He came with his wife, Corah, a German lady who came to BiH to educate young Roma. Today they lives in Sarajevo with their four children.
Born in California, Malcolm studied accounting and finance at Berkeley and got his MBA at Harvard. He worked on Wall Street for ten years and then started an investment company, and in Sarajevo he traded his business career for academia.
A BiH version of Silicon Valley
- In meeting many talented young people, I decided to make a BiH version of Silicon Valley, and I run the StartUp incubator at Burch. The aim is to motivate young people and prepare them for the real world. I am grateful for the chance to contribute to BiH society.
He heard about Sarajevo during the Siege of the 1990s, and later his wife told him about it, since she had spent a lot of time in BiH for work.
- Corah described Sarajevo as an interesting city, where you can do many things. I expected a European city, but also a heavy post-war environment. In Sarajevo I saw great potential for growth, and I’m pleasantly surprised by people’s warm hearts.
He says that green spaces are lacking, and when there is bad air in the winter he heads to the mountains.
He says the city’s Olympic heritage is special, as is the meeting of East and West, which can be seen in the architecture and culture.
- The city is brimming with many different things, which I was used to in California. This is a city for walking, with interesting exhibits, shops and art galleries, the terrific National Museum and a fascinating view from the Trebević cable car…. The city is developing slowly, people don’t hurry, but they think long-term.
A land of sports
Malcolm says BiH’s nature is terrific for sports, and he climbs mountains, plays basketball, visits Skakavac, Lukomir, Neum.... He skis on Jahorina, which offers great services for families and lower rates than other international ski centers. He likes the fact that there are more biking trails and fitness parks, and, given its diverse nature, he sees BiH as a terrific potential host for some of the military world games or training camps.
Malcolm likes to drink tea at Franz & Sophie, coffee at Spazio Gourmet, he goes to Golf Club for a good meal, and recommends Zmaj Ćevabdžinica for a quick bite.
Since he comes from the Napa Valley area, which is known for wines, he praises Herzegovina’s wines, and some of his friends have gotten a great business going by exporting them to the US.
- Production costs here are low and quality is high. BiH is full of small hills and has a potential for many more vineyards, organic products and medicinal plant products made according to traditional recipes, which people outside don’t know how to combine.
As for young BiH designers, he points to the clothing brand Plus Minus, and says the Sarajevo cube makes a good souvenir.
