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Igor Grdić, Viktor Petik
Episode · #191

PSIHOLOGIJA USPJEHA Igor Grdić, Viktor Petik

Guest Igor Grdić, Viktor PetikHosted by Tanja PuretaMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

The story of Vertiv in Croatia is one of quiet global success. From its origins as an innovation within Ericsson Nikola Tesla, through its evolution under Emerson Network Power, to its current identity as Vertiv, a core team of Croatian experts has consistently driven the development of critical infrastructure. Today, this Zagreb-based team not only coordinates sales and service for twenty countries in Central and Southern Europe but also hosts Vertiv's global design center for modular data solutions, supporting operations across continents. Guests Viktor Petik and Igor Grdić, both members of Vertiv's Management Board, share how specialized expertise, nurtured over decades, can become indispensable on a worldwide scale. You'll hear how a local team builds and maintains a global competitive edge in an industry that underpins much of our digital world.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
The initial idea at Emerson Network Power was to combine existing DC power and climate units with a container to create a "new product" for telecom. This modular approach then adapted to oil fields (modular buildings for Africa) before landing on modular data centers for IT. The lesson for innovators is to integrate existing components into novel solutions, then flexibly apply that core concept across diverse industries.
02
Viktor Petik notes that while the company's identity changed multiple times—from Ericsson Nikola Tesla to Emerson Network Power and finally Vertiv—"the people remained the same." In global corporate reorganizations, the consistent asset is often the core team and their collective expertise, which outlasts brand names and ownership.
03
Igor Grdić describes Vertiv's offering as "critical infrastructure, everything needed for IT or telecom industry or various industries for power supply, or cooling of active equipment." A clear, concise definition of your core offering—articulating what you enable, not just what you sell—helps communicate value, especially for complex B2B services.
04
Asked to explain data centers, Viktor Petik calls them simply "warehouses for large amounts of data that are stored or processed there." Igor Grdić then connects this directly to everyday use cases like Netflix and mobile phones, explicitly stating, "Cloud as such... also runs on some data centers somewhere." Explaining complex infrastructure through simple analogies and direct connections to user experience clarifies its fundamental importance.
05
Vertiv Croatia holds an "extremely strong position" within the global company because its Zagreb-based design team for modular data centers is global, supporting all regions, including the Americas and Asia-Pacific. This demonstrates how a specialized local team, developed through years of specific expertise, can become an indispensable center of excellence for a corporation.
06
When asked if the designers working on global projects are Croatian experts, Igor Grdić simply replies, "Yes." He then adds, "When you see that a corporation has decided to establish a design center in Croatia..." The decision by a global corporation to centralize a critical function like design in a specific country is a strong endorsement of that local talent pool and its ability to operate at a global scale.
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