Croatian innovator’s influence extends way beyond the country’s borders.
Politico has included Mate Rimac, Croatian innovator and entrepreneur, on its first annual list of 28 people in the 28 EU member states which have a major impact in their area of activities and are capable of changing European politics. Politico.eu – the European subsidiary of the American news portal – published a list of the most influential people in the 28 EU member states, reports Poslovni.hr on December 2, 2015.
The list includes, among others, Viktor Orban, the conservative and controversial Hungarian Prime Minister, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager from Denmark who initiated a war against large multinational companies, as well as the Belgian pop star Stromae. “We have asked the people who matters most in each of the 28 member countries, from Austria to the United Kingdom”, said Matthew Kaminski, the executive editor of the European edition of Politico.
The Politico’s list does not necessarily include the people in most influential positions or very popular people, but those who have great impact in their areas of activity. “People in our list have the power to influence events, be it at home, abroad, in the legal system, religion, crisis situations or when it comes to the very notion of European identity”, Kaminski said.
“It is hard enough to disrupt automotive industry with an electric car even if you are Elon Musk, a billionaire from Silicon Valley with extensive resources and powerful connections with the world’s top designers and scientists. But, to do it from Croatia, a small European country with limited industrial pedigree?” asks the feature on Rimac’s published on politico.eu.
Local engineers laughed when the 27-year-old inventor Mate Rimac announced that he would start commercial production of an electric supercar. They thought he was crazy. Today they stand in line to collaborate with him, Politico.eu adds. The article describes Rimac’s journey from an enthusiast of racing cars to the owner of Rimac Automobili, company worth 70 million euros, which produces eight cars a year, costing about 900,000 euros. The feature explains that Rimac has repeatedly refused to move production from a Zagreb suburb to a larger country. He employs 120 people and designs and manufactures components for his cars.
