Svetlana Cerović wins Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2024 award

Svetlana Cerović, Head of Specialized Lending at UniCredit Bank Serbia, received the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2024 award. It is a recognition of exceptional results and dedication in the energy transition process and the democratization and decentralization of energy in Serbia.

The Female Leader in Sustainable Energy was announced during the annual event of the WISE Serbia women’s network, which established the award with support from German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

Eleven women professionally engaged in the energy sector competed for the award.

Cerović: There is not just only one winner in the energy transition

Svetlana Cerović won the most votes from 2,320 people between September 26 and October 3. GIZ’s Project Director Till Barmeier handed her the award.

She said that in business and energy transition in general as well as in this vote there is not only one winner. Cerović added they will all win together if in the following decades they contribute to the creation of a more sustainable and more carbon-neutral society in Serbia.

She also thanked the WISE network for its dedication and for promoting women in energy. “I believe our role is to stimulate future generations to get as many young male and female colleagues who will drive the energy transition,” Cerović underscored.

The event was officially opened by Branislava Jovičić, Cofounder of the WISE Serbia women’s network, H. E. Anke Konrad, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Serbia, and Maja Vukadinović, Acting Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change.

WISE Serbia gives recognition to female energy transition leaders and promotes them, Branislava Jovičić asserted. In her opinion, female leaders have a very important role as with their personal example and efforts they become role models also to the other participants in the energy transition process and the switch to green, low-carbon and sustainable solutions in the energy sector.

“I believe that the achievements and results of Svetlana Cerović, as the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy of 2024, will inspire other women, especially young ones, to dream more, learn more, achieve more, which indeed are the attributes of true female leaders,” Jovičić said.

Ambassador Konrad said she has followed the work of the WISE network since arriving in Serbia and that she is proud that Germany, through its development cooperation, supports the initiative.

Konrad: Initiatives like WISE are taking concrete action to create opportunities for women to lead in sustainable energy

“Initiatives like WISE are taking concrete action to create opportunities for women to lead in sustainable energy, and to address structural barriers that have historically kept women out of the sector,” she stated.

According to the ambassador, the award is an inspiration for other women to pursue careers and leadership roles in sustainable energy. It also paves the way for future generations of women leaders, she pointed out.

“The transition to sustainable energy solutions requires a broad range of skills, perspectives, and leadership. Women’s participation in this sector is not just about equality – it’s about harnessing the full potential of all talents to build a future that is sustainable, inclusive, and resilient,” Konrad underscored.

Vukadinović said at the opening of the event that the green energy revolution is an opportunity not only to enhance energy security and environmental protection but also to change the image of energy as a men’s industry.

“According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) research from a few years ago, women globally account for 32% of employees in the renewables sector. The participation is less than equal, but it is also significantly higher than in the more traditional part of the energy sector, which relies on fossil fuels – oil, coal and gas, where women have a 22% share,” the assistant minister stressed.

After the award announcement, a panel discussion was held under the title ‘Women’s power, knowledge, and vision for a successful energy transition’. It was moderated by Maja Turković, Executive Vice President of CWP Europe and the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2023 award laureate in the business and investment category.

The panel discussion brought together Ankica Barbulov, Director of Negawatt Solutions, Dušan Macura, Chief of Heat Production and Distribution Sector in district heating company Novi Sad Heating Plants, and Ana Džokić, Cofounder of the Elektropionir energy cooperative and the Female Leader in Sustainable Energy 2023 in the citizen energy category.