Our Team

Academic Dean

Qualified Medical Doctor with a Masters’ Degree in Occupational and Environmental Medicine with distinction from the University of Birmingham, UK. In 2011, was part of a nationwide project (Swiss Transplant Cohort Study) founded by the Psychosocial Interest Group in Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Simcox is in charge for the part of supporting/following patients to return to work after solid organ transplantation.

Dr. Amira has also carried out Occupational Health consultations on workers for several Swiss companies, including SUVA and SECO (Occupational Health Companies). Also implemented Health & Safety processes in companies and several private clinics (healthcare management). Since 2021, she became involved in the educational sector as a programs coordinator and teaching. In 2023, she was appointed as an Academic Dean at the Swiss School of Business and Management Geneva.

Areas of expertise: research methods, occupational and environmental medicine, psychology, management

President

Luka Lesko, PhD, DBA, is a President of the SSBM Geneva.

He obtained a PhD doctorate at the age of 29, and then a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) at the Swiss School of Business and Management Geneva.

He has published dozens of scientific articles in the security and intelligence domain, and the book “Sport and National Security: Terrorism, Espionage and Corruption in Football and Other Sports”, awarded the national best scientific book in the field of security in 2020.

He teaches Introduction to Security Studies, Society and Risks, Terrorism Protection, Business Intelligence and Corporate Security.

He was the Director of sport operations the European University Games Zagreb-Rijeka 2016, the most massive multi-sports event held in Croatia, and then headed the scientific department on the development of one the world’s best ten innovations in sports, presented during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016, developed by a company from Boston, Massachusetts.

He expanded his knowledge at the European Commission, UN Academy, International Olympic Academy, Project Management Institute and Alfred State College of Technology New York.

Former top-level judo athlete.

Areas of expertise: Security and defense sciences, corporate security, terrorism protection, project management in major sporting events, sports and national security, crisis management, project management

Head of Academic Programs

Olesya Meskina has 14 years of professional experience in Teaching & Development. She worked for several international companies.

She obtained her doctorate degree from the University of Basel in 2013, focused on History and International Relations. In 2005 she has also received her doctorate degree in Social Science from Voronezh State Pedagogical University, Russia. She was a participant of the academic leadership programme Global Perspectives 2012 (University of Basel) and Women into Industry 2011 (Novartis International & University of Basel).

She is holder of several academic grants. In 2008 she was privileged to be selected as a recipient of the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship. Her experience as a motivating speaker is unparalleled consisting of a broad range of successfully presented topics in numerals educational and corporate venues around the world. She is an author of two monographs and numerous papers in the field of social science, marketing, economic.

Areas of expertise: education, social sciences, marketing, economic studies, and leadership development.

VP of Quality/Technology/Innovation

Mario received his PhD from the University of St Gallen, Switzerland. He has over 25 years of professional experience in various senior management positions. He worked for several international corporations. He achieved his Master’s Degree in Computer Science from University of Lyon I, France in 1999, and his post-graduate degree in Computer Networks and Telecommunications in 2001 from the same University. He is also holding an MBA. His research motivation focuses on the fields of information security, open-source software, and mobile. He is currently a Postdoc at the University of St Gallen, Switzerland. He is teaching various courses: Cybersecurity, Machine Learning/AI applied to the business context, Data Analytics and Decision Making, Programming, Project Management, Innovation Management, Web server, etc. His Google scholar profile can be found here.

Areas of expertise: IT, technology, innovation, cybersecurity, management

Academic Director

Petra holds a Ph.D. degree in International Private Law and Master’s degree in International Dispute Resolution. 

Since 2013, she has constantly been working in the field of Sports Law specialising primarily in Dispute Resolution in Sports. Petra serves in various roles at home and abroad, both as a practitioner and lecturer. She is a member (arbitrator) of the Court of Arbitration for Sport- CAS, Lausanne; Croatian Football Federation, and holds various roles before the Croatian Olympic Committee (Secretary General- Centre for Sports Law;  Committee on Ethics, Disciplinary Committee, Sports Arbitration Court, Sports Arbitration Council), Croatian Olympic Academy (Head of Legal) and is a member delegate to the Council of Europe (doping). Also, she is the President of the Supervisory Board before Croatian Association for Civil Law. Furthermore, Petra is a member of the Woman in Sports Law Partnership and Education Committee.

Areas of expertise: law, sports management, sports law, sports arbitration

Academic Director

He is involved as a practicing lawyer in Sport law for more than 25 years. Within the scope of his activities as an International Sport lawyer he was involved and gained substantial practical experience in advising and representing athletes, clubs and sport organizations in national and international level, and for the last 12 years he is also involved in a large number of academic and educational activities and is often invited as a speaker in congresses and seminars on Sport law worldwide.

Since 2015 he is member of the Legal Committee of UEFA and was promoted in 2019 to the position of 2nd and in 2022 to the position of 1st Vice Chairmen of the Committee. He is one of the founders, a member and a member of the Board and treasurer of the RexSport Association.

Areas of expertise: law, sports management, sports law, sports arbitration

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Ivana has over 20 years of experience in finance and banking, of which 11 years in the field of banking (UniCredit Group), where since 2008 she has been working as a Relationship Manager in corporate banking (Sector for large clients) and Risk Manager in the Credit Risk Approval Department, with significant experience in credit risk assessment and the approval process for many complex and large infrastructure, transport and shipbuilding projects, and also covers transactions from all other industries.

Areas of expertise: finance & banking, credit risk management, M&A, operations

VP of International Affairs

The business-savvy leader with 20+ years of experience overhauling and strengthening corporate infrastructures in the Automobile and Sports Betting Industries.
Minja is well-known for  the development of new business models, restructuring to profitability, introduction of new revenue streams, transformation of corporate finance, development of sales platforms, client service development, and lobbying/advocacy.

Areas of expertise: corporate finance, automobile industry, new business models, sales

Chief operating officer (COO)

Dino is an experienced operations professional with over 12 years of professional experience. He has completed a Master’s degree in Economics.

He worked at Deutche Telekom and is now leading the Swiss School of Business and Management Geneva admissions team.

Areas of expertise: operations, call center, finance, management

Head of Research

Anna L. Provodnikova holds Ph.D. and MBA, with a specialization in Management, from National American University. Her research focuses on strategic management, mostly on finding innovative solutions to the problems that plague today’s organizations. Her research interests include management use of strategic tools in a discordant world, as well as drivers of strategic success in a turbulent environment, and building and maintaining a competitive advantage in a changing world.

Anna is the editor of the Global journal of Business and Integral Security (GBIS) and leads the International Conference on Business and Integral Security (IBIS).

Areas of expertise: research, operational management

VP of Finance/Legal/HR

He holds PhD in Economics, specialization in money, finance and foreign trade, from the University Lumiere Lyon 2 of Lyon, France. In 2000 he received a Master’s Degree in Economics, from the University Lumiere Lyon 2 of Lyon, France and an MBA from the Lyon EM  Management School, France. In 1999 he graduated in Economics, from the University Lumiere Lyon 2 of Lyon, France. His research interests are: Financial engineering, Financial management, Corporate finance, European Union. Dario is an experienced CEO and worked for Bina-Istra d.d. within the French concession group Bouygues Construction.  He spent many years as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Areas of expertise: finance, legal, financial engineering, financial management, corporate finance, European union

Head of Partnership and Business Development

Sonia is an experienced business development professional with over 18 years of professional working experience mainly in larger international co-operations such as Cisco Systems and Nike. Sonia graduated from ELTE University in Budapest, Hungary and speaks fluently multiple languages.

Areas of expertise: sales, marketing

Head of Marketing

Gal is an experienced marketing professional. She graduated from the King’s College London, UK with the specialization in Emerging Economies and International Development. Gal has worked in many international organizations leading NGOs and marketing strategies. Apart from being a native English language speaker she is also fluent in Croatian and Spanish. Gal leads all sustainability efforts at SSBM Geneva.

Areas of expertise: sales, marketing, sustainability

Student Services Manager

Stella is an experienced Student Services Manager with 10 years of experience. She is highly organized, proactive and punctual with a team-oriented mentality. Stella has worked for several Swiss higher education institutions.

Areas of expertise: service management, management