Josip Majher
Hrvatska poštanska banka
Member of the Management Board and Chief Operating Officer
Josip Majher is a member of the Management Board and Chief Operating Officer at Hrvatska Poštanska Banka, the Croatian Postal Bank. In this interview with Boris Plantier, Head of Content at Qorus, he shares insights about himself and his approach to work.
Please tell us a little bit about your background.
I was born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia, in a family with three other siblings, a sister and two brothers. I am married and have a six-year-old son.
My professional experience has taken me through corporate, private and government sectors, mostly in the finance industry.
I spent eleven years with the number one insurance company in Croatia, Croatia Insurance, where I worked in multiple roles starting from key account manager to head of corporate and SME sales.
I have had the privilege to serve as a special advisor to the Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy of Croatia. In this capacity, I worked on improving the legislation for the Croatian pension system (2nd pillar, 3rd pillar and pension insurance companies), served as a delegate in several OECD committees during Croatian accession process to the Organization, and was in charge of coordinating PMOs for several special projects.
Since October 2023, I have held the roles of member of the management board and chief operating officer of Croatian Postal Bank, one of top five commercial banks in Croatia and the biggest one owned by Croatian capital without being part of international groups. I am responsible for IT, operations, product development and PMO & organization segments.
Academically, I hold graduate and postgraduate degrees in Finance from the Faculty of Economics and Business in Zagreb, as well as an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and London Business School (joint EMBA-Global programme). I am currently completing the Executive Certificate in Digital Business Excellence at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
What does your workplace look like?
I work in an office at one of our bank’s locations in the very center of Zagreb. I try to keep my office tidy and functional, so have more screen real estate than papers. A six-chair conference table is here for most of my smaller live meetings and the smartboard on the wall transforms the office into a decent conference room for the hybrid meetings.
A personal touch is given to the office with my diplomas and a framed Croatian football team jersey on the wall, and a part of my LEGO collection on the cupboards.
Could you describe your usual working day?
I am usually in my office at around 8am. My daily routine starts with a cup of tea and looking at dashboards in our data warehouse, to see the main KPIs for yesterday.
The time from 9am until late afternoon is not owned by me, more by my secretary. The calendar is always full, either with regular meetings like boards and committees or with clients, both internal and external.
Depending on how long the meetings took, I end my day at the office with checking if I missed any emails and replying where needed. Usually by the end of day, there is also a stack of papers to sign on my desk and different requests to approve in the system. I am usually back home around 6pm and try not to continue with work there if not necessary.
What is your favorite food?
I love local food, charcoal barbecue and all sorts of local specialties depending on the season. After Croatian, I love other ethnic foods like Italian, Mexican or Asian.
What do you do when you need a break from work?
I hang out with my family and friends, love to travel, go to sports events, especially with the Croatian football team and Dinamo Zagreb. When I really need to clear my head instantly from daily stress, I make LEGO models – it helps me to focus on the process and unwind quickly.
What is the key to building a successful team?
The key is to pick the best possible team and let them do their job. Do not micromanage, allow your team to make mistakes, allow them to fail, allow different opinions, because that is the only way you can ensure that your team is better than the sum of its parts. Trust your team. If you don’t trust them, you are just wasting your time and theirs, just do everything yourself. But then, your potential is limited. With a great team, the sky is the limit. I have always been lucky to work with a great team around me.
There is a saying that we learn more from failure than success. Tell me about one of your failures and what you have learned from it.
My biggest failure is not one particular thing, it is not understanding the Dunning-Kruger effect earlier. There are so many things that I could have done better in my early career if I did not think that my solution was the best. Many young people think, as I did, that they know everything. Only later they hopefully understand that for most things in life there is no one right or wrong solution or answer, it is all a matter of perspective and situation.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to succeed in financial services?
My advice is: “Never stop learning and investing in yourself.”
Financial services might seem old school and conservative, but in reality, they are changing faster than ever. Be flexible and never assume you know everything.
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