iii Perspectives Perspectives on Business and Economics is the journal of the Martindale Student Associates Honors Program of the Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise at Lehigh University. A faculty panel selects 12 of Lehigh’s finest undergraduates to become Martindale Student Associates. Each student undertakes research on an aspect of the economy and business environment of a foreign nation and prepares an article for publication. The country of focus changes year to year. The 30 students, faculty, and alumni on the Martindale Croatia trip, May 19–31, 2025, started in the capital Zagreb. Sessions included visits to Smion, with an overview of the entrepreneurial landscape in medical, green, and agricultural technologies; University of Zagreb for discussion of journalism, media development, free speech, and countering misinformation; World Wildlife Fund Adria on work to create a zero-carbon world and protect the environment and food systems; Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Science, Education, and Youth; PLIVA, both the largest pharmaceutical company and exporter in Croatia; ZEZ, a community green energy cooperative; Croatian Employers Association; and the car company RIMAC. At the Heart of Zagreb, the group experienced music, dance, and handicrafts. Next were Istria, the Pula Arena, and Krk island, including an olive oil tasting. A highlight was being in Rijeka the night its soccer team won the national championship. At PAR Business School, topics were women in leadership and the business of sports, and at the NGO Without Borders, the history of the community and border disputes. In Opatija, at the University of Rijeka Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, the students heard about tourism and its carbon footprint. In Gospić, the host was Razvojni Centar-Licko Senjske Zupanije, a rural incubator for food projects. A discussion with the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences explored migration, rural youth, brain drain, and the intersection of politics and entrepreneurship. The group also visited the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center. In Split, the hotel was within the walls of the Diocletian Palace. Sessions were held at the Zupanjiski Digital Dalmatia Technopark on the ICT sector and the University of Split School of Medicine and Health Studies, regarding the health-care system. The journey finished in Dubrovnik, with a warm welcome from Mayor Mato Franković and tour of the seventh-century walled city. In Washington, D.C., March 2025, the cohort met with Pjer Šimunović, Croatian Ambassador to the US, at their Embassy. Then, the State Department reviewed US/Croatia diplomacy, led by Samuel Rotenberg, Regional Economic Officer, Western Balkans, Bureau of European and Eurasion Affairs, and Fred Bolageer, Foreign Service Officer, Croatia Desk. Special thanks The Martindale Center acknowledges the role played by alumni, parents, friends, and experts in the US and in Croatia who shared their time as advisors and speakers to help make the 2025–2026 program and volume 44 a success. Thanks to Dario Zoric, City of Bjelovar Senior Advisor, former COO of Smion, and Lehigh Global Village alumnus, for conducting sessions on the history of Croatia and on entrepreneurship; connections he made to speakers in country; and writing this volume’s introduction. Thanks to Nikolina Demark Rađenović, Project Manager, University of Rijeka Faculty of Medicine, for serving as tour guide in Rijeka, Istra, and Pula. The Center was thrilled to have guests accompanying the trip: Emma Banker '21 and Lina Oumera '21 from the Argentina cohort, who missed their field immersion during the pandemic; Martindale Canada alum and Lehigh Board of Trustees member Faith Glazier ('87 '19P) along with Rob Glazier ('85 '19P); and Lehigh College of Business Dean Manoj K. Malhotra and Maya Maholtra. Special thanks to the following, who shared connections for the semester sessions and in D.C. and Croatia: Hrvorje Benko '01 (Martindale Ireland), Scientist and Technology Executive, University of Washington; Damir Brčić, Digital Hub Director, Digital Dalmatia; Aleksandra Janjic, IRS; Gordana Nikolić, owner of PAR Business School; Anita Bušljeta Tonkovic, researcher, Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences; Timothy White, US Chief Digital & Technology Officer, GSK; and two Global Village alumnae: Dunya Jezeraškić, Marketing and Communications, Rimac Group, and Marija (Bačić) Pajić, PR Associate, City of Dubrovnik.
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