BIOGRAPHYAbout the speaker
Ranko Markuš is a labour market and public policy expert, serial entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Investment Foundation IMPAKT, with extensive international and regional experience in employment policies, entrepreneurship development, and EU-funded institutional support projects. His professional career spans from Minnesota, through Hamburg and Zagreb, across the Western Balkans, and as far as the Federated States of Micronesia.
Over the years, he has worked with international organisations, EU institutions, governments, bilateral support programmes, and development partners — including initiatives supported by Switzerland — on strategic planning, labour market reforms, entrepreneurship support, institutional capacity building, and public sector modernisation. His expertise covers employment policy, active labour market measures, State aid systems, PES benchmarking, monitoring and evaluation, and alignment of national systems with EU standards and accession requirements.
As co-founder of the Investment Foundation IMPAKT, he has contributed to the development of entrepreneurship support models focused on startup incubation, business acceleration, local economic development, and youth entrepreneurship across Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region.
He is particularly recognised for combining analytical expertise with practical implementation experience, supporting institutions and entrepreneurs in developing evidence-based policies, stronger governance systems, and sustainable approaches to employment, skills, innovation, and economic inclusion.
