# Borko Kovačević

> Corporate Executive Turned Founder & Operator. 17 years at Microsoft Asia. Co-founder of two multimillion-dollar companies built from scratch.

## About

Borko Kovačević is a former Microsoft executive and active founder/operator based in Singapore. He spent 17 years at Microsoft across Central Europe and Asia Pacific, holding roles including Head of Marketing for Central Europe, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore, and Head of Business Development for Startups and New Ventures across APAC.

He left corporate life to build — not advise. He co-founded Poddster, a podcast production studio network operating in Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and 100+ partner locations globally, and Podyx, a vertical SaaS platform for podcast studios used by over 200 studios with $10M+ in transaction volume.

## Speaking Topics

### The Reinvention Gap
Why corporate leaders struggle to cross from executive to operator. Covers mindset shifts, identity crises, and hard-won lessons from Borko's own transition. Suited for leadership offsites, annual general meetings, townhalls, executive retreats, and career transition events.

### AI Readiness Is an Execution Problem
Drawing on experience selling AI vision at Microsoft and implementing it as a founder, Borko argues most organisations don't have a technology problem — they have a systems, culture, and execution problem. Suited for tech conferences, digital transformation summits, C-suite briefings, and industry association events.

### Building When Everyone Else Is Advising
A talk for audiences tired of theory. Borko shares what you learn about innovation, resilience, and leadership when you're the one making payroll across Singapore, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Suited for entrepreneurship summits, founder events, corporate innovation teams, startup ecosystems, and venture capital conferences.

## Speaker Details

- **Based in:** Singapore (available globally)
- **Languages:** English (native-level)
- **Formats:** Keynote (30–60 min), Fireside Chat, Panel Moderator, Executive Workshop
- **Experience:** 50+ keynotes and executive sessions across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East
- **Industries:** Technology, Financial Services, Media, Startups & Innovation

## Testimonials

- **Howie Lau, NCS Group** — "Borko has an excellent sense of what needs to be the focus of the moment and is very highly effective in setting goals and achieving them."
- **Nir Eyal, NYT Bestselling Author** — "Borko is the rare leader who has operated at the highest levels of global tech and built something real from zero. His perspective on reinvention is hard-won and worth listening to."
- **Prerna Gulati & Apurv Joshi, JP Morgan Private Banking** — "Borko is an excellent speaker in bridging the traditional corporate, rigid and inert narrative and scrappy, innovative and novel startup culture."
- **Andrea Della Mattea, former Microsoft CVP APAC** — "Borko was one of the strongest operators on my Microsoft APAC team — the kind of leader who consistently delivered against ambitious targets while developing the people around him."

## Companies

- **Poddster** — https://www.poddster.com — Podcast production studio network in Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and 100+ partner locations globally.
- **Podyx** — https://www.podyx.com — Vertical SaaS platform for podcast studios. 200+ studios, $10M+ transaction volume.

## Links

- Website: https://www.borkokovacevic.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/borko-kovacevic/
- Booking: https://www.borkokovacevic.com/contact