Maja Timotijevic, president of the Serbian-Iran business chamber - Knowledge and honesty is the winning combination

Maja Timotijevic (Photo: Sead Saitovic)

If you want a serious career, you have to learn and work and be persistent for your entire life so that when you are not at a position there is always something to return to. If people recognize you as an expert, there is nothing to worry about. This is how Maja Timotijevic, president of the Serbian-Iran business chamber, former state secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture in two mandates, long-term advisor of GM at Novosadski sajam starts.

She was born in Novi Sad family, she graduated at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad where she obtained her PhD in cattle breeding as a result of her love for animals, horses first of all.

- I have learnt so far that you can never say you know everything. There is a challenge every time, to learn something. I like learning and meeting new things and I am into everything. I think it is very difficult to be a women in business world. No matter how much we in Serbia speak about gender equality, our cultural basis causes we in Serbia do not really accept women and do not take them seriously, especially not in business and even less in politics. Therefore, a woman needs to invest very much effort so that men would take her seriously. I think people should be seen on the basis of their human and professional qualities and then mention whether we speak about a woman or a man. I have to say that in life, I had to put much more effort for being women but, in a way, it was a challenge for me –Maja Timotijevic says.

Her family, as she says, was surprised when she decided to enter the Faculty of agriculture and study cattle breeding for the fact that her entire family is from Novi Sad and because they did not have any contact with the village and agriculture. However, she adds her love for animals made her chose agriculture.

- I really like agriculture and cattle breeding, it inspires me and I am interested in it even though my profession took me in a completely different direction. I started working at Novosadski sajam in 1986 and have been there for 30 years where I spent entire developmental path from and expert associate to an advisor to GM. In two mandates I was state secretary at the Ministry of agriculture but every time I returned to Novi Sad fair since this is my mother company. I have been involved for entire life with organization of fairs, exhibits, meeting new companies and new people which somehow determined me for the work at the Serbian-Iran business chamber. While at these positions, a man learns a lot on economic trends and behavior of people and companies. It means a lot and I do not find it difficult to use the experience at the Serbian-Iran business chamber – she says.

She outlines that that experience also helped her in work over the time she spent at the Ministry for agriculture since her job as a state secretary was to talk to people, hear their problems and try to solve them, as well as to present Serbia abroad.

- I have been doing at a lower level at Novosadski sajam as well. It meant a lot for me since at the Ministry, I worked on promotion of agricultural products export and this was in a way my responsibility at Novosadski sajam. Anything you start at governmental administration, you are staring a new job you have to become familiar with and which you need to learn –Maja Timotijevic says.

Sead Saitovic