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Gordana Deranja
Episode · #419

VRIJEME JE ZA GOSPODARSTVO Gordana Deranja

Guest Gordana DeranjaHosted by Darko BukovacMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

For Gordana Deranja, shipbuilding is more than an industry; it is a life's calling and a constant. She has spent 35 years at Technomont, a shipyard in Pula, Croatia, serving as its CEO for the last 24. She is a woman in a male-dominated field, navigating the sector through its most turbulent times. While she celebrates every success, like the recent delivery of two fishing vessels for a Scottish client, she remains critical of the unfair treatment shipbuilding receives from both the Croatian state and the EU. Deranja's experience offers a window into the hidden costs of state intervention, the unexpected benefits of forced self-reliance, and the strategic choices that allow a smaller player to endure where national giants have fallen. Her perspective challenges conventional wisdom about industrial policy and the true meaning of resilience. This conversation will make you rethink the role of government in industry, the strength of diversification, and what it truly takes to survive — and even thrive — in a sector defined by volatility.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Gordana Deranja's 35 years at Technomont, 24 of them as CEO, make her an anomaly in a male-dominated and volatile industry. Her longevity isn't just a personal achievement; it underscores the deep resilience required to navigate a sector facing constant systemic hurdles.
02
Technomont's strategy of diversification, including nautical tourism and steel construction alongside shipbuilding, proved crucial during the pandemic. In an industry as cyclical and politically exposed as shipbuilding, multiple revenue streams are not just a hedge; they are often the only way to ensure continuity when core operations face external shocks.
03
Marina Veruda, Technomont's nautical tourism arm, acts as a 'golden hen' that 'lays small eggs continuously' — providing steady income even during severe lockdowns. The most resilient businesses often have at least one product that generates reliable, consistent revenue, even if it's not the primary focus.
04
Small shipyards like Technomont were excluded from state aid when large ones received it, and then denied EU modernization funds because 'shipbuilding' became a disqualifier for their other activities. State policies, even with good intentions, can create perverse incentives that effectively penalize agile players by defining them out of support categories at crucial moments.
05
The Croatian law designating all land in a shipyard as 'maritime domain' means companies like Technomont must pay rent on land they once owned, unlike other manufacturing businesses. When the state becomes both owner and landlord, it strips companies of collateral and autonomy, creating a dependency that limits growth and independence.
06
Technomont cannot secure state guarantees for large projects and relies solely on commercial banks, a situation Deranja describes as 'maybe not so bad.' Forced self-reliance, while limiting the scale of projects, can paradoxically build stronger, more adaptable businesses by removing the expectation of state backing.
07
Croatia, once the world's third-largest shipbuilding nation in 1988, is now 'nowhere,' a decline Deranja attributes to political mismanagement. A strong industrial legacy is no guarantee of future success; without continuous adaptation and clear strategic vision, even a leading sector can collapse due to political interference and a lack of accountability.
08
State-appointed management and agencies like Jadranbrod failed to prevent the collapse of large shipyards, turning them into 'baskets for taking, not for innovation.' When the state controls an industry, it often prioritizes political loyalty over business acumen, leading to decisions that erode operational efficiency and destroy value.
09
The long-term damage of political mismanagement in Croatian shipbuilding extends beyond balance sheets, manifesting in the devastating loss of skilled labor and the decline of shipbuilding education. This erosion of human and educational infrastructure makes industrial recovery exponentially harder than any financial challenge.
10
After Croatia's independence, no one had the courage to decide which of the four large shipyards should survive, leading to the collapse of all of them. Indecision at the strategic level, especially when it comes to consolidating an overbuilt industry, can be more destructive than making a difficult choice; allowing all to falter is often worse than backing a select few.
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