Management Board

Hrvoje Puljiz graduated in economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business, the University of Zagreb in 2001 and completed postgraduate specialist studies of Financial Management at the Faculty of Economics, University of Split. 

He began his career as Head of the minister’s office at the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, where he was responsible for the efficient functioning of the Office of the Minister and communication with stakeholders.

Before joining CARNET, he gained extensive experience in the segment of investment fund management and financial consulting and held various management positions.

In the period from 2019 to May 2021, he was the Director of the Security Operations and Legal Department at the Central Depository and Clearing Company (CDCC), where he was responsible for regulatory cooperation and capital market participants, as well as for the conducting of operations. He was also in charge of business processes development and managing projects of Croatian financial integration in the euro area.

In May 2021, he was appointed CEO of Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET.

Ivan Šabić graduated in economics at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, where he earned a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree in 2013. He obtained a master’s degree in Business Economics from the University of North in 2017 and in 2018 the title of a University Controlling expert at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Rijeka. 

In 2023, he completed doctoral studies in Media and Communication at the University North and obtained the academic degree of Doctor of Science.

He also attended the MIT Sloan School of Management in the field of Design thinking and Blockchain. His professional career started in 2011 at the Department of Finance and Accounting at Agrokor – Trade. One year later, he became an associate in foreign currency and kuna business in Zvijezda, where he remained until 2015 when he assumed the position of the Head of Finance and Accounting at the Student Centre in Zagreb.

Two years later, he joined the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET as a Deputy CEO for supporting the institution’s business operations. He co-authored several scientific papers in the area of information security.

He has a certificate for internal auditor ISO 9001:2015, leading auditor ISO 27001:2013, internal auditor for Cyber Security of the Key Service Operators and Digital Services Providers and a certificate for public procurement. He is a board member of the Shared Services Center and works as an external lecturer at the University North.

In February 2024, he was appointed Vice CEO.

Andreja Bekavac graduated in 1997 with a degree in economics from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zagreb, specializing in Organization and Management. She furthered her education at the SDA Bocconi School of Management through the Senior Management Program and various modules of the Deloitte Academy.

Throughout her entire professional career, she has continuously pursued education through various programs focused on strategy, leadership, project management, business process management, and IT.

For the first 20 years of her career, she built her experience in domestic and international consulting firms such as Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Deloitte, advising Croatian and regional companies in various industries and service lines. Following that, she spent seven years in managerial positions at the Croatian Post, focusing on corporate strategy, business development, process improvement, project management, sustainable business practices, and customer orientation.

She actively participated in all strategic projects related to the digital transformation of the Croatian Post and global partnerships. Additionally, for five years, she served as a member of the supervisory board of a Croatian Post subsidiary focused on IT development projects – MIPS.

She specializes in strategy, business development, business improvement, IT consulting, and project management.

In January 2024, she joined CARNET as the Deputy CEO for Quality Control and Business Process Management. 

Juraj Bilić holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek. He began his career in 2001, as a translator for the United Nations. He soon became the coordinator of educational projects in the non-governmental sector, where, among other things, he led the project “New School – Integrated School Vukovar” to establish the first integrated and intercultural primary school in Vukovar.

During his work in the non-governmental sector, he gained extensive experience in the development, application and testing of educational projects funded by the European Commission, the World Bank, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Croatia and other large donors.

After joining CARNET he took over the position of Expert in EU projects. He participated in operational programming in education for the operational programs “Competitiveness and Cohesion” and “Effective Human Resources” in the Republic of Croatia. He initiated and led the development of the e-School project, the largest informatization project funded by the European Union, which digitally transforms the teaching and business processes of primary and secondary schools and raises their digital maturity.

He also led the cooperation with the European Investment Bank to develop the e-School project following EU regulations, digital and educational programs and strategies, and national indicators. In July 2021, he was appointed Vice CEO of CARNET. He held that position until February 2024 when he was appointed Deputy CEO for the Artificial Intelligence Sector.

He is the project leader of BrAIn, an initiative funded by the EU, aimed at enhancing the digital competencies of students and teachers, as well as integrating digital technologies and artificial intelligence into education, and an expert in the OECD’s Working Party on Artificial Intelligence Governance (AIGO). 

Nataša Glavor graduated in mathematics, majoring in computer science at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. She began her career at CARNET in the Computer Security Incident Response Team. She came to the position of Deputy CEO for Computer Security in 2004 and, together with her team, developed the CARNET security program and introduced security testing as part of the service development process at CARNET.

After that, she moved to the position of Deputy CEO for Service Development, where she was responsible for the development of the e-Class Register and other applications as well as the management of the .hr domain Registry and the service security in CARNET. As a member of the team, she participated in various projects, such as the development of e-citizens mToken credentials, the GÉANT project, and the development of learning analytics systems.

She chaired the program committee of the CARNET Users Conference and was a member of the working group for drafting information security laws, as well as the UN Internet Governance Forum –  the UN Secretary-General’s advisory body on Internet governance issues.

As an analyst in the data management team at CARNET, she worked on data analytics, data lake and databases, and the learning analytics system. In July 2021, she was appointed Deputy CEO for National CERT.

Tomislav Gotovac graduated from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences at the University of Zagreb, earning the title of Master of Traffic Engineering. He is an expert in information security and infrastructure, with over 19 years of experience in managing projects and teams in the fields of computer security, network technologies, and infrastructure management.

He joined CARNET in 2019 as a Computer Security Specialist, conducting regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, which enabled him to understand security threats and ways to mitigate them. Subsequently, he took on the position of Head of the Infrastructure Department, leading projects in cloud technologies and network security solutions. Simultaneously, he was appointed as an advisor to the Deputy CEO for National CERT, where he advises on the implementation of security controls and coordinates intersectoral services in identifying security requirements.

Before joining CARNET, he worked as a Senior Systems Security Engineer at Croatian Post, where he participated in the implementation of a Security Operations Center and the design of a highly available data center. At CLICO SEE d.o.o., he worked as a consultant for security solutions from renowned manufacturers such as Rapid7, Imperva, MobileIron, Forcepoint, and Tufin. From 2009 to 2018, he held various roles at Mercury Processing Services International d.o.o., including Security Architect, Systems Architect, and Computer Systems Specialist, where he was responsible for designing security and infrastructure solutions and the overall security infrastructure of the company.

Throughout his career, he has continuously improved his skills and holds numerous certifications, including CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker). In May 2024, he was appointed Deputy CEO for Information Security. 

Tihomir Markulin graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, where in 2016 he obtained a master’s degree in civil engineering.

He started working at CARNET in 2009 as an agent on CARNET’s Helpdesk. From 2012 to 2019, he worked as the leader of the HD-CN team at CARNET’s Helpdesk. After that, he moved to the position of Head of User Support Service, where he was responsible for organizing user support, human resources, communication with relevant services and partners, leading three different teams on the Helpdesk and leading the Service for member institutions as well as mentoring and working with team leaders.

Throughout his professional career, he continuously invested in his own professional development and working on significant projects, such as „e-Schools: comprehensive informatization of school operation processes and teaching processes aimed at the creation of digitally mature schools for the 21st century“ within which he is also in charge of leading a team of 8 regionally distributed experts who provide onsite technical support to schools for all the devices and services that are delivered to schools within the e-Schools programme.

He was the leader of numerous projects such as the digital signature project, the implementation of SuiteCRM in CARNET’s User Support Department and its maintenance and upgrade, as well as the project of implementation and development of MDM system.

In July 2021, he was appointed Deputy CEO for National Services and Support Sector. 

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Aleksandra Mudrinić Ribić graduated in mathematics and informatics at the Department of Mathematics, the University of J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek. After completing her studies, she worked as a professor of mathematics and informatics for three years. Her professional career began in 2005 in CARNET. Since then she has been working on the use of digital technology in education. 

She is the leader of the “Schools 2.0” project, which in 2013 was selected and awarded for one of the three most innovative initiatives in the category of Initiative for the Education and Research of the European Prize for Innovation in Public Administration. 

Since 2013, she has been leading the E-learning Support Service responsible for the development and implementation of educational programs and digital educational materials in order to improve the digital competence of educators. She is involved in the design and implementation of national and European transformation projects and programs with a focus on supporting lifelong learning, technology and its use in the learning and teaching process, as well as raising the awareness and strengthening the competence of key stakeholders.

In July 2021, she was appointed Deputy CEO for Education Support.

Darko Parić graduated in electrical engineering at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture,  University of Split in 2003. At the same faculty in 2018, he completed postgraduate studies in electrical engineering and information technology and obtained the academic degree of Doctor of Science.

He began his career in 2003 as a Service Manager at CARNET, where he was responsible for designing, implementing and leading the construction of a permanent Internet access service in CARNET, working on the development, construction and maintenance of the CARNET network and the construction of the CARNET optical network in the city of Split (e-Split).

In January 2012, he transferred to the Ministry of Public Administration to the position of Assistant Minister for e-Croatia, and in that period the Government of the Republic of Croatia appointed him the national promoter of the digital society.

As a member of the Croatian Parliament during the two convocations from 2015 to 2020, he held, among other things, the position of Deputy Head of the Croatian Parliament Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the NATO and Deputy Head of the Committee on Mandate and Immunity.

He works as an external lecturer at the Aspira University College and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Split. He is the leader of various projects, among which the e-Citizens project stands out – the development of the first national online site for public sector services to citizens.

In July 2021 he was appointed Deputy CEO for Computing Infrastructure and Services.

Goran Škvarč graduated political science at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Political Science in 2000 and completed a postgraduate professional study programme at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Economics and Political Science.

He began his professional career in 2003 in the Ministry for European Integration as an analyst. The same year he joined the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET, where he held various positions over the years, from Expert associate, Head of special programs and projects (2005-2008), Head of business communications (2008-2012), to Coordinator of information and public relations (2012-2016) and Coordinator of international cooperation (2016-2020). In December 2020, he was appointed Deputy CEO for Education Support. After that, he moved to the position of Advisor to the CEO of CARNET for public administration.

He managed the Online Database Center as the chief negotiator and procurator of national licenses for access to scientific and professional journals on behalf of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, and was the head of procurement of educational microcomputers for the ProMikro project.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network for the ECA region and has also worked as a consultant on projects for the development of international cooperation and the capacity of academic networks in Southeast Europe.

In December 2023, he was appointed Deputy CEO for International Cooperation.