The winner of the award “Vecernjakov pecat” for the Person of the Year Marko Pipunic had a real film story about his success. He was born near Modrica in 1961. After graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture, he started his private business. However, he left his homeland due to the war and went to Croatia. He settled in Slavonia. He lives with his wife Marijana and three children in Osijek, a city where he graduated.
In 1992, he founded “Zito” as a company that is dealing with trade of field crops and raw materials that are needed for agricultural production. At the very beginning, he had two employees, capital of 50,000 EUR and an annual income of about half a million EUR. Over time, continuously and patiently, he expanded his business by buying collapsed companies.
He was raising them one by one and he now owns almost entire former industrial-agricultural complex Osijek, PPK Valpovo, PPK Orahovica, seven large silos and mills, the refinery and the Oil Factory Cepin. He is also the largest producer of pigs in Croatia, and 70 million eggs are annually produced in his facilities.
His companies, including those in Vojvodina, are employing about 2500 people. He opened the Rehabilitation Center called E Rejuvenation in Osijek. About 300 people will be able to rehabilitate on a daily basis.
He never forgot his homeland, and he employs his fellow citizens and helps them all the time.
He is an active member of the Association “Prsten”, which is consisted of entrepreneurs from Posavina in BiH. He was president of this association in the period from 2010 to 2012, and now he is among its leading people. Members of the Association “Prsten” are cooperating, but they are not neglecting joint projects of help to Croats in BiH either.
Marko Pipunic is the refugee story from BiH with a happy ending, and the best proof of this is the recognition that he received in Mostar.
(Source: akta.ba)
