President Donald Trump has nominated Jovan “John” Jovanovic to be the new president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a move that the Senate confirmed with 51 to 47 votes.
Jovanovic, who has worked in both the public and private sectors and previously served in the first Trump administration as the regional and general director for the Western Balkans at the US International Development Finance Corporation, brings a wealth of experience in investments and business in the energy, commodity, and infrastructure sectors to his new role.
He joins EXIM Bank from Asplundh Construction – a global infrastructure and construction group, where he was the chief strategy officer, leading the firm’s strategic initiatives office and corporate development, including mergers and acquisitions, as well as external affairs.
During his tenure at DFC, he led the implementation of President Trump’s historic Washington Agreement on economic normalization between Kosovo and Serbia and helped promote regional initiatives that advanced US foreign policy goals against Chinese and Russian influence in Southeast Europe.
Jovanovic graduated from Princeton and earned a master’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
If confirmed by Congress, he will lead EXIM Bank for a four-year term ending in 2029. EXIM Bank is the official US export credit agency whose mission is to support American jobs by facilitating US exports.
“John will leverage his extensive experience in finance, investments, and business development in the energy, commodity, and key infrastructure sectors to make America dominant in energy and manufacturing again,” Trump wrote on his social network Truth in February when Jovanovic was nominated.
“He will work tirelessly to protect all the gains of our strong tariff policies, ensure our exports receive fair treatment and always put American companies and our energy exports first,” Trump wrote.
Jovanovic is an American of Serbian roots, whose parents moved to Chicago at one point.
A few years ago, John Jovanovic gave an exclusive interview to Nedeljnik, and in that conversation, he spoke fluent Serbian.
“The stories of my mother and my father represent a classic American scenario for the Serbian people in America. Many didn’t know a word of English when they arrived, they had no connections, they started from complete scratch. Life was hard and they worked the hardest jobs possible. Everyone had to fight, and they did. And they stuck together. Family and socializing with others from the Balkans – that was a safe zone,” said the then director of the DFC office.
“My children’s last name is Jovanovic, not Johnson. And one day someone will ask them where they are from. I would like them to say they are from Serbia, from the Balkans, from a father of Serbian descent and a mother of Turkish descent. And that they can say how great that region is, that people there work and progress, build great companies and technologies. That they have peace and stability,” Jovanovic said in a major interview for Nedeljnik.
Jovanovic is the husband of Daphne Oz, an American host, author, and nutritionist, and the daughter of the famous Doctor Oz, and the father of their four children.
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Source: Serbian Times; Photo: Nedeljnik