The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) is proud to announce that earlier this week Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski appointed UMD Advisory Council Member and Macedonian Companion Jerry Naumoff, and confirmed by Macedonia’s Parliament on Wednesday, to become the new Macedonian Minister for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment. Naumoff is the only U.S.-born Minister in the entire Macedonian government.
“Jerry has been an exemplary American of Macedonian heritage, and we could not be happier for him and his family for this appointment and honor bestowed upon him by Prime Minister Gruevski,” said UMD Board Chairman Stojan Nikolov. “We are certain Jerry will be an excellent representative of Macedonia abroad while attracting necessary investments into the country creating jobs for all Macedonian citizens.”
“On behalf of the Advisory Council, we thank Jerry for his service, dedication, mentorship, and friendship to UMD, he has made significant contributions to UMD’s work, especially our Chicago operations,” said UMD Advisory Council Chair and Vice President Aleksandar Mitreski. “We will miss his active participation, wish him the best of luck, and look forward to working with him continuously to help our homeland.”
“I am honored to have been chosen for this position. I am very excited to accept this challenging task, and yet, I am also humbled. I will work extremely hard with all of my experience and with all of my professional relationships to bring business to Macedonia, provide new jobs, help grow the economy and give Macedonians better career opportunities with hopes of greater prosperity,” said Naumoff in his first statement to the Macedonian media.
Jerry Naumoff was born and grew up in Columbus, Ohio where his family, with roots in Gavato, Macedonia, owned and operated a successful restaurant for over 30 years. In 1980, he earned a football scholarship at Ball State Universtity and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in marketing and business administration. He began his career in employee benefits, human resources and risk management, and worked for several large insurance companies and top-ranked Chicago-based consulting firms. In 1993, he founded The Naumoff Group, Inc., a total risk management advisory firm. In addition to being a member of the UMD Advisory Council, Naumoff also serves on the Board of Directors of Macedonia 2025.
Jerry and his wife LuAnn currently live in the Chicago area, and have six children, two of which were adopted from the orphanage in Bitola, Macedonia. Their sons Anthony and Nicholas both live and work in Skopje, Macedonia.
As a result of a growing interest in Macedonia’s investment potential, a number of international companies have started operations in the country, both as green-field projects and through different types of asset acquisition and privatization. Some significant foreign investors include Johnson Matthey (UK), Mobilkom Austria (Austria), EVN (Austria), Deutsche Telecom (Germany), Kromberg & Schubert (Germany), Dräxlmaier Group (Germany), Van Hool (Belgium), Societe Generale (France), Johnson Controls (USA), KEMET Corporation (USA), the National Bank of Greece (Greece), Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. (Greece), QBE Insurance Group Limited (United Kingdom), Mittal Steel (Netherlands), Duferco (Switzerland), and Titan Group (Greece).
UMD looks forward to seeing the number of foreign investors rise in Macedonia as a result of Naumoff’s future contributions. UMD is pleased to see the Macedonian diaspora bringing back their knowledge and expertise to help our homeland in every possible way.