Remembering Sanja Petrovic - Aris Syntetos

It is with great sadness that I reflect on the passing of my dear colleague and friend, Professor Sanja Petrovic.

Sanja was a distinguished scientist and an exceptional contributor to the Operational Research community. But beyond her academic achievements and leadership, what I will remember most is her kindness, gentleness, modesty and unfailing care for others. She was simply a wonderful person to know and to work with, and she will be missed so very much.

Sanja and I knew each other for many years and worked very closely together on several occasions. Among my fondest memories is the organisation of OR53 in Nottingham in 2011, when Sanja chaired the conference and I served as Programme Chair alongside her twin sister, Dobrila. It was a tremendous conference, with huge thanks to Sanja's hard work and dedication. We subsequently worked together again in the Committee of Professors in Operational Research (COPIOR), where Sanja was Chair and I was Secretary between 2018 and 2022.  

More recently, Sanja served as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the IMA Journal of Management Mathematics (IMAMAN). One particularly special memory is a very a recent IMAMAN podcast / conversation Sanja participated in between women leaders in the field. As President of the OR Society and along with the President of the IMA, Heather Tewkesbury, Sanja reflected upon equality, diversity and inclusion in OR - today and into the future. I had the privilege of hosting the conversation with Antuela Tako and I will remain ever grateful that this conversation was recorded, allowing us to revisit Sanja's thoughtful reflections.

Throughout all these years, Sanja remained the same thoughtful, generous and quietly inspiring person. She gave so much to our profession, and always with such grace.

Our community has lost an outstanding scholar; and I have lost someone very dear to me.

My heartfelt condolences to Dobrila and to Sanja's loved ones. She will be greatly missed and remembered with enormous affection.

PS. I have searched and found quite a few photos with Sanja over the years. The attached is a nice one, with Inna Kholidasari, my PhD student at the time, Sanja and Lila, in the 2012 ORS conference in Edinburgh.

Aris A. Syntetos

Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University