At the end of last year the first Croatian business television Capital Network launched an initiative within which the entrepreneur and the most important business event of the year 2006 were to be announced. The winners were made publicly known at a ceremony held on January 15, 2007 in the Big Hall of the Croatian Journalists' Association. Gordana Kovačević, president of Ericsson Nikola Tesla was voted by the Capital Network viewers the entrepreneur of the year 2006. The ceremony at which the prizes were handed out was attended by high governmental officials among whom were the Vice Prime Minister D. Polančec, Minister of Finance I. Šuker, Minister of Economy, Labor and Entrepreneurship B. Vukelić and the representative of the President of the Republic of Croatia D. Radošević, Economic Affairs Advisor to the President.

Lists of the entrepreneurs and business events in the 2006 were made by a jury comprised of prominent local editors and journalists that report about the Croatian business scene. The 19 jury members selected five entrepreneurs among 39 candidates and five business events that entered the final round of Capital Network's contest. The viewers of the Capital Network business TV voted by phone for the entrepreneur they thought made the biggest impact on the local business scene in 2006.

The president of Ericsson Nikola Tesla won the title of the entrepreneur of 2006 by the majority of votes contributed by the capital Network viewers in tough competition of Željko Čović, president of the Pliva Board, Luka Miličić, president of Dalekovod Board, Emil Tedeschi, president of the Atlantic Group Board, Ivica Todorić, president of Agrokor. Emil Tedeschi won the title of the entrepreneur of 2006 by jury votes. Receiving the award and thanking the organizers, the jury and viewers of Capital Network for their votes G. Kovačević pointed out that she perceives the award as a recognition of Ericsson Nikola Tesla as a company that belongs to European business scene since it operates as a knowledge organization following the principles of contemporary economic and market trends.
"Ericsson Nikola Tesla received many awards and recognitions, but this stands out as it comes from viewers of a business TV that recognized the company's importance and me personally as an entrepreneur and leader, which is an additional motivator in our future work," said G. Kovačević in her address upon receiving the award.

The finalists of the contest for the business event of 2006 in Croatia were the public sales of the shares of oil company Ina, the merger of Konzum and Delta, entrance of Lidl into the Croatian market, opening of the gas pipe Pula-Karlovac and the Pliva takeover. Viewers voted the opening of the gas pipe Pula-Karlovac as the winner and the jury selected the public sale of Ina shares to be the most important event of the last year.

Communication Ericsson Nikola Tesla