Executive Director and Staff

Arian ZEKA

Executive Director & Authorized Representative

Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce is responsible for promoting the public image of the Association by serving as the Chamber’s “ambassador-at-large,” and liaising on behalf of its members with other leaders of Kosovo and international business community.

Tea BLAKAJ-HOXHA

Secretary General, Arbitration Center

Arbitration Center is a subsidiary unit of AmCham Kosovo, established in 2011. Arbitration Center is responsible for administering arbitral proceedings in accordance with the Kosovo Rules of Arbitration adopted by the AmCham Kosovo and mediation proceedings in accordance with the Laws of Kosovo. Arbitration Center is overseen by a Steering Council, whose members are appointed by the Board of Governors of AmCham Kosovo.

Xhavit GASHI

External Advisor

Andina VLLAHIU-KELMENDI

Policy and Communications Manager

Andina Vllahiu joined AmCham in November of 2020, assuming the position of a Policy Officer. With her extensive experience in public policy, Andina is the primary point of contact in AmCham for all policy and advocacy related matters, liaising on behalf of AmCham members with representatives of public institutions and international organizations. Her previous working experience include assignments in the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Kosovo Environment Protection Agency and the Ministry of European Integration. Andina began her career in the private sector, in the business consulting industry, whereas she was also a project coordinator for ‘One World’ International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. She holds a major degree from the American University in Kosovo (R.I.T. Kosovo) in Public Policy and Management and a minor in Legal Studies.

Altin ZOGAJ

Finance and Logistics Officer

Medina BESELICA

Arbitration Assistant

Fatos SYLAJ

Chief Technology Officer

Mentor BISLIMI

Chess Master, Woodrow Wilson Chess School

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He was appointed in the position of Executive Director of AmCham in 2012, promoting the public image of the Association by serving as the Chamber’s “ambassador-at-large,” and liaising on behalf of its members with other leaders of Kosovo and international business community. Under his leadership, in 2013 AmCham Kosovo was the Chamber with the largest membership acquisition among 43 AmChams in Europe. Also, under his leadership, AmCham established Charity Foundation (2012), Woodrow Wilson Chess School (2016), and Theodore Roosevelt Institute of Economic Research (2017), whereas has further strengthened the capacities of the Arbitration Center, where he also sits as an ex-officio member of the Steering Council.

Arian is a Member of AAB College Steering Council; Member of the Advisory Board of the Law Faculty of University of Prishtina; Member of the Board of Directors of SCARDIAN Insurance Company; Member of National Trade Facilitation Committee; and Member of Steering Council of the National Qualification Authority.

He is a Senior Lecturer at the Society of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Kosovo, teaching management and strategic management certification modules since January 2009.

He served as Vice President of Kosovo CSR Network, Chairman of the Fiscal Consultative Council, Chairman of the Business Community Office at the Kosovo Assembly, Consultant at German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), Consultant at a World Bank funded program, Director of an International Film Festival, etc.

He holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Management, and is an alumnus of the U.S. Library of Congress Open World Leadership Program (OWLP) and Joint Vienna Institute (JVI). He is also a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).

Xhavit Gashi is an External Advisor for AmCham Kosovo. During the last three years he served
as the very first Consul General at the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Des Moines,
Iowa. Being the first Kosovar diplomat and leading the only diplomatic mission from Kosovo in
the State of Iowa, gave him the unique opportunity to accomplish many achievements together
with Iowa partners, but also a great opportunity to learn more. After serving for more than
twenty (20) years for Kosovo institutions, recently he has voluntarily retired.
While serving as a Consul General in Des Moines, his activities included connecting businesses
between Kosovo and Iowa either through Government institutions or via Chambers of
Commerce, including working with and coordinating many visits and activities with AmCham.
Brigadier General (Retired) Consul General ® Gashi served as the first ever Kosovo Security
Force/Defense Attaché to the United States. As a military/defense diplomat in Washington D.C.
except working with Pentagon and other defense or military and security institutions, he
coordinated activities and also cooperated with the U.S. Congress and Senate, U.S. Department
of State, DHS, FBI and other U.S. government agencies as well as NGOs and Think Tanks.
During his military and civilian experience, he has organized and co-organized many
conferences and workshops. Furthermore, he has also had the opportunity to be a moderator and
guest speaker in different panels, for various audiences from different institutions both in Kosovo
and United States of America, as well as in some other countries.

Altin Zogaj joined AmCham in October 2019 in the position of Finance and Logistics Officer. Zogaj has a bachelor degree from the University of Prishtina, in the Faculty of Economics, department of Banking, Finance and Accounting. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in General Management at Kolegji Riinvest. At AmCham, his duties include preparing and maintaining a monthly roster of invoices to be used for financial and tax reporting. In addition, Zogaj is responsible for the logistic operations of AmCham.

Tea Blakaj joined AmCham in April 2017, to serve in a position of a Secretary General of the Arbitration Center.

Tea is a lawyer with a master's degree from the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she specialized in commercial arbitration, specifically arbitrator's ethics, which was a core of her masters thesis. Tea worked as an assistant professor of the Faculty of Law in Sarajevo, in the courses of Private International Law and Commercial Arbitration. She appeared as a guest lecturer at the University of Prishtina, in the course of Private International Law for few times during 2016.

Additionally, Tea worked in the various fields of law. She started as a young professional under the program awarded by the European Commission, within the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia where she stayed for a year working in the prosecution teams. Furthermore, she worked for a while as an associate in a legal consultancy firm in Prishtina, continuing working for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo. She continues providing professional support to the Kosovo Judicial Council under the UNDP "Strengthening Rule of Law in Kosovo" project, assisting in drafting secondary legislation and building capacities within the Legal Department of this Institution.

During the last six years of her professional legal career, Tea was engaged in the field of commercial arbitration through writing papers on various topics, mainly focused on the arbitrator's ethics. Her latest paper is titled "Exclusion of legal counsel in international commercial arbitration", where she referred to the issues involving conflict of interest cases between an arbitrator and the legal counsel of a party, based on the famous ICSID cases of Hrvatska and Rompetrol.

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Abaz joined AmCham in April 2021 in the position of Junior Communications Officer. At AmCham, his duties include coordinating and facilitating communication between AmCham, AmCham members and third parties, drafting and editing press releases and/or other statements. Lushaku has a bachelor degree from the University of Prishtina, in the Faculty of Philology, department of English Language and Literature. He is also currently pursuing his master’s degree in Linguistics at the same university.

Medina Beselica

Medina is a lawyer holding a Master’s Degree in European International Business Law from the University for Business and Technology - UBT, Prishtina, Kosovo, where she elaborated the topic of Implementation of European Union directives in the Labor Law of Kosovo.

In her previous experiences, she worked at Central Election Commission (CEC) as a Voter Official on voters outside Kosovo, as well as the assessment of legal capacity for the right to vote and as a legal assistant at the International Office at University for Business and Technology with an experience at researching regulations, laws, and legal articles to assist with the preparation of reports, case files, and legal advices.

Dafinë is a Policy Assistant Intern at AmCham since March 2021. Previously, she has worked at a non-governmental organization that increases engagement and connection between Diaspora and Kosovo. Dafinë also assisted in a program established by R.I.T. Kosovo and IPKO Foundation. Additionally, she holds the role of Vice President at the R.I.T.K. Charity Club, and is an active member of the Economists Club. She is currently finishing her last semester at R.I.T. Kosovo, with a concentration in Public Policy & Governance and a minor in International Relations.

Shqiponja is a Policy Assistant Intern at AmCham since March 2021. She has previously worked as an accounting and business consulting assistant, where she set up and improved systems and processes to meet business needs and maximize the effectiveness of operations. She has also worked at NLB Banka, where she identified and capitalized on community business opportunities with effective networking. She is currently in her junior year of studies at RITK, majoring in Management and Entrepreneurship, Public Policy and Governance, and minoring in International Relations.

Shkendije Loshaj joined AmCham in October 2018 to serve in the Membership and Protocol Officer position, while in December 2019 she was promoted to Membership Manager. She serves as the primary point of contact for all membership matters. Recruits new members and assists the current ones in taking full advantage of membership, including benefits and events.

Shkendije holds a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Pristina.

She started her career as an English Teacher at a Foreign Language School where she worked for six years. During that time, she attended different pieces of training and conferences related to teaching.

Fatos SYLAj is AmCham Chief Technology Officer.

Vesë joined AmCham in March 2021 in the position of Communications Assistant Intern.
Vesa has worked as a brand manager at Kos-Trade Company, which has given her a wealth of knowledge about the private sector. She is currently a student at Rochester Institute of Technology Kosovo, and also a member of the Political Science and International Affairs Club in RITK. Vesa is responsible for conducting analysis, writing and editing reports or press releases, managing and promoting AmCham-member communications.

Vesa Osmani joined AmCham as a Research Assistant at Theodore Roosevelt Economic Research Institute in April 2018 and later on she became part of the Policy Department, where she now serves as a Policy Officer. Her work within the Policy Department focuses on addressing members’ requests and policy-related matters, including members’ feedback for legislation amendments. She also coordinates the Committees of Services and Digital Economy within the Chamber. Prior to working at AmCham, she was a Communications Intern at the UN Development Coordinator Office. She is an undergraduate student at RIT Kosovo, double majoring in Economics and Public Policy.

Edita Karavidaj joined AmCham in June 2020 as an Intern at AmCham Arbitration Center. Edita has just graduated with a BAAS in Psychology and Public Policy, with a minor in Economics from RIT Kosovo. During her previous experiences, Edita worked as a Head Tutor at RIT Kosovo’s Academic Support Center, assisting students in their difficulties and organizing bi-weekly workshops. She also studied abroad at RIT in New York, NY, USA where she worked as a Student Engagement Assistant; helping international students become a part of the campus. She has also initiated and organized several events to raise awareness about the mental health of international students. Edita also gained knowledge about the banking sector by working as a Teller at TD Bank in NJ, USA.

Mentor BISLIMI - Mjeshtri i Shahut, Shkolla e Shahut Woodrow Wilson

Andina Vllahiu joined AmCham in November of 2020, assuming the position of a Policy
Officer. With her extensive experience in public policy, Andina is the primary point of
contact in AmCham for all policy and advocacy related matters, liaising on behalf of
AmCham members with representatives of public institutions and international
organizations.
Her previous working experience include assignments in the Ministry of Environment and
Spatial Planning/Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency within the project from the
European Environment Agency, in Copenhagen and the Ministry of European Integration.
Andina began her career in the private sector, in the business consulting industry, whereas
she was also a project coordinator for ‘One World’ International Human Rights
Documentary Film Festival.
She holds a major degree from the American University in Kosovo (R.I.T. Kosovo) in Public
Policy and Management and a minor in Legal Studies.

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