From building the first lines of code to shaping our global technology strategy, Nenad Petković has been instrumental to our journey. We are proud to celebrate his anniversary and his evolution from lead developer to Chief Technology Officer at Kabal.

At Kabal, our strength has always been our people. Those who understand that behind every line of code is a vessel to be loaded, a crew to be moved, and a mission-critical operation to be secured.

Late last year, we celebrated a significant milestone for one of our own. Nenad Petković, our Chief Technology Officer, marked a decade with the company. Nenad’s journey from a rookie developer in Stavanger to the global lead of our technology strategy mirrors the growth of Kabal itself. He has been at the heart of our team for ten years, helping our clients around the world find smarter, safer ways to manage their logistics.

To mark the occasion, we sat down with Nenad to discuss the evolution of the Kabal platform, the logic behind leading a global tech team, and what the next decade of innovation looks like.



Q: Nenad, do you remember your first day at Kabal back in 2015?

A: Oh, yes! I was initially assigned to the help desk. I didn’t like that at all, since I was hired as a developer. I wanted to code! It became a “baptism by fire”, as I had to take support calls in Norwegian. Remember, I was still learning the language! I struggled to understand what customers were saying. Especially vessel captains from the Faroe Islands were a huge challenge!

During my second week, we had a major release while my senior support colleague was away doing an implementation. So, there I was, all alone on support during release week. But, in true Kabal style, we made it work. Despite the initial stress, I quickly fell in love with the product and the people.

Nenad, here speaking at a Kabal Customer Forum in 2024.

Q: For those outside of tech, what exactly does a CTO do?

A: My role is split into two. First is the technology vision: Defining where Kabal is moving, what we should build, and which tools we leverage. The second is the more corporate side: mergers and acquisitions (M&A), due diligence, finance, and sales strategy.

I often describe my worklife as a game of chess. I move pieces: setting technical strategy, managing capacity, ensuring the right people are on the right tasks, calculating risk, and exploring new initiatives. I also spend a lot of time with customers, assuring them we’ve got their back.

Q: How does being a “coder at heart” shape you as a leader?

A: Well, I miss coding. Therefore, I stay close to the codebase. I still check what developers are committing, and I can usually tell them exactly where to look if there’s a problem.

As a developer, you learn to break big problems into manageable chunks and attack them one by one. I still approach everything that way, whether it’s merging two products or setting a new vision. You must understand the core problem and constantly re-evaluate your hypothesis. The scale is larger as CTO, but the logic is the same as before.

Q: Did you have a “dream job” as a child?

A: Yes, I wanted to be a car designer because I love cars and drawing. But once computers became affordable and I got my hands on one, I was hooked. Originally, I was more into hardware, and hated programming in high school because it felt like meaningless math!Everything changed when I moved to Norway at 24. I restarted my studies, and my first assignment was to “build a tool based on a personal interest”. I was really into Olympic weightlifting back then, so I built a system for tournament registration. Seeing my code work for something I cared about is why I fell in love with coding.

Nenad teambuilding with colleagues in 2016.

Q: What are you most proud of from your ten years at Kabal?

A: The growth. When I started, we were around 15. Now, we are 130 colleagues around the world. And we’ve essentially conquered the world during these past 10 years. Seeing our software become the logistical backbone for 140 companies and 100,000 users in 30 countries is just awesome and a little insane. I feel proud to say I helped build this.

Q: How has the Kabal platform evolved?

A: We’ve shifted from a small solution to a vast, integrated ecosystem. In the past, energy logistics relied on coordinators manually managing phones and emails. We’ve closed that loop. We now integrate all stakeholders, operators, vendors, engineers, coordinators, trucks and vessels, into one system that manages capacity and movement in real-time.

Q: How does Kabal make operations safer and more sustainable? A: It really comes down to moving away from fragmented workflows and into a space of total visibility. When you can see every moving part of your operation in real-time, you stop guessing and start pinpointing exactly where the friction is.

By integrating that level of insight with the ability to measure your actual performance against the original plan, you’re naturally optimizing every move.

It’s about getting everyone, from the office to the field, onto a single platform where communication is seamless, and progress is tracked automatically, which inherently makes the entire operation leaner, safer, and far more predictable.Q: What would you say makes Kabal’s culture unique? A: It’s a high-performing team that still acts and feels like a startup. The hunger is still here. We want to improve things and help people. We offer the chance to solve real problems that thousands of people rely on daily. We aren’t afraid to change our technology or how we work. It’s a place for immense growth with tangible impact.

Q: Finally, Nenad, what advice would you give to a young developer reading this?

A: Be curious! Learn the technology but also learn the industry you’re serving and the product you’re trying to create or improve. Understand why your work is needed and don’t be afraid to speak up or ask “dumb” questions. Your thoughts and ideas are as important as anyone’s. Secondly, work hard. It’s that simple. You have to put in the mileage.

Thank you to Nenad for taking the time for this chat! We are grateful for his leadership in delivering innovative solutions to our 140+ customers and 100,000+ users worldwide, and look forward to his continued vision.

Get Involved with Kabal

Join Nenad’s team: If you’re a developer looking to solve real-world problems in a high-performing environment, check out our vacancies here.

Optimize your operations: For operators seeking total visibility and integrated workflows, who want to see how the Kabal platform can transform your logistics, contact us here.