Nina Mimica takes on Chief Innovation Officer role at Studenac

Nina Mimica has been named as the new Chief Innovation Officer at Studenac, joining the management board of Croatia’s largest retailer by number of stores to oversee projects including a digital centre of excellence.

Mimica will be responsible for designing and implementing innovation and digital transformation projects, introducing advanced analytics and using technology to drive the company’s growth.

She has served as the firm’s Marketing Director since October 2019.

“We are thrilled to welcome Nina to the management board – her expertise and leadership will drive us forward in innovation and digital transformation, one of our priority areas for development,” says Management Board President Michał Seńczuk.

“We’re counting on digital transformation both to help us stay close to our customers and to increase overall efficiency, using data to help us innovate.”

“At this point we have no direct competition for our unique, innovative proximity format, and we will continue working intensively to enrich our offering according to consumers’ specific needs. Nina’s mission will be to listen to this dynamic market and look for new opportunities to serve our customers even better.”

After a series of acquisitions and organic growth, Studenac has more than 1,000 stores, almost triple the number when it was acquired in 2018 by private equity fund Enterprise Investors.

Digital initiatives launched this year include a quick commerce partnership with European delivery platform Wolt.

“Our customers’ needs vary widely across our nationwide network of 1,000 stores, and Studenac Digital will help us focus on meeting those needs,” Mimica says.

“More broadly, the unit will develop innovations for our entire business and increase its agility and efficiency. I’m looking forward to using the knowledge of the company that I gained in my marketing role, and my experience in launching new initiatives, to help our innovation programs succeed.”

Mimica joined Studenac from Deutsche Telekom group, where she started in marketing for the Croatian operation and later worked in roles including product strategy and marketing for the company’s European operations.

She has also worked in fields including advertising and manufacturing, primarily in marketing roles.