Milan Balaban

Dr. Milan Balaban is a Scientific Researcher-Historian at the Bata Information Centre, Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic. Born in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1981), he holds a PhD from Masaryk University (Czech Republic), where he focused on Yugoslav-Czechoslovak economic relations (1918–1938). His research emphasizes the history of the Bata Company and transnational economic interactions between Central and Southeastern Europe. He has authored over 20 articles and a monograph, The Bata Company in Yugoslavia (2018).

Education: Bachelor's at University of Banja Luka; Master's and PhD at Masaryk University (defended 2015).

Research interests include industrial heritage, social welfare systems in company towns, and interwar economic dynamics. His recent work explores Bata's global expansion, labor protests in Yugoslavia, and transnational tourism networks between Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. He actively participates in international conferences, presenting on topics like urban heritage of Bata company towns and deindustrialization processes.