Dr. Nikolina Ljepava: A Force of Nature, Architect of Change, and Catalyst for Growth

Dr. Nikolina Ljepava is a senior marketing professional and practice-oriented academic with extensive global experience. Currently serving as a Department Chair of Management in the College of Business
Administration at the American University in the Emirates, she has over twenty years of industry and academic experience spanning North America, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates. This diverse background has equipped her with a unique perspective and the ability to navigate and thrive in different cultural and business environments.

Dr. Nikolina holds a Ph.D. in Marketing Research specializing in marketing research and analytics and major international professional qualifications in marketing: Chartered Marketer, Certified Digital Marketing Professional, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Navigating Career Transitions

As a Natural Science graduate from the University of Belgrade in Serbia, Dr. Nikolina initially pursued a career in microbiology, envisioning herself as a scientist in a lab. However, a short period of working in the pharmaceutical industry revealed a different path for her. She decided to leave this area and dedicate herself to learning more about her new passion: digital marketing and analytics, a field still developing at the beginning of the 21st century.

From that time, her career focused on marketing and technologies, with a particular interest in understanding consumer behavior in a digital environment. After gaining some initial experience in the field, she understood the need to educate herself more in this area, so she went back to study again.

She graduated in Psychology at the University of Windsor in Canada and, over time, also attained Master’s degrees in E-business and Social Data Analysis. Gradually, her professional focus shifted to marketing analytics and insights, which are her core expertise today. Over the next 10 years, she navigated between agency work, consulting, and managing her own market research agency. During that time, Dr. Nikolina conducted and supervised more than one hundred industry research and development projects for different institutions and companies.

She moved around the world, from Serbia to the UK, Japan, and Canada, and finally to UAE, where she has resided since 2015. While finalizing her second Master’s degree, she discovered a passion for teaching and thought for the first time about shifting her career again—this time from industry to academia. She enrolled in the PhD program and started teaching as a part-time faculty member while she was still working in the agency. Eventually, she boldly decided to quit the lucrative agency position and start again in academia, where she held different positions over the last 10 years.

Dr. Nikolina’s academic experience includes academic leadership positions, strategic planning and operational management of academic programs, local and international accreditations, curriculum development, quality assurance, industry collaborations, and developing promotional strategies. She is the author of more than 60 peer-reviewed research publications and holder of various academic and research awards. Her research interests are related to AI applications in marketing, various aspects of digital transformation in marketing and business, human-technology interaction, and applied marketing research and analytics.

She is a regular speaker at professional and academic conferences on topics related to marketing technologies, the future of marketing, education, and AI applications in marketing and education. Dr. Nikolina’s career illustrates remarkable versatility. During her career, she seamlessly transitioned between disciplines—from natural sciences to the forefront of e-business, technology, and marketing and from industry to academia.

This path included a series of life changes and strategic steps towards a broader goal while integrating her deep understanding of psychology, technology, and market dynamics. By weaving these diverse areas and disciplines into her career, she has crafted a unique niche at the intersection of academia and industry, showcasing her ability to adapt and thrive in changing landscapes.

Mentorship and Growth Mindset

In her current role as the Chair of the Management Department at the American University in the Emirates, Dr. Nikolina is not just an academic leader but a mentor who focuses on bridging theory with real-world application. Her efforts to revise educational curriculums to include cutting-edge topics like marketing analytics and AI in marketing illustrate her commitment to preparing students for the future. She aims to provide her students with a robust and relevant academic experience directly tied to industry needs.

By integrating practical projects and industry collaborations into the curriculum, she provides a platform for her students to engage with real-world challenges, ensuring they are ready to enter and excel in the job market. Dr. Nikolina’s work extends to her dedication to mentorship, where she actively supports and guides students in navigating their academic and career paths, even after graduation. Her contributions to academia and industry are not focused solely on her personal achievements but, more importantly, on setting a stage for future generations to thrive in a global and interconnected world.

Dr Nikolina shares her insights and experiences on current and future marketing trends on her LinkedIn
profile, her newsletter, Future of Marketing, and her personal website. She was featured as one of the most visionary education leaders for 2023 in Higher Education Digest and was awarded for her outstanding contribution to Education from Filmfare Middle East in 2024.

An Invitation to Embrace Change

Reflecting on Dr. Nikolina’s journey, we can see the importance of embracing change in the modern workplace. Her career path clearly illustrates that a learning mindset and openness to change are mandatory and required traits in crafting a successful professional life. Her story encourages us to view change not as an obstacle we should fear but as an opportunity to grow, improve, and advance our careers. From academic roots in Serbia to transformative years in Canada and her career path across North America, Europe, and the UAE.

Dr Nikolina’s journey is evidence of the enriching power of international exposure and experiences, which are extremely important in a modern business environment. Such a vibrant professional life highlights her adaptability and drive to embrace change, encouraging us all to go beyond familiar boundaries.

Aspiring professionals and students can learn much from Dr. Nikolina Ljepava’s story. It illustrates that one can successfully navigate multiple disciplines and geographies with courage and an open mind to find one’s true calling. It shows that we should not fear leaving beyond the job or career we do not feel comfortable with anymore and that nothing is impossible when you have a will, courage, and vision. Let her journey inspire you to embrace change, seek continuous learning, and pursue your passions with firm determination and courage.