Hafnar has been in the rubber industry since the beginning of his professional career. He started as a designer in the Sava conglomerate in 1992, soon to become the head of the development department.

His first big managerial challenge came in 2002, when he was named the boss of bike and motorcycle dealer Velo. The company was in the red at the time and Hafnar managed to restructure it, the Manager Association said in a press release prior to the award ceremony.

Savatech, which numbered 846 workers when Hafnar joined it in 2008, has the ambition of making it among the top three producers in Europe in selected market niches by 2020.

Last year the company made a EUR 7.07m net profit on net sales revenues amounting to EUR 111m. At the beginning of this year, it was sold to the Czech CGS group.

Last year the Manager of the Year award went to Vojmir Urlep, the chairman of drug maker Lek.