Dejan Trpkovic
During his career, Dejan Trpkovic held various world-wide executive management positions, setting up and expanding businesses in the emerging markets, improving financial performance and streamlining management and marketing processes and structures.
In 2009, he co-founded a fast growing language network – Verbalists Education, after he had formed a business group within PRODIREKT LLC, responsible for the further expansion of language education and teacher training.
In 2004, Dejan designed the Strategic Management program for executive education, which has received an endorsement by the American Chamber of Commerce and IBM Business Solutions.
In 2000, he formed PRODIREKT LLC, based in the US, to provide management recruiting and education services. In the same year, the offices in London and Belgrade were opened to manage the company’s European operations. As its founder, Dejan is responsible for the vision and strategy of the PRODIREKT group.
Prior to founding PRODIREKT, in 1999, Dejan Trpkovic established Prodide, a marketing and PR agency based in Belgrade. Prodide quickly became a leading integrated marketing communications company in the SEE region and was behind a number of referenced and complex regional projects, such as, the creation of visual identity and media strategy for the Serbian Government’s European Integration Office.
During 1997-1999, as Vice President, Western Europe of World-Link UK, a global integrated telecom solutions provider based in New York, Dejan established the Central Office facilities in London, and supervised the operations of EUROLINK, a Greek subsidiary and a licensed telecom carrier.
From 1993-96, as Regional Director of Hasbro (a Fortune 500 company), he managed the head office in Vienna, two subsidiaries in Poland and Hungary, and 17 regional distributors. In 1995, he formed HASBRO’s regional head office in Vienna, Austria. In 1994, Dejan directed the purchase of a local Polish distributor and every aspect of this new venture.
He began his career in 1989 as Regional Manager with Technical Language Systems in Denver, Colorado, where he developed language learning instruction series, language tests and supporting curriculum, as well as managed executive training programs.
Dejan holds a Master’s of Business Administration degree from University of Colorado.
Korinne Algie
As the member of the PRODIREKT leadership group, Korinne brings with her over 20 years of education industry experience including as an agent, educator, and service provider.
Korinne works with schools, agencies, and other education-related businesses to help develop content, set strategies, and improve visibility of the PRODIREKT Group and the Verbalists Education & Language Network. Her ability to operate in a number of languages including English, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese, allow her to work seamlessly across the world and is beneficial in her spearheading our global growth.
Korinne regularly speaks on education trends, challenges, and practical skills both online and in-person.
She is also a Director of KAIE Marketing and a Co-Founder of the Education Marketing Collective, a membership-based digital marketing training platform servicing the international education sector. In addition, she is a Board Director at Zoni Language Centers and is a European Broadcasting Union accredited blogger.
Prior to moving to Germany, Korinne spent time working as a student coordinator at Oceania Koryu Centre, a Japanese student recruitment agency, and in various marketing and student facing roles in language centers and public schools in New Zealand.
Korinne was also an exchange student at Kakogawa Japan, furnishing her with an intimate understanding of international student experiences.
In February 2009, Korinne moved to Germany to take on the role as marketing manager at ICEF – the world’s leading B2B education networking event organizer. She was later promoted to Marketing Director, holding that position until the end of 2016.
When she is not working, she is a competitive open water swimmer, competing in events around Europe.
Korinne holds a Master of Communication Management in intercultural communication and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration, from Massey University (New Zealand). She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese and Spanish from Unitec (New Zealand).
Jancileidi (Janci) Hübner
Jancileidi (Janci) Hübner is a highly experienced and dedicated Business Development Manager at PRODIREKT, responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities to promote education services, including language courses abroad through Verbalists Education & Language Network, to potential students and their families in Latin America.
With more than 22 years of experience in the education sector, Janci has worked as a language teacher, teacher trainer, and language teaching professor. She has taught online and in-person to children, teenagers, and adults and has also been involved in the organization and implementation of events and study trips.
As a teacher trainer and language teaching professor, Janci has worked with teachers and future teachers, helping them to improve their practices. She has also engaged in projects promoting quality education in Brazil. Currently, Janci is coordinating a specialization course for English teachers at the University of Passo Fundo (UPF) – one of the most important universities in the North of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, founded 54 years ago.
As a researcher, Janci is currently focusing on applied linguistics and the internationalization of schools and universities.
In addition to her professional achievements, Janci has practical experience studying abroad while improving her language and teaching skills in England and Canada. Her voluntary work as a troop committee member at a Brazilian scouts group some years ago has also given her plenty of experience with children and teenagers.
Janci has an M.A. in Linguistic Studies from the Federal University of Fronteira Sul (UFFS), where she conducted research on Discourse Analysis and wrote a dissertation entitled “Portuguese and English: Perception issues in duel”. She also holds a degree in Language Teaching from Universidade Regional Integrada (URI) and post-graduate diplomas in Teaching and Learning English from UPF and Language, Technology and Education from UFMG, all renowned universities in Brazil.
Janci’s diverse skills and experiences make her a valuable asset to PRODIREKT, allowing her to successfully identify and develop new business opportunities in the Latin America region.
Chris Galea
PRODIREKT greatly benefits from Chris’ broad based coaching and advertising agency background at Senior Management level covering over 70 countries. In addition to his leadership role in PRODIREKT, Chris is presently a Regional Business Director at McCann Worldgroup.
His honors degree in Psychology and International Coaching Federation certification have been consolidated during the last three decades with a breadth and depth of roles as a Coach, Educator and Mentor across multiple disciplines – work, sports, and life – before becoming more deeply involved with coaching in both the Executive and Personal Development areas more than 10 years ago.
Working with individuals and teams, Chris experience includes C-Suite/Executive Coaching, Leadership level coaching, Future Leadership development and a broad range of mentoring programs for Shell, Westpac, Cornelius, Marmon, McCann Worldgroup, amongst others.
Before joining McCann Worldgroup in 2019, Chris was as a Global Group Director for TBWA Worldwide. From 2002 to 2018, he was responsible for the management of local agency and network resources on key global clients including caliber, structure, best practice, profitability, business/brand development and provision of supplementary strategic support across a variety of international markets from Mexico to Russia, Spain to Japan, Peru to Malaysia.
Prior to TBWA, Chris was Regional Client Service Director for Grey Asia Pacific responsible for managing the Glaxo SmithKline business and Danone International brands in over 22 markets across the Asia region.
Previously he was Managing Director/Partner for Focus on Kids Ltd., where he managed Tomy, WH Smith, MGM, CWL and Hasbro brands and Regional General Manager, Europe & Emerging Markets for DDB Needham/Griffin Bacal, where he developed a record of accomplishment in establishing and maintaining long-term complex client relationships based on focused, consistent client service and disciplined account management.
Nebojsa Radic
Nebojsa Radic is Director of the Cambridge University Language Program, the University-wide world language provision. He is responsible for all the foreign language taught courses run by the Cambridge University Language Centre and is member of the team that designs the relevant multimedia, online materials. Since 2002 Nebojsa has been coaching the University of Cambridge’s basketball team (most of the time). He still plays the game too!
He has earned a PhD in Creative Writing (UEA in Norwich), MAs in Teaching with Technology (British Columbia, Vancouver) and Italian Language and Literature (Auckland, New Zealand) and a BA in Italian Language and Literature (Belgrade, Yugoslavia).
Before moving to the UK in 2001 Nebojsa was Senior Tutor in Italian and Coordinator of the Flexible Learning Project of the School of European Languages at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In New Zealand Nebojsa taught Italian and designed, produced and delivered the multimedia materials for Italian, French and Spanish language courses offered at a distance.
His research interest focuses on the methodology of computer mediated language teaching and more specifically, in distributed-learning environments.
He is member of the UCML (University Conference of Modern Languages) Executive Committee representing the constituency of Institution Wide Language Programmes.
Nebojsa is currently External Examiner at the Language Centres of the Universities of Warwick and Anglia Ruskin and in Italian at the University of East Anglia.
Steven Damron
Steven’s unique blend of management, technology and start-up experience will be a valuable asset as PRODIREKT develops its business in the emerging markets.
Steven is COO at The Social Edge, maker of the Contempo content service for social media influencers.
In his previous position as CEO of Zone Reactor, a joint venture between Zone Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, he helped that company accelerate the formation of high tech companies. Zone Reactor works with existing high tech companies to discover and develop technology locked in the R&D labs of those companies.
Before joining Zone Reactor, Steven spent 4 years at idealab!, the Pasadena-based Internet incubator. He served as CEO of EntertainNet and KidsOnLine.com, two idealab! start-ups. He also consulted with many idealab! start-ups on business planning and strategy while directly employed by idealab!.
Steven was an early employee at Sun Microsystems. In his 11 years at Sun, he held sales, marketing and service management positions, usually developing new business lines from the ground up.
Prior to Sun, Steven was a Software Engineer for ADAC Labs, a manufacturer of medical imaging devices, and a Research Physicist at SRI International, a multi-disciplinary consulting organization.
Steven holds a B.A. in Physics and English from Dartmouth College and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from U.C. Berkeley.
