Miodrag Kostić

Early life and education

Kostić was born on August 25, 1959.

Kostić graduated from the University of Novi Sad Faculty of Economics in Novi Sad at the department of Information Technology in 1983.

Professional career

In 1983 he began a private business – initially as an owner of a private company for trade, import-export and manufacturing activities which in 1995 grew into MK Group. Since 2000, MK Group system has sugar factories (factories Pećinci, Vrbas, Kovačica ), more than 10 agricultural enterprises (“Agrounija”, “Đuro Strugar”, “Labudnjača”, “Vojvodina”, “Panonia” “Elan” etc.), trade and warehouse complexes (“Granex-port”, “Žito Bačka”), which have been successfully restructured and integrated into a modern and highly profitable Serbian export-oriented companies.

Today, this is a system comprising 35 companies, employing more than 4500 employees, in Serbia and Ukraine achieving an annual turnover of over 500 million EUR. The largest part of MK Group’s operations pertain to the sugar industry, agricultural manufacturing, industry and trade of agricultural products. The head office is located in Belgrade while the affiliate companies can be found throughout Vojvodina and Serbia. Since 2006, the company has begun to expand its operations to countries in the region such as the Ukraine.

Sunoko, a member company of MK Group is one of the leading companies in sugar production both in Serbia and the region. Sunoko exports sugar into the following countries: Poland, Check Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Italia, England, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Cyprus, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Albania.

In addition, Kostić has invested in an apartment complex in Kopaonik. In 2009 he founded a new company, MK Mountain Resort, under whose auspices are the hotels Grand and Angella as well as the apartment complex Konaci and Sunčani vrhovi, as well as hotel 88 Rooms, a four – star boutique hotel in the center of Belgrade. The aim is to possess 10 four - star hotels in total in order to be more competitive both in the region and abroad.

Apart from tourism, new investments are made in developing renewable energy sources, whereby MK Fintel Wind established in 2007 and is one of the first companies in Serbia that has started “green energy production” using the wind powered generators and solar panels.

In 2011, MK Group took over "Carnex" (established in 1958), a leader in production of meat and meat products. Carnex exports its products into the following countries: Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Australia, Russia, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Belorussia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Humanitarian work

MK Group has donated around 220,000 EUR for the construction of a youth house in SOS Dečije selo (Children’s village) in Kraljevo. During the spring of 2012, on May 25, the cornerstone was laid while on September 24 the roof construction was mounted. On November 29, in less than 6 months, the keys to the home were handed over to SOS Dečije selo in Kraljevo. The President of Serbia attended the ceremony. Traditionally, Mk Group provides a free winter vacation to 30 of the best elementary school students from Kosovo. Some other humanitarian activities of MK Group were: a one million dinar donation for more humane living conditions for the most vulnerable; a donation of 24 tons of sugar to flooded areas in the Republic of Srpska; a donation in the amount of one million dinars to the Municipality of Trgovište intended for rehabilitation of the municipality in southern Serbia which was affected by floods; and aid for the most vulnerable in the municipality of Kraljevo, which was struck by an earthquake.

Kostić Family Foundation

Kostić founded the Kostić Family Foundation in June 2013 with his mother Roksanda by giving their family home as a present to the Provincial Institute for Protection of Health of Children and Young People of Vojvodina in Novi Sad and to the National Association of Childhood Cancer Parents of Serbia for their exclusive use.

Kostić transferred the ownership of the house to the Provincial Government of Vojvodina, which is responsible of using the house solely for the proposed purpose. The house has 1400 square meters and 16 acres of outdoor property.

The act of foundation was symbolically performed by Kostic giving the keys of the foundation to Bojan Pajtic, the President of the Provincial Government of Vojvodina who immediately gave them to Slobodan Grebeldinger, the director of the Children’s Hospital in Novi Sad.

Awards and recognition

Memberships and functions

Mr. Kostić is the President of the Management Board of AIK Bank and for the second term - the President of the Serbian business club “PRIVREDNIK” which gathers 40 most successful entrepreneurs in Serbia. “Privrednik” cooperates with chambers of commerce and business associations in the country and abroad and the Government of the Republic of Serbia in order to improve entrepreneurship and management in Serbia and attract the investors from abroad.

He is also a member of a numerous local and international business associations such as AmCham, British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Serbian - Italian Business Council, Swiss- Serbian Business Association, Serbian Association of Managers (SAM), National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), etc.

Media

According to the Forbes list, Kostić was the richest businessman in Serbia and the third richest in the Balkans in 2013 and also ranked among the top businessmen in Serbia and the region in 2015.