trade · Lead: Tali Režun · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/14.html Imagine a company where employees have been experimenting with AI individually for months. Some use it for research. Others draft emails or automate routine tasks. One five-person team decides to redesign an entire workflow. ### 15. The Best Person for the Old Job Was Ready for the New One Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (I) · Lead: Snežana Ilić · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/15.html Imagine an employee everyone calls when something goes wrong. For twelve years, Martin has become indispensable. He knows customers, systems, exceptions, and difficult situations better than anyone else. ### 16. The Board Pack Was Perfect. The Decision Was Not. Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (I) · Lead: Luka Gauta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/16.html Imagine a board considering the acquisition of a successful competitor. Everything looks convincing. Strong customers. Excellent financial model. Promising synergies. AI has helped analyse documents and prepare answers to every expected board question. ### 17. The Rail That Never Decides Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/17.html Imagine your largest customer suddenly withholds €62,400 from an invoice. They claim your delivery was late and your product failed to meet specification. Your company disagrees. Normally this would become weeks of emails, lawyers, and conflicting memories. ### 18. The Hackathon Where Nobody Wrote Code Thursday 8 October — Art of Leadership (I) · Lead: Dražen Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/18.html Imagine a traditional manufacturing company invited to an AI hackathon. The sales director laughs. “We have no developers. What are we going to hack?” But nobody writes code. Each company provides only two sentences. ### 19. The Job Nobody Could Hire For Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/19.html The eighth candidate withdrew on a Thursday. The founder read the recruiter’s message twice. “She likes the company and the team. Her concern is the scope of the role.” The position had been open for four months. ### 20. The European Company That Finally Raised Its Ambition Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/20.html The invitation arrived through a customer they already served. A European industrial group was preparing a common operating programme across several countries. Its procurement team wanted to know whether the company could support the wider organisation. ### 21. The Meeting Where Everyone Was Right and Nothing Moved Wednesday 7 October — Art of Trade · Lead: Srđan Jovanović · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/21.html At 11:47, the CEO realised they were having the same meeting for the fourth time. The slides were new. The arguments were familiar. The commercial director wanted to enter a neighbouring market while an important customer was willing to open doors. The finance director wanted stronger evidence that the expansion could pay for itself. ### 22. The Customers Who Stopped Buying and Started Belonging Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/22.html The founder arrived at her own customer event and found that nobody needed her to open it. At one table, an experienced customer was helping a newcomer adapt a template. Across the room, two people compared how they had introduced the company’s product to their teams. ### 23. Do You Need a Tribe in the NEO Era? Friday 9 October — Art of Leadership (II) · Lead: Zrinko Petener · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/23.html Think about the people you studied or worked with during the most intense period of your career. You saw each other under pressure. You worked late. You disagreed. You watched each other solve difficult problems. ### 24. The Trip They Still Talked About Years Later Friday 9 October — Art of Leadership (II) · Lead: Ivana Babić · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/24.html Five years after a learning journey, someone posts an old photograph. Within minutes, people begin remembering conversations rather than presentations. Getting lost on the way to a meeting. Dinner discussions. ### 25. The Zadar Declaration and the Closing Session Closing · Lead: Iva Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/25.html For more than twenty years, COTRUGLI has worked with thousands of executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Over time, certain patterns become visible. The most successful people are not always the smartest. ### 26. The Infrastructure That Changed Sides Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/26.html The disaster-recovery plan was excellent. It had been audited twice. It failed in an afternoon — not because anything in it broke, but because the world it assumed stopped existing. ### 27. The Invoice Nobody Wanted to Send Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/27.html The invoice had been ready for eleven days. Nobody had sent it. He found it on a Monday, in the shared folder, numbered and complete: the second milestone on a custom test line for a large manufacturer, 184,000, the biggest single line his engineering firm had ever written. ### 28. The Deadline That Was Not the Clock Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/28.html --- The deadline arrived before the offer did. On a Tuesday morning the CEO of a precision-components manufacturer in a small Central European country — 340 people, one plant, a reputation built over nineteen years — received a two-line message from the procurement lead of a large infrastructure group in the Gulf. ### 29. The Night the Titles Came Off The MBA module · Lead: Petra Kosić · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/29.html At half past ten, the regional CEO was helping move a table. An entrepreneur held the other end. A younger manager cleared a path while someone rescued three glasses from the edge. They had spent the afternoon discussing leadership in a room where their names and positions appeared on a screen. ### 30. Learning Together, Building Together — Stronger Together The MBA module · Lead: Irena Grofelnik · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/30.html At the end of the first module, they compared notes on the journey home. They had listened to the same faculty, discussed the same case and spent the weekend with the same generation. Their notebooks looked surprisingly different. ### 31. Three Titles Arrived Before the Job Did Friday 9 October — Art of Leadership (II) · Lead: Aco Momčilović · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/31.html Marta had three proposals on her desk and one MBA diploma on the wall behind her. Lamora offered a Chief Transformation Navigator, two Navigators and a Navigation Analyst. Beutiful offered a Head of Applied Intelligence Experience whose experience, on closer reading, was eleven months. ### 32. The Sky Had No Border. The Data Did. Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/32.html In 2031, the distance between Shenzhen and Hong Kong had not changed. The meaning of that distance had. Thousands of autonomous aircraft now moved through the low-altitude layer above the Greater Bay Area. ### 33. AI for Security and Business Wednesday 7 October — Art of Trade · Lead: Gordan Akrap · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/33.html Imagine you are the CEO of a family-owned food company during the most important week of the year. For six weeks, an attacker has quietly been inside your company. It began with a convincing supplier email. ### 34. Sales Owned the Result. No One Owned the Whole. Beyond the four days — cases for the book · Lead: Irena Grofelnik · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/34.html At the end of a business-process review, the CEO heard two competing explanations for the same commercial problem. The process consultant's diagnosis was direct: the problem did not sit in sales alone. It ran through procurement, logistics, inventory and sales. ### 35. Who Should Own the Intelligence? Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-A1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/35.html We have already launched an AI-powered platform designed to help smallholder farmers turn raw farm data into actionable insights. The platform collects information from farmers about their farms, crops, soil, farming practices, and field conditions. ### 36. Who Owns the AI? Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-S1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/36.html On Monday morning, Elena received what looked like a simple request. Her organisation had been asked to prepare an inventory of the artificial intelligence systems it used: the name of each system, its purpose, the type of data involved, and who was responsible for it. ### 37. The Hour Before the Decision Beyond the four days — cases for the book · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/37.html The exercise begins at 04:40, and the first thing that fails is not a machine. Twenty-two people are in the room: eleven officers on a command course and eleven executives who were invited because the academy wanted to see what happens when the two groups are given the same problem. A port matters to both of them. ### 38. Before You Enter the Room Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · VanguardJ1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/38.html A few months ago, our organization was considering how best to structure a managed services organization supporting customers across multiple countries and regions. At a high level, there were two competing approaches. ### 39. The Leader the Operation Could Not Afford to Lose Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-S2 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/39.html The operation was finally stable. That was when he started to think he had created a new problem. At one point in his career he had taken responsibility for a high-volume operation run by a large international company. ### 40. Nobody Changed on Monday Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-S3 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/40.html The company sells heating systems — boilers, and increasingly heat pumps — in one small European market. It is the national sales arm of a large German manufacturer: €30 million in revenue, €9 million in gross profit, around fifty people, no factory. Everything it sells reaches the end customer through installers and wholesalers. ### 41. The Algorithmic Bench: Who Owns standard of care in Autonomous Diagnostic Triage? Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · VanguardJ2 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/41.html The emergency department at Jane General Hospital System was operating at 140% capacity when the executive committee deployed Aegis-Triage, an advanced AI decision-support agent designed to prioritize incoming critical patients. ### 42. The Stadium That Drank the Water Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · VanguardG1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/42.html In a semi-arid county in East Africa, the decision has already been taken in private. The county government, supported by the national political leadership, is about to break ground on a multi-purpose stadium. The budget is approximately KES 20 billion. ### 43. The Line at the Bottom of the Email Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-L1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/43.html The test was meant to be routine. By Thursday it was the most uncomfortable slide in the commercial review. Eight months earlier, the company had rolled out an AI agent to its outbound team. ### 44. Who Understands the Code? Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-D1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/44.html A small software company develops a specialised platform used by customers around the world. The company has a close technical team: eight developers work on new features and improve the software, while six engineers provide global support to customers. ### 46. The Sentence That Decided Nothing Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-A2 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/46.html “The router loses the signal every evening. I pay for the fastest package, and my children do their homework on mobile data.” It was one of several thousand comments in the February customer survey. The company’s AI analytics system had read all of them overnight and linked the complaints to equipment age, acquisition channel and churn. ### 47. The Cognitive Atrophy Dilemma Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-T1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/47.html For most of human history, progress has followed a simple pattern. We created tools to reduce physical effort. The wheel reduced carrying. The engine reduced walking. The crane reduced lifting. Every major technological breakthrough allowed people to do more work with less exertion. No one worries today that forklifts made humans weaker. ### 48. Accountability Without Authority Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-M1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/48.html Daniel was a middle manager in the finance function of a large company operating in a volatile and demanding market. Formally, his role was to manage a team, ensure that the department delivered its operational responsibilities, and provide expert support in financing, liquidity management and financial risk. ### 49. Who Chooses the Next 240? Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · VanguardD1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/49.html I coordinate programmes for a pan-African network of university innovation hubs, supported by a UN agency. There are 23 hubs in 21 African countries, with five more opening by December. Many of the students and young founders who come through our hubs have never had access to serious training, mentors or funding. ### 50. The Manager Who Was Faster Than Everyone Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-A3 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/50.html The first sign that something had changed was not the quality of the work. It was the speed. Within three months, one middle manager had become impossible to keep up with. He answered emails within minutes, produced meeting summaries before anyone else had finished processing the meeting, and delivered polished presentations overnight. ### 51. The Robot That Came First Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-A4 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/51.html The first meeting was supposed to be about a robot. Within an hour, it became a conversation about what kind of hospital the customer intended to become. The hospital was privately owned, financially strong and already well known in several areas of medicine. ### 52. The Automation That Failed Because It Worked Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-B1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/52.html The process was quite simple. When a customer had an insurance claim and the insurer needed photographs, an employee entered the claim into InScope and sent the customer a link. The customer opened the link, followed the instructions and took the required photographs. ### 53. The Veto Nobody Wanted to Call Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-G1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/53.html I run the Quality Assurance and Control Department at a small pharmaceutical company. We distribute medicines and medical devices, and we operate a small manufacturing line. Around 120 people work here across office, warehouse, and production floors, and everyone knows everyone by first name. ### 54. The Standard in Her Head Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · VanguardS1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/54.html The order was one the brand had been working toward for three years. A regional retailer wanted a collection of naturally dyed, eco-printed garments, ten times the brand's usual monthly volume, with a second order to follow if the first went well and possibly getting another retailer on board. ### 55. From Alarm to Action Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-V1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/55.html 02:17. The night shift in a telecom Network Operations Center sees three BTS/cell-unavailable alarms appear in the RAN monitoring tool. Three sites are not unusual enough, by themselves, to explain the cause. They could be unrelated local failures. They could be power. They could be transport. ### 56. The Architect Who Became the Bottleneck Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-H1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/56.html I have run my architecture practice for thirteen years. It is a small office, and that has always been part of its strength. Clients know who is responsible. Decisions can be made quickly. I know the history behind every important drawing, every conversation with a consultant, and every promise made to an investor. ### 57. The Dashboard Nobody Asked For Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-N2 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/57.html It is the last week of the month, and Alex is doing what he has done every month since he joined: preparing the billing reconciliations for the corporate print fleets his manager is responsible for. He is a junior billing assistant in the managed print division of a large IT group. ### 58. Everyone's Initiative, Nobody's Decision Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-J1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/58.html A fictional leadership case for discussion. The managing director had built the branch himself. When he arrived in Zagreb, the local office of the international group had twenty people and one large customer. Eight years later, it had eighty-five people, a strong regional reputation and some of the best engagement scores in the group. ### 59. The Control That Never Sleeps Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · A participant's case · MBA-P1 · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/59.html For years, the final check before a loan is disbursed has looked much the same. ### 60. The Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas Tuesday 6 October — Art of Intelligence · Lead: Dražen Kapusta · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/60.html On 15 May 2026, one hundred and thirty-five years to the day after Rerum novarum, Pope Leo XIV signed Magnifica humanitas, an encyclical on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. ### 61. The Companies That Never Knock Cases from the MBA and the Vanguard · Lead: Tomislav Plesec · https://cdayz.cotrugli.tech/book/chapters/61.html The services were ready. The AI experts were available. The European funding was in place. Companies could receive support, training and access to advanced digital expertise at little or no direct cost. ## The Zadar Declaration Human Leadership, Trusted AI and Fair Global Trade — AI for Good: for People, Planet and Prosperity. 1. AI serves People, Planet and Prosperity. 2. Human beings remain responsible for consequential decisions. 3. AI agents act within visible, limited and revocable mandates. 4. Trade rests on trust that can be verified — from Lex Mercatoria and the statutes of Zadar into the AI era. ## The people ### The Conference Board - Iva Kapusta — Chair - Gordan Akrap — Vice Chair - Tomislav Plesec — Vice Chair - Tali Režun — Vice Chair - Nena Dokuzov — Vice Chair - Tadej Slapnik — Vice Chair - Srđan Jovanović — Vice Chair - Dražen Kapusta — Vice Chair - Marko Šarlija — Vice Chair, University of Zadar - Tomislav Petković — Vice Chair, University of Zadar - Andrej Razumić — Member · Head of the Department of Polytechnics, University of Defence and Security "Dr. Franjo Tuđman" - Mateja Napravnik — Member · Department of Polytechnics, University of Defence and Security "Dr. Franjo Tuđman" - Dragan Mišetić — Member · Vice-Rector, University of Defence and Security "Dr. Franjo Tuđman" ### Leaders at the tables - Dubravka Šuica — EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, European Commission - Sara Beram — Peak Performance Expert, Gold Medalist at the Mediterranean Games - Dr. Herman Vukušić — Peak Performance Expert - Milan Zgrablić — Archbishop of Zadar, Archdiocese of Zadar - Andreja Čović Vidović — Deputy Head of Representation, European Commission Representation in Croatia - Tonko Obuljen — Director, HAKOM — Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries - Alessio Manca — Villanova.ai · IPCEI-CIS - Ivor Baksa — Owner, Tripple Innovations - Matis Meglič — Commercial Innovation Leader in Healthcare |, Stealth - Hrvoje Strepački — Head of Delivery, New Fire global partners - Boštjan Gomilšek — Result - Zrinko Petener — PhD, former Advisor to the President of Croatia for Defence and National Security - Aco Momčilović — Co founder, Global AI Institute - Mario Celan — Founder, Educatorium - Vandri 1 — Humanoid, Vandri Robotics - Anđelka Dessardo — Board Member, Artemis Holding - Marin Validžić — Director, S.P.A.C.E. d.o.o. - Bruno Pavić — Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Board Member, Magdis d.o.o. - Irena Grofelnik — CEO & Owner, SPIRITON Ltd. Co - Loris Dessardo — CEO, Auro Domus Group - Mario Martinek — Owner & General Manager, Bijeli svijet - Bright World - Mislav Bašić — CEO, 4uha d.o.o. - Borna Segulin — Chief Executive Officer, Idoneus d.o.o. - Dalibor Franjić — CEO & Co-Founder, SYNVERSO d.o.o - Edo Mujkić — Co-Founder & Director, NutriArt - Hrvoje Lisak — InterCut Medical Care, Founder - Hrvoje Tretinjak — CEO, Aroma global 3 d.o.o. - Krešimir Lokas — Chief Executive Officer, Bobis d.o.o. - Tomislav Anadolac — Co-founder, Old Pilot’s gin & vodka and NEBO Croatian Small Batch Whiskey - Vjekoslav Majetić — Founder & Owner, DOK-ING - Zlatko Rizvić — CEO, Moduluxe - Zlatko Galešić — Siemens Energy - Alenka Jajac Knez — CEO, JGL d.d. - Helena Schmidt — Country Leader, Deloitte Croatia - Jerko Bačić — CEO, Logicum - Zoran Mabić — General Manager Lesaffre Adriatic & Slovenia, Lesaffre - Hrvoje Merki — Board Member/CEO, EURCO Inc. - Zvonimir Šimić — CEO, Optika Anda - Saša Pavlaković — Founder, Vertex Momentum Advisory - Ljudmila Bjelić — Head of Finance Smart Infrastructure, Siemens - Vesna Jurković — Owner, 3D Financije - Vukašin Stanisavljević — CEO, Vege d.o.o. - Petar Đurić — Business Unit Lead, Johnson & Johnson - Vladimir Terešak — Attorney at Law, Odvjetničko društvo Terešak & Partneri - Vladimir Terešak Jr. — Odvjetničko društvo Terešak & Partneri - Boris Bajtl — Global Delivery Head, Identity and Access Management, Atos - Tvrtko Dolić — Cluster Head Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria, SOBI - Josipa Petrović — Sales & Retail Operations Director, Studenac market - Denitsa Stoyanova - Đorđe Cakić — Customer Experience & Omnichannel Engagement Lead CEETRIS region, Roche - Igor Vukašinović — Country Lead Serbia and Montenegro, Molson Coors Beverage - Kristina Bukilić — Finance & Accounting Division Director, Erste Bank - Miroslava Jocić — CEO, Secut - Siniša Čolević — Partner, Law Office Stanivuković - Jurica Vuković — Business Leader, Fagron Hrvatska d.o.o. - Nevenka Bilandžić — Human Resources Manager, Salvus d.o.o. - Vlatka Šrajbek — CFO, Member of the board, Pan pek - Bella Bubalo — TVZ - Luka Gauta - Budimir Milić — International Development Consultant - Marija Nikolić — AI Manager, Kaphera - Luka Slapnik - Marija Lovrić — CEO, BICRO BIOCentre Ltd. - Saša Milinović — General Manager, Otis dizala - Antonio Maršić ### The MBA and Vanguard cohort - Alona Dernovšek - Ana Romac - Andrea Antonovic - Anđela Škaro - Anja Asic - Ante Palac - Antonela Petrov - Anton Butazov - Antonio Zeko - Branka Kaiš - Bruno Rašić - Damjan Luštica - Dea Mataić - Dusko Ilic - Filip Rašić - Goran Nikolić - Gordana Markovic - Hrvoje Bilandzic - Igor Ivanovic - Iva Lovrinov Bernobić - Ivan Draganic - Ivan Dundovic - Jerry John Antolos - Julijan Marin - Jurica Krizanic - Luka Robić - Mariia Mazur - Mario Konecki - Marko Manojlovic - Martina Cvetnic - Mateo Jarak - Mirjana Biljić - Niko Bucalo - Nikola Grubesic - Pavle Prentasić - Petar Ugljesic - Sarah Isufi - Stjepak Megnausevic - Stjepko Bulic - Tina Dominika Viskovic - Tomislav Plesec - Vildana Delic - Vukašin Markovic ### The COTRUGLI team - Petra Kosić — COTRUGLI - Snežana Ilić — COTRUGLI - Ika Mišura — COTRUGLI - Ivana Babić — COTRUGLI - Iva Đačić — COTRUGLI - Ana Blažević — Developer, COTRUGLI ## Chronicles ### Twelve Leaders, Four Questions Interview · 2026-09-17 · CDayZ Editorial Before Zadar, the confirmed leaders were sent four questions: what they look forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026, where they see the greatest opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence, which skills the leaders of the future will need, and where they see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ. Twelve answers so far. Two were written in English; the other ten were given in Croatian or Serbian and are translated here. More follow as they arrive. Ask yourself what you would answer. Then come and argue it at a table in Zadar. ## Ivor Bakša — Owner, Tripple Innovations What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Seeing old colleagues, and what COTRUGLI has prepared for us. It is exciting to see how COTRUGLI and Dražen have approached the new AI era and leadership in that era. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? I see the opportunities in optimising business processes, in openings to expand the business, and in new business opportunities that arise as the complexity of processes and the human factor (blue and white collar) shrinks. The biggest challenge: “Is the AI or the robot responsible for the delivery, or is the responsibility human?” “What exactly will people do, and what set of knowledge will a person need?” As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? Robotics is going through the most interesting development. The leader of the future will have to know how to lead using AI, robots and people. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? In developing new forms of business based on AI, together with participants from different business verticals. ## Tom Zovko — General Manager, Royal Hotels & Resort What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Most of all I look forward to meeting old colleagues and friends again, but equally to meeting new people. I especially look forward to good conversations, to exchanging experiences and perspectives, and to new opportunities to connect and collaborate. It is the people and the relationships we build that so often make an event truly valuable. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? The greatest opportunity I see is in using artificial intelligence to raise productivity, speed up innovation and make better business decisions. AI lets us hand part of the routine work to technology and so free up more room for creativity, strategic thinking and what gives people the greatest value. At the same time, the greatest challenge I see is that the development of technology has to be matched by the development of responsibility. Organisations will have to find the right balance between technological possibilities, human judgement, ethics and trust. It will not be enough to know how to use AI. What will matter is knowing when to use it, how to use it and why. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? Technological literacy will become an important precondition, but I believe the greatest value will lie in distinctly human skills. The ability to think clearly, ask the right questions, understand people, build trust and make decisions in complex situations will be key. The leaders of the future will have to understand technology and its business potential, and at the same time know how to empower people through it. Real leadership will not be measured only by the ability to adopt new technologies, but by the ability to turn them into lasting value for the organisation, its employees and society. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? The greatest potential I see is in connecting people of different experiences, industries and perspectives. The most valuable ideas often arise exactly where different views and experiences meet. I see CDayZ as a space for open conversation, for sharing knowledge and for building new business and personal connections. I look forward to meeting people with whom we may have no obvious link today — through conversation we can recognise shared interests and the potential for future collaboration. ## Zvonimir Šimić — CEO, Optika Anda What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Most of all I look forward to exchanging concrete experiences with people who lead and grow successful companies. It is from such conversations that the best ideas, new partnerships and different views of one’s own business so often come. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? The greatest opportunity I see is in making business more efficient and decisions better. The greatest challenge will be to use what artificial intelligence makes possible while keeping the human touch, trust and high ethical standards. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? The leaders of the future will have to keep learning and adapt quickly to change, while keeping their own leadership style and personal authenticity. At a time when AI increasingly shapes the way we communicate and decide, integrity, charisma and entrepreneurial resolve will be key. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? The greatest potential I see is in connecting leaders and companies going through similar challenges of growth, internationalisation and organisational transformation. Optika Anda is right now growing from a successful Croatian company into a regional group, so I believe we can learn a lot from the experiences of others — and share our own. ## Miroslava Jocić — CEO, Secut What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Most of all I look forward to meeting energetic, young, educated people who are curious and always ready to learn. The COTRUGLI community is very diverse and at the same time intellectually strong, and that combination is what I find especially inspiring. I expect to hear many new ideas during CDayZ, to get to know trends from different industries and — as always when good people gather — to learn something new and useful. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? Artificial intelligence has already significantly accelerated the way we live and work, and I believe its influence will only grow. The opportunities are enormous — from the time we save, through the quality of the output we can get, to acquiring new knowledge and skills much faster. The greatest challenge, however, I see in who uses artificial intelligence and how. I still believe it is people who have creativity, critical thinking and the ability to understand context. AI is an extremely powerful tool, but if it is used by someone who does not know the field and lacks the knowledge to judge the quality of the answer, that can be very risky. That is why I think knowledge and the ability to think critically will become more important, not less. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? As technology develops, a great many new technical skills will develop with it, but I believe the real difference will be made by the skills that are most human. Leaders who do not develop empathy, emotional and social intelligence, the ability to communicate, to understand people and to build trust will find it hard to last, however well they know the technology. Technology will change, tools will come and go, but human values will always be prized. The ability to join technological literacy with humanity will be one of the most important traits of the leaders of the future. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? It may sound paradoxical after so much talk about artificial intelligence, but the greatest potential of CDayZ I see precisely in people. In their coming together, in the exchange of experiences and ideas, in new business and personal connections and, potentially, in building an even stronger community. Technology can speed up a great deal, but good ideas, collaborations and great things still begin with a conversation between people. People are everything — and I think COTRUGLI recognised that long ago. ## Vukašin Stanisavljević — CEO, Vege d.o.o. What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Meeting colleagues from the region, conversation and the exchange of experiences. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? Making everyday life easier, which will give people more free time to do the other things that make them happy and help them grow. The challenge will be exactly how that free time is used — today, unfortunately, much of it goes on the wrong things. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? Morality, empathy and creativity. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? Probably within the group working on a particular case, because that is where there will be the most interaction. ## Nevenka Bilandžić — Human Resources Manager, Salvus What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? I look forward to exchanging experiences, to networking, to sharing knowledge and to good company. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? Opportunities are everywhere — more efficient processes, faster analyses, quick access to information — but the challenges I see are in content generated without critical thinking, content that ignores context, that does not think ethically. The education of the new generations is a challenge too. They get instant information; everything comes to them now and at once. That will certainly have repercussions on the cognitive development of future generations. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? The right direction I see in putting the human being, ethical and humane principles first, with a focus on the good of the community and of humanity. Profitability is an imperative — but at what price? Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? My greatest contribution I see in sharing knowledge and the experience I gained as my career continued after the EMBA programme. Today I sit on the management board of a pharmaceutical company and command every aspect of the business with confidence — that is the value of the COTRUGLI programme. ## Josipa Petrović — Sales & Retail Operations Director, Studenac market What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? What I look forward to most is the atmosphere of COTRUGLI Days, where titles and positions no longer matter — only the questions being asked. The COTRUGLI community has that rare quality that a conversation starts with “what are you working on” instead of “where do you work now”. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? The greatest opportunity I see is that small players can today do what used to take whole teams, and that opens room for entirely new business models. The greatest challenge is not the technology itself, but the speed at which organisations, and the individuals who lead them, change their way of thinking and their speed of action. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? The ability to ask the right questions will become more valuable than having ready answers. AI gives answers; the leader has to know what to ask in the first place. Alongside that, emotional intelligence and the skill of leading people through uncertainty and hard environments to results become a competitive advantage. The so-called soft skill becomes secondary on its own if it is not accompanied by decisiveness and adaptability as a constant practice. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? The greatest potential is at the intersection of industries — those that would otherwise never meet at the same table, and those that have so far worked together in very linear ways and are now opening up to needs and opportunities for many-sided collaboration: exchanging services, solutions, knowledge, products, even people. ## Ivana Pupić — HR, MK Group What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Most of all I look forward to meeting the people who shape the future of business and leadership in the region. In my career I have had the chance to work with different industries, leaders and organisations, and it is the exchange of experiences, open discussion and new views of challenges that contribute most to professional growth. For me COTRUGLI Days is a unique chance to hear inspiring stories, get to know new trends in leadership, talent development and organisational transformation, and also to make valuable contacts for future collaboration. Given the accelerating change we live through today, events like this become an important space for learning together and creating new ideas. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? I see artificial intelligence as a powerful tool that can significantly improve productivity, decision-making and the user experience. In human resources, AI is already changing how we find talent, analyse employee data, plan career development and create personalised learning experiences. Still, the greatest challenge is not the technology itself but the way we use it. It will be important to keep the human perspective, ethics and the ability to think critically. Organisations will have to find the balance between automation and the human factor, especially where leadership, people development and decisions that affect employees’ careers and lives are concerned. I believe the greatest advantage will go to the companies that successfully combine technological possibilities with empathy, trust and responsible leadership. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? Technological knowledge will be important, but it will not be decisive. The leaders of the future will have to develop the ability to learn fast, adapt and lead through uncertainty. I believe emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, change management and the ability to build teams that successfully combine human and technological capacities will matter most. Beyond that, leaders will have to understand data and what technology makes possible, but also inspire people, build trust and create an environment in which employees want to give their full contribution. In a world where knowledge is ever more accessible, it is the ability to connect people, ideas and purpose that will be the greatest competitive advantage. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? The greatest potential I see is in connecting leaders from different industries around shared themes such as talent development, the future of work, leadership and organisational transformation. Whatever the sector, almost all companies today share similar challenges: how to attract and keep good people, how to develop leaders ready for the future, and how to build organisations that can adapt to change quickly. I believe it is exactly the exchange of different perspectives that so often leads to the best solutions. That is why I see CDayZ as a platform for new partnerships, for sharing good practice and for launching initiatives that can have a long-term effect on the business community of the region. I am especially glad of the chance to collaborate on projects that link technology, people development and the sustainable growth of organisations — the more concrete the challenges we manage to address, and the more we exchange the ways we have faced them or are facing them, the better. ## Irena Grofelnik — CEO & Owner, SPIRITON What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? I’m always happy to support COTRUGLI initiatives. I was a student here, I still feel connected to the school, and for me being part of the alumni community also means giving something back. But honestly, I’m mostly looking forward to the people — meeting new ones, reconnecting with familiar faces and spending a few days surrounded by smart, successful and curious people. And I really like the format: less lecturing, more discussion, participation and real exchange. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? The opportunity is enormous. AI can help us work faster, analyse more information and see possibilities we might otherwise miss. But for me, the biggest challenge is not giving up our own critical thinking, moral judgement and responsibility for decisions. Real decisions are rarely made in laboratory conditions. They involve people, relationships, emotions, context and variables that constantly change. AI can help us understand them, but it should not make the final decision for us. I see AI as one voice among many at the decision-making table — a very powerful assistant, but still an assistant. And we should also remember that AI is shaped by human data, instructions, assumptions and objectives. If those are biased, incomplete or questionable, technology will not magically correct them for us. The final judgement — and the responsibility for it — still has to remain human. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? First of all, the ability to build real relationships and trust. We are constantly connected, but I’m not sure we are becoming better at actually connecting with people. Phones, digital media and technology in general have already changed the way we communicate and socialize. So I believe communication skills, emotional intelligence, social awareness and the ability to really listen and connect will become even more valuable. Of course, critical thinking, curiosity and good judgement will matter too. The more digital the world becomes, the more important our human skills will be. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? Probably in the conversations we cannot plan in advance. When people from different industries, countries and backgrounds spend a few days together, ideas start connecting naturally. Sometimes that leads to a business opportunity or a new project. Sometimes simply to a completely different way of looking at something. For me, that is the real value of networking — not exchanging business cards, but having conversations with people you would probably never meet otherwise. ## Mario Martinek — Owner & General Manager, Bijeli svijet — Bright World What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Networking — meeting new people from different industries. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? The greatest opportunities are in automating business processes; the greatest challenges are in the complexity of the different AI models. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? The most important skills will be understanding the business environment and reading between the lines, so as to make the right business decisions amid the vast amount of different information we will be surrounded by. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? The exchange of knowledge and experience, and the new perspectives one can gain from the other students. ## Petar Đurić — Integrated iSquad Lead Hematology, Roche What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? Familiar faces gathering, and the exchange of knowledge and perspectives. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? In the short term, the greatest opportunities are in higher productivity and the greatest challenges in regulation and implementation — in the long term, I do not dare to imagine. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? An open mind, curiosity and people-centricity (by which I mean above all empathy and human qualities). Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? In gathering an interesting group of people — that always produces plenty of new ideas. ## Alenka Jajac Knez — Chief Executive Officer, JGL d.d. What are you most looking forward to at COTRUGLI Days 2026? I’m most looking forward to inspiring conversations, exchanging ideas, and gaining new perspectives that we can take with us after COTRUGLI Days. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live and work. Where do you see the greatest opportunities, and where do you see the greatest challenges? I see the greatest opportunities in AI making our work easier, increasing productivity, and creating space for innovation. The biggest challenge will be helping people and organizations adapt to the speed of change. As technology continues to evolve, which skills do you believe will become most important for the leaders of the future? Alongside technological understanding, adaptability, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and the ability to make decisions in uncertain situations will become increasingly important. Where do you see the greatest potential for collaboration during CDayZ? I see the greatest potential in connecting people from different industries, sharing experiences, and turning those conversations into concrete ideas and long-term partnerships. ### Trade Cannot Prosper Without Trust Article · 2026-09-11 · CDayZ Editorial Long before modern states wrote their commercial codes, merchants trading across borders built their own system of trusted rules. It became known as Lex Mercatoria, the Law Merchant. It emerged for a simple reason: trade moved faster and travelled farther than the institutions of its time. Merchants from different cities, cultures and legal traditions needed commonly understood standards for contracts, payment, quality, shipping, evidence and the settling of disputes. They could not wait for every difference between jurisdictions to disappear. So they built practical rules, credible records, trusted intermediaries and efficient ways to resolve disagreements — through practice, reputation and precedent, held together by people who understood that long-term prosperity depends on keeping one’s word. The technologies have changed. The challenge has returned. The AI economy will be networked, orchestrated and shaped by systems that operate at extraordinary speed and scale. Billions of people, organisations and artificial agents will communicate, recommend, negotiate, purchase, allocate resources and execute transactions across borders. Decisions that once took days will be initiated in moments. Commercial relationships will be created, modified and concluded at algorithmic speed. This is the world the leaders gathering at CDayZ 2026 are preparing to lead — and it is why the Declaration they will adopt in Zadar begins not with technology, but with trust. ## Why Zadar Between the 12th and the late 14th centuries, the Zadar Commune was one of the most powerful and independent centres of the Adriatic. Its port connected peoples, markets and cultures; its merchants carried salt, goods and ideas across the Mediterranean and into the European mainland; its guilds gathered people around shared professions, standards and responsibilities. Zadar understood that successful trade requires more than ships, ports and valuable commodities. It requires rules that people can trust. The Statuta Iadertina of 1305 regulated maritime commerce, property, trade standards and urban life, creating the legal security that let citizens, merchants and partners from different lands cooperate. The Treaty of Zadar of 1358 restored the city’s freedom from Venetian restrictions and opened a period in which its economy and international standing could expand — a reminder that political and economic freedom depend on a community’s ability to protect its identity, decide its own future and trade under fair conditions. And the wealth did not stay in private hands: it flowed into art, architecture and education, until in 1396 the Studium generale, the first university on the territory of modern Croatia, confirmed that lasting prosperity rests not only on what a society trades, but on what it knows and passes on. Trade cannot prosper without trust. Freedom cannot survive without responsibility. Power cannot remain legitimate without law. Innovation cannot serve humanity without human leadership. Knowledge cannot advance if it is not shared. ## The infrastructure of the next commune The medieval commune was built on the infrastructure of its age: a strategic port, merchant fleets, guilds, commercial practice, legal statutes, international relationships and education. The AI economy needs its own trusted infrastructure, and the Declaration names it: verifiable identities, transparent mandates, reliable evidence, fair standards, neutral chambers, accountable human leadership and legitimate processes for resolving disputes between people, companies and artificial agents. Zadar’s history also carries a warning. Economic freedom and institutional independence can be lost when the rights and futures of communities become commodities traded by distant powers. In the AI era, identities, data, markets and rules must not be controlled exclusively by those with the greatest financial, political or computational power. The future AI economy must remain open to individuals, smaller enterprises, emerging economies and communities. ## The perfect merchant, human or artificial An AI agent may complete millions of transactions, but transaction volume does not create virtue. An algorithm may optimise profit, but profit alone has never defined a good merchant. A machine may calculate risk, but it cannot be allowed to remove human responsibility for the consequences imposed on people, communities or the planet. The AI economy will therefore need more than intelligent agents. It will need honest humans, responsible institutions and a new understanding of the perfect merchant — human or artificial — formed by truth, fairness, evidence, freedom and long-term responsibility. That is the first lesson of the Zadar Declaration, and the reason CDayZ 2026 is held where it is held. The leaders who sign it in October will not be adopting a manifesto about machines. They will be renewing a commitment that this city made seven centuries ago: that commerce and knowledge flourish where commitments are clear, rights are protected and disputes are resolved by legitimate institutions — now at the speed of algorithms. For People. For Planet. For Prosperity. ### Human Leadership at Algorithmic Speed Article · 2026-09-11 · CDayZ Editorial The faster our systems become, the more clearly leaders must understand purpose, mandate, consequence and responsibility. Technology can accelerate a decision, but speed does not make a decision wise, just or lawful. Artificial intelligence can optimise an objective, but it cannot by itself decide whether that objective is worthy, humane or ethically defensible. This is the sentence at the centre of the Zadar Declaration, and it is a sentence about leaders, not about software. The AI era will demand greater — not lesser — effectiveness from human leadership. The Declaration asks for AI as a force multiplier for human leadership: a way to understand complexity, recognise patterns, test assumptions, coordinate action and make better-informed decisions; a way to solve problems that no person, company or nation can solve alone. And it draws one line firmly. Assistance must not become substitution. AI should extend human intellectual capacity without displacing the reflection, judgement and creative effort through which people give meaning to knowledge and action. ## Mandates, not magic AI agents may analyse, recommend, negotiate and act — within clearly defined mandates. Consequential decisions affecting human dignity, freedom, security, livelihood or fundamental rights remain subject to accountable human leadership. Delegating a decision to an AI system does not eliminate human responsibility for its consequences; it makes that responsibility more explicit. Every leader who deploys an agent is signing for what the agent does. ## What leaders can learn from seven centuries of trade - Trust is productive infrastructure. - Keeping one’s word is a source of economic strength. - Fair rules enable cooperation between unequal participants. - Knowledge creates resilience. - Reputation can be more valuable than short-term profit. - Trade can build relationships rather than exploitation. - Freedom must be accompanied by responsibility. - Technology must remain in service of human purpose. - Conflicts should be prevented or resolved before they destroy valuable relationships. - Long-term prosperity depends on the prosperity of the wider community. ## The power of arguments, not the arguments of power In an economy shaped by AI agents, trust must be supported by evidence. Identity, authority, commitments, transactions and outcomes should be verifiable without exposing what is private or commercially sensitive. No participant — human, company, institution or agent — should be required to trust a system blindly. And in a dispute, no single participant may create the record, control its interpretation and decide the outcome. Evidence and facts must be stronger than power. The Declaration is precise about what this does not mean. The AI economy does not need autonomous AI judges issuing unaccountable machine verdicts; justice, legitimacy and conscience cannot be reduced to an optimisation function. What it needs is more practical and more human: trusted procedural mechanics and skilled mediation that can operate at algorithmic speed. AI can establish identity, verify mandates, organise evidence, reconstruct sequences of events and compare commitments with outcomes in moments. Its purpose is to make truth easier to establish, mediation faster to begin and fair settlement more achievable — while humans keep responsibility for legitimacy, proportionality, conscience and the consequential decision. The Declaration calls the neutral spaces for this work NEO Chambers: a continuation, in a new form, of Lex Mercatoria and the statutes and guilds of Zadar, and they must themselves remain transparent, accountable and open to scrutiny. ## Education as strategic infrastructure The future of AI cannot be entrusted to engineers alone. Leaders must understand technology; technologists must understand ethics, human behaviour and the humanities; entrepreneurs must understand responsibility; institutions must understand both the possibilities and the limits of AI. Education for this era connects leadership, technology, economics, security, philosophy, psychology, law, the arts and practical experience — and it starts early, so that young people learn not only to use these systems but to question their outputs, verify the evidence they offer, acknowledge uncertainty and resist the temptation to outsource thinking itself. This is what CDayZ 2026 is built to practise. Leaders come to Zadar not to listen to keynotes about the future, but to work through real business cases with their peers, to test how their own judgement holds up when an agent can negotiate faster than they can read, and to sign a Declaration whose commitments will follow them home: consequential decisions remain human; agents act within visible, limited and revocable mandates; records cannot be secretly rewritten; disputes go to fair, neutral, human-accountable procedures; and no one is excluded by power, geography or technological complexity. The AI era must be shaped by human beings prepared to lead — and by AI designed to enlarge their capacity to understand, create, cooperate and do good. ### The Golden Age of the Zadar Commune Article · 2026-08-24 · CDayZ Editorial Welcome to Zadar for the CDayZ 2026! As you walk through the sunlit stone streets of this peninsula, you aren't just walking through a beautiful Mediterranean resort—you are stepping into what was once one of the most powerful and fiercely independent city-states on the Adriatic Sea. Long before the modern era, between the 12th and late 14th centuries, Zadar experienced its "Golden Age." During this time, the city operated as a highly autonomous commune, boasting a booming economy, a formidable naval fleet, and a level of political influence that directly challenged the mighty Venetian Republic. ## The Peak of Power: The 1358 Treaty of Zadar For centuries, Zadar was locked in a geopolitical struggle with Venice, which constantly sought to control the city's strategic port. The turning point arrived in the mid-14th century when Zadar aligned itself with the powerful Croato-Hungarian King Louis I of Anjou. Following a series of military campaigns, the Mlečani (Venetians) were forced to capitulate. On February 18, 1358, the historic Treaty of Zadar was signed in the sacristy of the Church of St. Francis. Venice renounced all claims to Dalmatia, and Zadar officially became a free royal city and the undisputed metropolis of the Dalmatian coast. Free from Venetian taxes and trade restrictions, the city's economy exploded. ## White Gold and the Rule of Law The economic engine of the medieval Zadar Commune relied heavily on maritime trade and one crucial commodity: salt. - The Salt Trade: In the Middle Ages, salt was "white gold," essential for preserving food. Zadar's salt pans were among the largest in the Adriatic, generating immense wealth as merchants exported it across the Mediterranean and deep into the European mainland. - Naval Supremacy: Zadar maintained its own powerful fleet of merchant and war galleys, establishing trade colonies in Italy (such as Ancona) and the Levant. - The 1305 Statute: Great economies require great legal frameworks. The Statuta Iadertina (Statute of Zadar), formalized in 1305, was a highly advanced legal document for its time. It meticulously regulated maritime law, property rights, trade quality standards, and urban planning, providing the legal security that allowed commerce to thrive. ## A Cultural and Intellectual Hub The incredible wealth generated by trade naturally flowed into art, architecture, and education, transforming Zadar into a true medieval metropolis. - The Gold and Silver of Zadar: Wealthy noble families and powerful guilds (bratovštine) commissioned breathtaking works of art. The pinnacle of this era is the Shrine of St. Simeon (commissioned in 1377)—a spectacular 250-kilogram silver and gold sarcophagus crafted by local and foreign master goldsmiths. - The First University: In 1396, the Dominican order established the Studium generale in Zadar. Recognized as the first university in the territory of modern-day Croatia, it cemented the city's status not just as a center of commerce, but as an intellectual beacon. ## A Fitting Venue for Innovation The Golden Age ended in 1409 when the King of Naples sold his rights to Dalmatia back to Venice for 100,000 ducats, ushering in centuries of Venetian rule. However, the spirit of the Zadar Commune—built on networking, international trade, innovation, and strict legal standards—remains embedded in the very foundations of the city. As you connect, share ideas, and build new partnerships at CDayZ 2026, you are continuing a 700-year-old tradition of commerce and intellectual exchange on this very peninsula. Enjoy the Zadar! ### The Chronicles Begin Article · 2026-08-24 · CDayZ Editorial Most conferences publish schedules. CDayZ publishes thinking. These are the Chronicles — the place where the leaders behind CDayZ 2026 write before they speak: articles from the people building the platform, interviews with the speakers you will meet in the room, and notes on the business cases that structure the week. Not a blog. A working record of leaders preparing to lead. Everything published here has one purpose: that nobody arrives in Zadar as an audience member. You will know the cases, you will know the people, and you will know what is at stake before you walk in. And one thing will be larger than the program itself. At CDayZ 2026, the leaders present will sign the Zadar Declaration — Human Leadership, Trusted AI and Fair Global Trade — a joint commitment that AI serves People, Planet and Prosperity, and that humans and AI build business together on terms both can trust. The full text will be published here before the event. Zadar, October 2026. The era of the orchestrator begins now.