Since 1989, Mr Tomislav Petrinec has been employed as an architect-conservator and in 1997, he was appointed the head of the Conservation Department in Zagreb. In 2014, he became the head of the Department for Conservation and Inspection in the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Media, and since 2017, he assumed the position of the chief conservator for immovable cultural heritage. In June 2022, he was appointed director of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Media.

In addition to all types of conservation work related to immovable heritage, he gained significant experience working on the inventory and assessment of war damage on architectural heritage from 1992 to 1997 and its restoration. After the earthquake in 2020, he was involved in all tasks and activities related to the consequences of the earthquake, especially the architectural heritage. He participates in the work of the International Expert-Advisory Commission for the Structural Reconstruction of Architectural Heritage in the Earthquake-Struck Areas of the Republic of Croatia, established by the decision of the Minister in April 2021. He is a member of the working group of the Ministry of Culture and Media for the implementation of the project of establishing a system of e-conservation bases within the framework of the National Recovery Plan and of resistance 2021 – 2026.