Community Event

Wine & Cheese Networking

Celebrating the official French Tech Zagreb label — with a Marlink Cyber success story, the French Ambassador, and 61 ecosystem leaders.

May 21, 2026
Koncept Mlinček by Voilà, Zagreb
61 Attendees

On May 21, 2026, French Tech Zagreb held its first community networking event — a Wine & Cheese evening at Koncept Mlinček by Voilà in Zagreb. The evening marked a milestone: the celebration of French Tech Zagreb's official label from the French government, making it one of 125 communities in 57 countries backed by France's Ministry of Economy.

The event brought together 61 attendees — founders, investors, corporate leaders, government officials, and academics — for an evening of presentations, networking, and French wine & cheese. The highlight: Nicolas Furge, President of Marlink Cyber, sharing the story of how his company acquired Zagreb-based Diverto to build a global cybersecurity powerhouse.

61
Attendees
19
Startups Represented
5
VCs & Investors
19
Corporate Leaders

The Evening

17:00

Doors Open

Welcome drinks, French wine & cheese

17:30

French Ambassador's Address

H.E. Fabien Fieschi — Message from the French Ambassador in Croatia

Key Moment
17:40

French Tech Zagreb Presentation

Quentin Lacointa — The mission, what we've built, and where we're going

Key Moment
18:00

Marlink Cyber — A Success Story

Nicolas Furge, President of Marlink Cyber — How a French company acquired Croatian Diverto to build a global cybersecurity leader

Key Moment
18:30

Networking & Drinks

Open networking over curated French wine and cheese

Success Story: Marlink Acquires Diverto

The evening's highlight: Nicolas Furge shared how a French global leader found the cybersecurity talent it needed — in Zagreb.

Former head of cybersecurity at Orange Business Services (€150M revenue), Nicolas brought 30 years of experience to explain why Marlink chose Croatia for its most strategic acquisition.

The Acquirer: Marlink

  • •$800M revenue — global leader in digital solutions
  • •11,000 vessels and 2,300 land sites connected worldwide
  • •Needed to build a world-class cybersecurity business unit
  • •Looked globally — found the best talent in Croatia

The Acquired: Diverto, Zagreb

  • •Founded 2007 in Zagreb — 50+ security experts, 150+ certifications
  • •100% acquired in July 2024
  • •Now the core of Marlink Cyber — 150 experts, multiple global SOCs
  • •Advanced IT/OT security capabilities serving maritime & enterprise

"When we needed to build a global cybersecurity unit, we looked everywhere. The talent we found in Zagreb was world-class — and tonight, having both Marlink Cyber and Diverto teams in the same room shows exactly what this ecosystem bridge can create."

— Nicolas Furge, President of Marlink Cyber

In the Room Tonight

Nicolas Furge (President of Marlink Cyber), Jozo Stjepanović (Director of Business Development, Marlink Cyber), Vlatko Kosturjak (VP Innovation & Research, Marlink), and Toni Lovrić (Senior Key Account Manager, Diverto) — the people who made this acquisition happen, together in one room. This is what the French-Croatian tech bridge looks like.

The Presentations

French Ambassador's Address

H.E. Fabien Fieschi — 17:30

Ambassador Fieschi opened the evening with a message underlining the importance of the French Tech network as a tool of economic diplomacy. His presence — for the fourth time at a French Tech Zagreb event — reflected the Embassy's deep institutional support for the initiative.

Putting Croatia on the Map

Quentin Lacointa, President — 17:40

Quentin presented the full story of French Tech Zagreb — from the personal conviction that drove its creation (5 years living in Croatia, seeing an incredible ecosystem with untapped international potential) to the concrete results: 5 events in 7 months, a delegation to Paris that reached the Élysée, ministerial recognition, and now the official French Tech label.

The roadmap ahead includes VC missions to Zagreb, delegations to FD Days and VivaTech in Paris, and continued bridge-building between France's €7B+ VC market and Croatia's 80K+ engineers.

Marlink Cyber — A Global Success Built on Croatian Talent

Nicolas Furge, President — 18:00

Nicolas shared the story behind Marlink's acquisition of Diverto — why a global company with $800M in revenue chose Zagreb to build its cybersecurity headquarters. The presentation covered the talent landscape, the strategic rationale, and how 150 cybersecurity experts now operate multiple SOCs worldwide from Croatia.

Former head of cybersecurity at Orange Business Services (€150M revenue), Nicolas brought the perspective of someone who has operated at the highest level of enterprise cybersecurity — and chose Croatia for the next chapter.

Who Was in the Room

61 attendees from across the Franco-Croatian tech ecosystem — corporates, startups, investors, government, and academia.

Speakers

H.E. Fabien Fieschi
French Embassy in Croatia
Ambassador of France to Croatia
Quentin Lacointa
French Tech Zagreb
CEO & Co-founder, Trezy
Guillaume Rabhi
French Tech Zagreb
CDO, AGRIVI
Nicolas Furge
Marlink Cyber
Former head of cybersecurity at Orange Business Services

Corporate (11)

Jozo Stjepanović
Director of Business Development
Marlink Cyber
Vlatko Kosturjak
VP of Innovation & Research
Marlink
Toni Lovrić
Senior Key Account Manager
Diverto
Damir Prusac
VP Research Alliances
Infobip
Ivan Bešlić
Co-Founder & CSO
SofaScore / President, Unit Croatia
Filip Pavić
Market Access & Strategy Lead
Verne
Ivan Krnic
Director of Engineering
CROZ
Tomislav Hrisoho
Chairman
RN Trust Group / CCEF
Tomislav Juraga
AI Sales Manager CEE
Bull (Atos/Eviden)
Marin Tica
IT Director
Zagreb International Airport
Krešimir Dominić
COO
VIDI

Startups (9)

Davor Anicic
CEO & Co-Founder
Velebit AI
Hajdi Cenan
President
CRO STARTUP
Matija Srbić
Managing Director
Nuqleus
Mate Knezovic
COO
AGRIVI
Alexis Exposito
Team
VorteX-io (France)
Borna Grünbaum
Founder
GoToMoon.ai
Petra Cicek
Co-Founder
Eulex.ai
Ivan Livić
Co-Founder & CEO
VendueTech
Valentina Zadrija
Tech Lead
Yaak Technologies

Investors & Business Angels (5)

Jean-François Gavanou
Founder & CEO
ERiiC (Paris)
Lordan Hristov
Investment Manager
South Central Ventures
Marko Galic
Partner
Provectus Capital Partners
Pierre Matek
COO
Feelsgood (FGC Ventures)
Dinka Dumicic
Entrepreneur & Investor
EVENTA01

Institutional & Academic (8)

Višnja Ježić Sorić
President
French-Croatian Chamber of Commerce
Gordana Brlek
Présidente Comité Croatie
Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France
Sylvain Géranton
Head of Economic Service
French Embassy in Croatia
Barbara Jadrijevic Petrovic
Attachée
French Embassy (DG Trésor)
Neno Rakić
Head of Department
HAMAG-BICRO
Leo Mršić
Vice Rector for Science
Algebra University
Dora Maros
Head of Entrepreneurship Office
FER Zagreb
Vedrana Bosanac
Head of Research Collaboration
FER Zagreb

7 Months of Building Bridges

This Wine & Cheese evening was more than a celebration — it was a proof point. In just 7 months since launching at the French Ambassador's residence, French Tech Zagreb has built something that usually takes years: institutional legitimacy, a thriving community, and real results.

The Journey So Far

  • • Oct 1 — Launch at the French Ambassador's residence
  • • Nov 6 — Thales AI evening with CTO Marko Erman
  • • Nov 24 — Deep Tech Talks panel
  • • Dec 8 — Paris: Station F, MEDEF, Élysée
  • • Jan 13 — Minister Haddad at Infobip
  • • May 6 — Official French Tech label
  • • May 21 — Wine & Cheese — first community event

What's Next

  • • French VC mission to Zagreb
  • • Croatian delegation to FD Days, Paris
  • • Croatian delegation to VivaTech, Paris
  • • Participation in major Croatian & French tech events
  • • Monthly community events in Zagreb

From zero to official French Tech label in 7 months. Tonight proved that the community is real, the bridge is working, and Croatia belongs on the global tech map.

Key Highlights

01 / 06
🍷

Wine & Cheese Networking

First Community Event

61 attendees gathered at Koncept Mlinček by Voilà to celebrate the official French Tech Zagreb label.

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Help put Croatia on the tech map — one post at a time

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Your Name
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Just now • 🌐
Tonight at the French Tech Zagreb Wine & Cheese, Nicolas Furge shared a powerful story. When Marlink — an $800M global digital solutions leader — needed to build a world-class cybersecurity unit, they didn't look in Paris, London, or Berlin. They acquired Diverto in Zagreb. 150 cybersecurity experts. Multiple global SOCs. A business unit now at the heart of Marlink's global strategy — all built on Croatian talent. That's what ecosystem bridges look like. French Tech Zagreb is putting Croatia on the tech map. Officially labelled by the French government — one of 125 communities in 57 countries. #FrenchTechZagreb #Cybersecurity #CroatianTech #Marlink #Diverto
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The Success Story
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Your Name
Your Title • Your Company
Just now • 🌐
French Tech Zagreb just celebrated its official label from the French government. In 7 months, this community has: - Launched at the French Ambassador's residence (50+ people) - Brought Thales' Chief Scientist to Zagreb - Led a delegation of 9 Croatian companies to Paris (Station F, MEDEF, Élysée) - Co-organized a ministerial visit with Minister Haddad at Infobip - Been recognized by a French minister at the MEDEF forum Tonight, 61 people came together — founders, investors, corporate leaders, the French Embassy — for wine, cheese, and a shared conviction: Croatia belongs on the global tech map. From zero to official French Tech label in 7 months. What's next? VC missions, FD Days Paris, VivaTech delegations. #FrenchTechZagreb #FrenchTech #Innovation #Zagreb
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The Milestone
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The room tonight at French Tech Zagreb: - President of Marlink Cyber (acquired Croatian Diverto) - VP from Infobip ($10B unicorn) - Co-Founder of SofaScore (200M+ users) - President of CRO STARTUP - CEO of Velebit AI - 4 VCs and investors - French Embassy's Head of Economic Service - HAMAG-BICRO, FER Zagreb, Algebra University - Founders from France and Croatia 61 people. 19 corporates. 19 startups. 5 investors. French Ambassador's opening message. This is what a Franco-Croatian tech bridge looks like in practice. #FrenchTechZagreb #Networking #CroatianTech #StartupEcosystem
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Your Name
Your Title • Your Company
Just now • 🌐
French Ambassador's message → French Tech Zagreb presentation → Marlink Cyber success story → networking over French wine & cheese. 61 people. Founders, VCs, corporates, embassy. The Franco-Croatian tech bridge is real. @French Tech Zagreb is officially labelled. Croatia is on the map. #FrenchTechZagreb #FrenchTech #Zagreb
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Short & Impactful
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Your Name
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Just now • 🌐
Croatia's tech ecosystem in one room tonight: $10B unicorn (Infobip) ✓ $2B+ hypercar maker (Verne/Rimac rep) ✓ 200M+ user sports platform (SofaScore) ✓ Global cybersecurity leader built on Croatian talent (Marlink/Diverto) ✓ AI leaders (Velebit AI, Eulex.ai, GoToMoon.ai) ✓ CRO STARTUP president ✓ 4 VC funds ✓ French Embassy ✓ HAMAG-BICRO ✓ University vice-rectors ✓ And somehow, most of the tech world still doesn't know about Croatia. That's exactly what @French Tech Zagreb is here to change. Officially labelled by France's Ministry of Economy. One of 125 communities in 57 countries. #CroatianTech #FrenchTechZagreb #StartupEcosystem #HiddenGem
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The Ecosystem Angle

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Be Part of What's Next

From the Élysée to the Wine & Cheese — French Tech Zagreb keeps building. Join our community to get invited to future events, delegations, and initiatives.