"I and many other Microsoft leaders have learned a lot from Danny and Nenad."
Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft
About Us
Group members
The CEEMEA Business Group currently has over 190 member companies, all active in the Central & Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa (CEEMEA) region, and in global emerging markets. It is the 'Who’s Who' of CEEMEA business.
All major business sectors are represented – from consumer goods, to financial and professional services, to healthcare, IT, industrials and others. Our clients are mostly major global players, but the Group also includes many smaller, mid-size companies.
We cater to all kinds of companies, including yours.
"CEEMEA Business Group is filling a real demand for unbiased, solid analysis and ideas/information exchange among corporates in the region."
Patrick Butler, Member of the Board, Raiffeisen Zentralbank
Us
The Group is run by Daniel Thorniley and Nenad Pacek, supported by a team of long-standing colleagues. Danny and Nenad are former Vice Presidents of The Economist Group's corporate advisory division, and the authors of Emerging Markets: Lessons for Business Success (Profile Books). They have worked with companies on Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and other emerging markets for over two decades, and have both become trusted experts for senior executives at numerous international corporations. Danny and Nenad are regular speakers at global industry and economic forums, at universities and business schools and at clients' internal strategy meetings.
"At DuPont we have leaned heavily on the expertise of Danny and Nenad. We also highly value the Group meetings and other face-to-face events, for the networking opportunities with peer companies and customers."
Michael Dolan, ECE/MEA Strategy Leader,
DuPont de Nemours International
"Danny and Nenad are among the most knowledgeable people in the world on the subjects of emerging markets, the economy and global trends. I and many other Microsoft leaders have learned a lot from them."
Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft
Trust
Why do our Group members trust us and how do they show it?
One clear reflection of the trust we have built up with Group members is that they frequently invite us to make presentations to their CEOs, CFOs and board members. Our clients know that we have the seniority, the experience and the knowledge of how companies operate. Companies invite us back again and again to brief their CEOs on trends and challenges in emerging markets. Doing business in emerging markets is not the same as doing business in Bavaria, in London or in the American mid-west. We have decades of experience in helping regional managers to educate their global colleagues.
An added benefit of Group membership is that members can call us or email us at any time for advice and assistance on business planning and strategy – from forecasts on specific economic indicators to best practice on expanding into new markets, or to check up on expectations for established markets in the region. Our members frequently take advantage of this benefit and rely on us as their right-hand in the region. This also means that we are able to share our constantly-updated knowledge on the region with all members, acting as an exchange of valuable current thinking between the top companies in CEEMEA.
"Danny and Nenad have been involved in the various stages of our development of this region. I enjoy attending the events, meeting familiar faces (including friends), and also building new connections every time. It would be hard to imagine doing business without them in this part of the world!"
Gilles Morel, Regional President, Central Europe and Africa, Petcare, Mars
More of a club rather than a group-friends, not just clients
Our friends have worked with us for decades and keep coming back for more. Our members tell us that no other organisation exists which provides this degree of business intimacy and long-standing relationship, where executives feel they are not just our clients but our friends.
Frankly, the business world can be insane at times, and it’s always good to be able to sit back with friends and share a few war stories and jokes together. Executives meet, network and share ideas and experiences together at our meetings (and we can put you in touch with each other by email, too).
Semi-annual special meeting
Twice a year (in June and November/December) we hold our special event in Vienna which runs from Thursday lunch to Friday lunch. Between 120 and 140 regional executives attend. Danny and Nenad make brief business and economic overview presentations followed by short presentations of case studies and current business issues from 8-10 senior corporate managers, to stimulate discussion in a workshop atmosphere. PowerPoint presentations are not allowed! We talk and work together.
Thursday's sessions are followed by a hugely enjoyable and entertaining dinner. Executives are seated according to business sector to stimulate further discussion, and to enable friendships to be established.
Our other meetings around the region – in Moscow, Dubai, London, Geneva and other locations – follow various formats from working breakfasts to half-day briefings and full-day events. They are all conducted in the same spirit of productive discussion, interactivity and informality.
"The information supplied by the CEEMEA Business Group has proven to be indispensable and vital for running our CEE businesses properly."
Koos Guis, Chief Executive Officer, Sanoma Magazines Int.
More than just numbers
The updates and presentations we offer comprise much more than statistical summaries and macroeconomic overviews. We provide all that, of course – but we analyse business trends in-depth for you, we let you know what’s happening with sales and profits across the region, we communicate to you the tactical and strategic concerns of country and regional managers. We benchmark trends in each industry sector for you, and inform you about what you need to know to run your business effectively.
We also act as an invaluable sounding board and communicator to your colleagues within regional and in global headquarters about the real benefits and challenges of doing business in these CEEMEA emerging markets. And we provide regular overviews on other emerging markets too, specifically Latin America and Emerging Asia, as well as on the global economy and issues in Western markets.
We have leading insights on critical HR trends and refer to these topics throughout our many executive meetings. We are dedicating a series of events across the region to the issues of talent management and human resources.
We look forward to getting to know you and your business, to helping it grow, and to introducing you to our friends working in CEEMEA.
Find out more about membership and our meeting schedule
Andrea Stark
mail andrea.stark@ceemeabusinessgroup.com
phone +43 1 272 4403
Biographies
Daniel Thorniley is President of DT-Global Business Consulting and Co-founder of the CEEMEA Business Group. Danny advises clients and CEEMEA Business Group Members on global business strategy and operating in emerging markets, and makes over 100 presentations at CEO and Board level each year.
Danny was formerly with The Economist Group, where he spent 23 years in various management positions. As Senior Vice President, he was responsible for advising clients on global corporate business trends, specialising in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), Central and Eastern Europe and other emerging markets.
Danny has also taught Executive MBA courses on behalf of Oxford University, the University of Chicago, IESE (Spain), Instituto de Empresa and the Central European University in Budapest, and he holds a number of non-executive and advisory board memberships.
Danny has published three books, two on Russian politics and economics, and one co-authored with Nenad Pacek, Emerging Markets: Lessons for Business Success (Profile Books).
Danny was educated at Oxford University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a postgraduate diploma and a doctorate degree in Soviet political economy. He loves reading, especially history and good fiction; occasionally he goes fishing and puts any fish he catches back in the water! He is the proud father of his daughter Natasha.
Nenad Pacek is co-founder of the CEEMEA Business Group, and President of corporate advisory firm Global Success Advisors. Nenad advises global and regional managers of multinational corporations on understanding economic issues and countries around the world, as well as business strategies for outperforming competition in emerging markets. He is the lead author of “Emerging Markets: Lessons for Business Success and Outlook for Different Markets”. Nenad performs about 100 speeches and advisory sessions every year at CEO, board or regional levels.
Nenad was formerly with The Economist Group, where he spent 17 years in various consultative and management positions. As Vice President of the Group's economic intelligence and business advisory divisions in Vienna, he worked with over 300 multinational companies. He also expanded several Economist Group businesses throughout EMEA, and the government-related business world-wide.
Nenad has chaired over 100 government roundtables with the prime ministers and cabinet ministers of countries such as Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Chile, Bahrain, Egypt, Nigeria and virtually all Central and Eastern European markets from the Czech Republic to Kazakhstan. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of the Center for Creative Leadership (USA), the world’s leading leadership knowledge organization. He is also adjunct professor of International Economics and International Business at two private universities in Vienna.
When not working and travelling, he enjoys family life near Vienna with his wife and daughter. He is a sports fanatic and loves to play basketball, tennis and golf, and enjoys skiing and swimming.