Ilijana Vavan, rođena Sarajka, svoju međunarodnu karijeru započela je 1993. godine nakon završetka master studija informatike na Univerzitetu u Enschedeu u Nizozemskoj. Nakon rada u lokalnim holandskim kompanijama prelazi u Oracle, a potom u Microsoft, gdje je provela 11 godina radeći na različitim rukovodećim pozicijama. Godine 2005. iz Amsterdama prelazi u sjedište Microsofta za Istočnu Evropu u Minhenu, gdje preuzima rukovodstvo nad prodajnim inžinjerima za cijelu regiju. Njene rezultate potvrđuje činjenica da ju je Microsoft čak devet puta proglasio najboljom na svijetu u određenim kategorijama. Nakon Microsofta preuzima evropsko rukovodstvo nad ruskom kompanijom za cyber sigurnost Kaspersky, a potom obavlja globalne i međunarodne rukovodeće pozicije u kompanijama VMRay, Milestone Systems i Check Point Software Technologies. Danas djeluje kao savjetnica tehnološkim kompanijama, predavačica na međunarodnim konferencijama i predsjedavajuća prestižnog foruma Creative Women za Adriatic regiju. Dobitnica je nagrade “Victress Cyber Award 2019” za najbolju menadžericu u Njemačkoj, priznanja “Ličnost godine 2018” Hyatt TV iz Bosne i Hercegovine te je proglašena jednom od 30 najuticajnijih žena u evropskom IT sektoru.

Ilijana Vavan, originally from Sarajevo, began her international career in 1993 after completing her Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Enschede in the Netherlands. After several years working in local Dutch companies, she joined Oracle and soon after moved to Microsoft, where she spent 11 years in various leadership positions. In 2005, she relocated from Amsterdam to Microsoft’s Eastern European headquarters in Munich, taking over leadership of the sales engineering teams for the entire region. Her exceptional achievements were recognised by Microsoft, which awarded her the title of best in the world in specific categories nine times. After leaving Microsoft, she assumed European leadership for the Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky, followed by senior global and international leadership roles at VMRay, Milestone Systems, and Check Point Software Technologies. Today, she works as an advisor to technology companies, an international conference speaker, and Chairwoman of the prestigious Creative Women Forum for the Adriatic region. She is the recipient of the “Victress Cyber Award 2019” for Best Female Manager in Germany, the “Person of the Year 2018” award by Hyatt TV in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and has been recognised as one of the 30 most influential women in the European IT sector.