ANALYSIS
population of the country as well as its Along the way, one of
brands to the market; enhanced our
political stability. These all have been the great advantages
investments and many more gamevery positive developments. However,
that I have encountered changing endeavors. We keep growI believe Turkey still has significant
ing our business with our international,
room for improvement concerning in Macedonia is the
high-quality brands while leveraging
business-government dialogue. Par- high competence and
on the scale and local experience of
ticularly, an effective consultation knowledge of the young TKP as well as their portfolio of heritage brands.
process with greater inclusion of the people we have hired.
business community during policyAlong the way, one of the great advanmaking is an area where Turkey could
tages that I have encountered in Macedonia is the
make a huge leap. I truly believe that a genuine
high competence and knowledge of the young peomutual trust between business and government can
ple we have hired. Macedonia has a young, striving
only help economic development.
talent pool waiting for opportunities to realize their
potential. Philip Morris International will continue
EM: Since September 2014, you have served
to provide more opportunities for young talent in
as General Manager of a joint venture
Macedonia to develop itself and discover possibilibetween Phillip Morris International and
ties within an international business environment.
a Macedonian State-owned cigarette
manufacturer. How would you describe
the process of forming a local team and
introducing change into an established
system? What have been some of the
surprises for you along the way?
Kozlu: We, as Philip Morris International (PMI), have
entered into a strategic partnership with Tutunski
Kombinat Prilep (TKP), aiming to leverage the synergies from the unique strength of both parties. So
far, it has been a very exciting and rewarding experience for both, I trust. We have incorporated a new
legal entity, Philip Morris Tutunski Kombinat Prilep,
which is a joint venture between PMI and TKP. PMI
has completely changed its business model in Macedonia in line with the joint venture structure. We have
started manufacturing in Prilep of o