Philip Zepter ( sr, Филип Цептер / Filip Cepter, born Milan Janković; 23 November 1950) is a Serbian businessman and entrepreneur. He is the president of the

Zepter International Zepter International is a Swiss consumer goods enterprise, which produces, sells and distributes consumer goods through direct sales and through stores. Zepter's products are manufactured in seven Zepter factories based in Germany, Italy and Switze ...

Group.

Early years and education

Philip Zepter was born in

Kozarska Dubica Kozarska Dubica ( sr-cyrl, Козарска Дубица), previously known as Bosanska Dubica ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Дубица) is a town and municipality located in northern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 20 ...

(in modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

) on 23 November 1950. He is the son of Milisav Jankovic and Nada Reljan. From their union is born in addition to Philip, Gojko, the youngest son. Zepter's education was strict, focusing on mathematics lessons and intensive sports practice. He completed his secondary education at the secondary school of Bosanska Dubica (Bosnia and Herzegovina), then went to study Economics and graduated with a master's degree from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...

Faculty of Economics A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

. He is fluent in Serbian, German and English. On February 21, 1976, he married Madlena Horvat, professor of literature. They have a daughter Emma, born in 2000.

Professional life

His professional life began in Belgrade in 1976, with an international transport company, "Transkop International". He stayed there for two years as Commercial Director. In 1986, he created in Linz (Austria) the company “Zepter International” 4,5 which produces and markets kitchen utensils in stainless steel alloy. Today, the company has an annual turnover of around one billion euros, has subsidiaries in some 40 countries. The group has extended its field of activity to the medical and cosmetic world as well as to other areas: insurance, banking, real estate and hotels. In 1990, the Zepter family moved to Monaco, a company under local law was created, CORPO SAM, which designs and carries out marketing, promotion and events for the group's products around the world. The Zepter family lives in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in the south of France. Their villa formerly known as ''Villa Aréthuse'', the Villa Trianon was built in 1893 at the request of Lord George Montgomery by the Danish architect, Hans-Georg Tersling.

Political activities

Relationship with political power

Philip Zepter was one of the first and among the most important supporters of

Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđić ...

, Prime Minister of Serbia from 2001 to 2003 and promoter of important economic and liberal political reforms in his country. Zepter continued his active support for Đinđić's pro-reform, democratic agenda, once saying that Đinđić was "a glimpse of bright light in the general hopelessness."https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_04-cv-01198/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_04-cv-01198-2.pdf

Litigation with the International Crisis Group

In 2003, one of the reports of the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

attributed the deceleration of Serbian reform to "the financial structures of the Milošević era" which had become "a new oligarchy" financing various parties and influencing, de facto, government decisions. . It mentions the name of Philip Zepter who is said to be among those who have benefited from "special informal monopolies" in exchange for their support for the Milošević regime. A defamation action is brought before the American courts. On May 10, 2016, the

D.C. Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

dismissed the applicant. According to Judge Rogers, Philip Zepter was indeed an advisor and financial support to Đinđić. Evidence shows that he was "willingly" involved in a reform process in Serbia. Moreover, the plaintiff does not deny having paid more than 100,000 dollars to a lobbyist to help the government of Đinđić to improve its relations with the United States, “efforts which led (...) to cancel two-thirds of Serbia's external debt ”. The allegations of attempted extortion on the part of the author of the writing are also dismissed.

Patronage

The Zepter Group has been involved for several decades in sponsorship encompassing sports, culture and charity. Among these, the Formula 1 world championship, the offshore championship, numerous car rallies, the ice hockey worlds, numerous ATP tennis tournaments, the Cannes festival, the construction and management of the Europe's only private opera house - The Belgrade Madlenianum, the Madeleine Zepter Foundation, which grants grants and supports various projects, the Zepter Museum (Belgrade) which constitutes a collection of works from 1950 to the present day, the literary prize Madeleine Zepter, the Zepter International Design Award, the publishing house Zepter Book World, the first auction house in Belgrade (MadlArt), the Young Chef Prize. In Monaco: a partnership with the Formula 1 Monaco Grand-Prix, the Golden League Athletic Meeting Zepter Herculis, the Monte Carlo Open tennis tournament, the Monte Carlo rally of new energies, the Zepter Monte-Carlo pro celebrities golf tournament, the IAF Monte-Carlo Master class, the Yacht Show the Monte Carlo World Music awards.

Awards/Recognitions

Main recognitions received by Philip Zepter

Philip Zepter was named Cavaliere in the Order of Merit for Work of the Italian Republic in 1997 for his outstanding contribution to the development of the industry in that country. In recognition of the benefits brought to Ukraine and its population, the small planet N6589 discovered in 1985 by Ljudmila Ivamovna Cernih and Nikolaj Stepanovic Cernih of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, was named and registered in 2000 under the reference N6589 -JANKOVIC (ZEPTER). by the International Astronomical Union. In the same year he was appointed to the Academy of Sciences (Ecology Section) of the Republic of Ukraine. In 2011, Philip Zepter was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (United States of America) for his philanthropic actions in favor of health and the improvement of the human condition.

Main awards received by the Zepter International Group (59)

* 1994: Organization for Cardiovascular Protection (Poland). Prize awarded for his fight against cholesterol. * 1994/1995/1996/1997/2010: "Golden Mercury" Prize, Italy, awarded for its technological advances and the originality of its products. * 2000: "Golden Europe Award" awarded in Madrid (Spain) for the quality of its products and its commercial success. * 2000: “International Europe Award for Quality” awarded in Paris (France). * 2002: "Golden BIATEC D'Or" Prize awarded in Bratislava (Slovakia), pg.3 (60). * 2014: “Kitchen Innovation of the Year, Best Consumer Friendly Product Award” awarded in Frankfurt (Germany).

References

External links

''Affäre: Der König der Töpfe''
8 May 2004 *www.zepter.com * International Crisis Group, ''Balkans Report 145'', 17 July 2003 * Seth Lubove: ''Balkan Battle'', Forbes Global; 19 April 2004, Vol. 7 Issue 7, p. 29 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zepter, Philip 1950 births Living people Serbian businesspeople University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics alumni People from Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina People from Veliko Gradište Serbian sports executives and administrators