At the ceremonial XENa Award – Woman of the Year in Energy 2025, held under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy, more than 200 guests gathered to recognize the expertise, dedication, and leadership of women driving the energy transition.
Following the opening remarks by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Slađana Ćosić, Head of the EIB Group Office in Croatia, Minister of Environmental Protection and Green Transition Marija Vučković, as well as Nela Vlahinić and Minea Skok, the most exciting part of the evening followed.
In one of the closest votes ever between the expert jury and the public, this year’s title of Woman of the Year in Energy was awarded to Martina Tuschl, Director of the Geothermal Energy Sector at the Hydrocarbon Agency, for her exceptional contribution to the energy transition through leading exploratory geothermal drilling and projects that will enable the use of geothermal energy in district heating.
“This award has special value for me because it comes from the energy sector itself, and especially from the XEnergy association, which actively works on promoting women in energy. I am glad that there is recognition that highlights the contribution of women in energy and, in its own way, pushes boundaries in a field that has long been considered a strongly male-dominated business. On my professional journey, there have been many women who were my mentors, support, and role models. Often modest and perhaps not visible enough, but extremely important in shaping the knowledge and professional community in which we work today,” said the winner.
Second place was awarded to Maja Pokrovac from the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia association, and third place went to Ana Mandić from KONČAR – Distribution and Special Transformers.
XEnergy also presented two recognitions for projects led by women that will play a major role in transforming Croatia’s energy sector: to Marina Šaravanja of TTKabeli for the project of building a medium- and high-voltage cable factory in Bedekovčina, and to Sanja Vinter of Dalekovod Projekt for the Lika project – designing the development of a new 400 kV power grid.
We sincerely congratulate the other finalists as well: Slavica Bardić from HELB and Ivana Grbeša from E.ON Croatia, as well as all nominated candidates, all of whom were outstanding.
Thank you to everyone who voted for our finalists and recognized the importance of this initiative. And thanks to our partner Energetika Marketing, who has supported us from the very beginning of this project, as well as the many sponsors who helped us make this evening unforgettable: gold sponsor Monter – Mechanical Installations; bronze sponsors Professio Energia, ENNA Group, E.ON Croatia, Hydrocarbon Agency, INA Group, Siemens, KONČAR Group, Wpd, Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia, and the Croatian Chamber of Mechanical Engineers; and partner sponsors Auto Hrvatska, IVICOM Consulting, KOER, Marsh, and TTKabeli.
“We want to send a message to all women in energy that we see them, we value their effort, and that we want to create an environment in which their voice will be strong and influential. We want to encourage not only changes in the representation of women, but also changes in the perception of leadership, expertise, and success in the energy sector,” said XEnergy President Nela Vlahinić.
