Leading security experts

Zvonimir Cvetko Damnjanović is the Director of the Institute for Security and Strategic Research, CEO of Next Sight in Europe and the United States, and Head of the International and Intelligence Unit at the Detective and Security Agency. He worked for more than ten years as a criminal investigator, leading or taking part in demanding investigations of cybercrime, online fraud, child sexual abuse, the dark web and international cases. Today he works on corporate security, finding and verifying information from publicly available sources, data analysis, large data sets, software development and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in investigative work. He took part in Europol's international operational and professional activities and worked with law enforcement agencies in several countries. He has developed investigative tools, standard operating procedures and operational guidelines, and has trained the public and private sectors. The Slovenian Police awarded him the Medal for Self-Sacrifice and the Bronze Shield.

Focus areas

• Corporate security
• OSINT & intelligence research
• Cybercrime
• Penetration testing
• AI in investigations
• Strategic project management

Bernarda Škrabar Damnjanović is the Director of the Detective and Security Agency (DVA) and Chair of the Professional Council of the Institute for Security and Strategic Research. She has worked in the detective profession since 2006. She holds a master's degree in criminal justice and security and is a doctoral candidate in the same field. Her research focuses on the legal regulation of the detective profession, investigative methods and the cognitive interview. She is co-editor and co-author of the commentary on the Detective Activity Act, an author of professional publications, a lecturer, mentor and mediator. She is the honorary dean of an international detective school and a member of the board of directors of the Council of International Investigators (CII). She has spoken at TEDx and received several professional awards. Her work spans investigative practice, ethical leadership, corporate integrity, personal data protection, education and international cooperation.

Focus areas

• Investigations
• Cognitive interviewing
• Industrial espionage prevention
• Data protection (DPO)
• Mediation
• Detective activity

Iztok Podbregar holds a PhD in organizational sciences and is a full professor at the University of Maribor. He has led central institutions of Slovenia's national security: from 2002 to 2006 he was Director of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency and Secretary of the National Security Council of the Republic of Slovenia, and from 2004 to 2006 National Coordinator for the Fight Against Terrorism. He was Chief of Defence of the Slovenian Armed Forces from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Chief before that, and headed the Slovenian Air Force from 1991 to 1994. He has served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, as adviser to the President and the Prime Minister, and on the national delegation for Slovenia's accession to NATO. He worked as an international weapons inspector for the OSCE and began his career as a supersonic fighter pilot. He teaches leadership and management of security organizations and crisis and strategic management, and served as Dean of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences. His honours include the Golden Merit of the Republic of Slovenia and the French Legion of Honour.

Focus areas

• Intelligence
• National security
• Crisis & strategic management
• Counter-terrorism
• Defence & military logistics
• International cooperation

Aleksander Krebl has 37 years of experience in the law enforcement sector. He is a police officer and lawyer by vocation and holds an MSc in Police Leadership and Management from the University of Leicester. He spent 17 years as a police officer across several branches of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, where in 1997 he introduced Practical Police Procedure Training as a duty obligation for all police officers and in 2001 developed the Department for Police Powers and Prevention as a mechanism for preventing unlawful police proceedings. In 2026 he completed his mandate as Team Leader of the European Union Police Assistance for Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPA4BiH), having previously served as Team Leader on EU law enforcement projects in North Macedonia and Türkiye and provided consultancy in Montenegro, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Lebanon, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea. He speaks Slovenian, English, Montenegrin, Macedonian and Serbian. Since October 2024 he has been Senior Law Enforcement Adviser at the Institute for Security and Strategic Research and Senior Cyber Security Adviser at Next Sight.

Focus areas

• Ethics & integrity in policing
• Border management
• Irregular migration
• Organised crime & corruption
• Standardisation of police procedures
• Police leadership & management