Miha Frlec - The master diver who values knowledge and loyalty

I am a physicist by education, and I met two of the three Adacta founders during my high school and university years. I started working for Adacta even before we had our first office! Today, I manage the part of the company responsible for banking and other financial solutions, which is the part that doesn’t cover insurance.

I started as a developer and later a project manager, two roles I kept for quite a long time. The first solutions I worked on were CAD and GIS systems and phonebooks for Telekom Slovenije. These were soon followed by various banking projects, first NLB and followed by Banka Koper, now known as Intesa Sanpaolo. I was promoted into management and became a partner in 2004.

Although the concept didn’t even exist back then, we launched as a student start-up, one of the first in former Yugoslavia. We worked enthusiastically and believed in success even though we had difficulty winning projects as a small and unknown company. However, with time everything became more manageable, and we grew and became more recognisable. Today Adacta is a mature international company with constant growth and enviable achievements under our belt today. The main differences can be seen in operations, streamlined processes, and excellent work conditions.

The first milestone was, I think, the phonebook we developed for Telekom Slovenije. It was our first project for a major client and the most significant project we'd ever worked on up to then. This was the first thing we did that resembled a product, and we went on to sell similar solutions in Austria, Hungary, and Serbia.
The second milestone was our banking project for NLB. This was the first digital banking platform but received less media exposure than similar solutions back then. However, for Adacta, it was the first project where we used a relational database, which was rare at the time, particularly in the world of PCs. This ambitious project gave us the knowledge and experience to start working for other banks.
The third milestone was our implementation of AdInsure in Zavarovalnica Triglav. While not the first AdInsure implementation, it was the first AdInsure project rolled out in an international environment across all Zavarovalnica Triglav subsidiaries abroad.

Three things are essential to Adacta’s future development. The first is constant investment in AdInsure as a product. The second is our ability to expand our implementation partner network to scale our business. The third is the support from our new owner as we start selling and establish our footprint in Western markets. Last but not least for a company like Adacta its main asset is us, the people working for the company and being devoted to the idea that we are creating something new, something unique.

In contrast to my fast-paced and sometimes hectic daily and professional life, diving is relaxing and offers tranquillity and unique experiences. I could say that diving is moving and exploring in almost zero gravity. Everything is happening very slowly and is sometimes a substitute for meditation for me. Yes. Although training diving instructors differ from teaching diving, the same ideas apply to both. I attempt to be disciplined in all aspects of my life, but I do not always succeed.

I would highlight two, both of which have in common that they are remote. This means there are not many people there and very few divers. The first one is Raja Ampat in West Papua, and the other is Soccoro Island off the Mexican coast in the Pacific.

I have several: mountaineering, ski touring, and photography, to mention just a few.

It’s not really a very special photo, but it tells quite a lot about the sport as it is not just diving in clear warm tropical waters but also in conditions like these. The photos were taken just before the lockdown in 2020 during a training dive in lake Bohinj with air temperature around zero and water around three degrees.

I maintain the balance by simply taking the time for myself and the activities I love. However, work and private life are indeed intertwined as I often share my free time with people from work or use it for the job.

Diving taught me two vital lessons. The first is to always take a thoughtful approach to any problem I am trying to solve. The second lesson is the importance of self-improvement. The latter generates many personality characteristics that come in very handy in my professional life.

Hmm, this is a tricky one. Professionally two things are important: you must love or at least like what you do, and secondly, you must keep learning new things all the time. Personally, find a balance in whatever is important to you.

I believe the company culture is shaped by the fundamental values we promote and encourage. I value two: knowledge and loyalty. These are the two characteristics I look for in the people I work with.

We have already trusted the most important management positions in the company to younger colleagues. I hope that over the next decade, I will be able to share my experience with the next generation and help shape the future of Adacta in those areas where my skills will be useful.