PRESIDENT OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
Maks Helbl
This expert with years of experience in the legal field has indicated his career path in the title of his graduate thesis: The thesis entitled “Liberalisations of natural monopolies in the European Union with an emphasis on the liberalisation of electricity markets” with which he concluded his studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Maribor has received the award for the best thesis in the field of the European Union and the inclusion of Slovenia in the EU. His career path at the Faculty of Law in Maribor and at the Maribor High Court was further shaped by civil and commercial law; in 2007, he started working at GEN-I as a lawyer specialised in the field of the trading and sale of electricity. In the same year, he took over the direction of the GEN-I Legal Department. In 2017, he became the director of the legal field, in the framework of which he operated two separate offices - the Legal Department and the Regulation and Business Compliance Department.
As the manager and, later on, the director of one of the key areas for the market performance of GEN-I, he took over the responsibility of the holder of the development of the legal area of the company as well as the responsibility for the corporative management of the GEN-I group in his first years of employment in the company. Key strategic projects were implemented under his tutelage, related to the legal field and to the field of the regulation and business compliance of the GEN-I Group in all operating segments and regulative fields at home and abroad. He is responsible for the implementation of the necessary legal infrastructure for the functioning of the GEN-I Group in no fewer than 22 foreign markets. His extensive expertise and extraordinary experience in the legal field will visibly contribute to the management of the company.
MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
Igor Koprivnikar, PhD MBA
Expert in the field of energy with long-term experience in corporate management, particularly in the area of energy trading and energy market operations. With his wealth of expertise in the field of business development and finances, he has an excellent understanding of market mechanisms and energy trading models. He graduated in 1999 from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Technical University of Graz, Austria, and then obtained a PhD in nuclear physics in 2002 at the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the same university. He collaborated with numerous scientific institutes around the globe. From 2002 to 2004, he played a key role in developing the EXAA, which is the Austrian Energy Exchange.
He joined GEN-I d.o.o. at the time of its establishment in 2004. He designed the foundations of the business model for international and cross-border electricity trading which he also upgraded in the following years. From 2005 to 2021, he held three mandates as the member of the Management Board responsible for trading as well as for the financial and legal department of the GEN-I Group. In 2018, he further reinforced his management skills at the prestigious University of Chicago Booth School of Business, thus expanding his competencies in the field of management, finance and capital markets. He served as the President of the Management Board of GEN-I d.o.o. from February 2022 to February 2023. He has also previously performed the function of the CEO of individual subsidiaries of the GEN-I Group abroad.
MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
Sandi Kavalič
In addition to his expert knowledge, this Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering is also highly skilled in connecting the seemingly most contradictory ideas. He was recruited at GEN-I immediately after his electrical engineering studies; after a year of working as an analyst, he pivoted towards the area of market risks and started managing it in 2016. A high degree of susceptibility to change and a high motivation have contributed to his exceptional professional and technological knowledge which he complements, in his work, with a wide scope of managerial, mentoring and negotiation skills.
As the manager of the Risk Management Service within GEN-I, he has assumed responsibility for managing the risks of the Group and related business strategies. In addition, he plays a key role in creating innovative business models related to the green transformation. Within the company, he also performs the function of the president of the Credit Committee and the president of the Market Risks Management Committee. He is also an energy consultant for the European Commission and a member of the “Investors Dialogue on Energy Services” working group selected by PWC.
MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
Primož Stropnik
Mr. Stropnik is the head of portfolio production management within the GEN Group, and has been responsible for the continuous development of the system services and electricity sales function on the wholesale market and portfolio optimization at GEN energija, d.o.o. for more than 15 years. He began his career at Termoelektrarna Brestanica, d.o.o., where he was employed after completing his bachelor's degree in economics. His thesis ‘Entrepreneurial Effects of the Liberalization of the Electricity Market’ back in 2002 was a clear indication of his career goals, which he continues to pursue to this day.
In addition to his membership on the supervisory boards of GEN Group companies, he has also gained professional experience as a member of working groups in the decommissioning program for the Krško Nuclear Power Plant and in the analysis of the long-term functioning of that power plant. He is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the umbrella agreement on the purchase and sale of electricity concluded between GEN-I, d.o.o. and GEN energija, d.o.o.
