Alumni Spotlight: Ivan Mladenovic ’02
Entrepreneur, business owner, mentor, and proud Raider, Ivan Mladenovic ’02 has built a career at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and growth. After founding and successfully selling an IT and cybersecurity company, he now focuses on acquiring and scaling service businesses while remaining deeply connected to Gulliver through the International Business & Entrepreneurship Signature Program. As Gulliver celebrates its Centennial year, Ivan reflects on the mentors, experiences, and community that shaped his path – and why investing in the next generation of Raiders matters more than ever.
What are you up to these days?
After founding and eventually selling an IT and cybersecurity company, I’m now focused on acquiring service businesses and applying my technology and operational background to scaling them. I’m based in Miami with my wife Sara and our two kids, Kaia and Luka.
What inspired you to pursue your current career, and how has your path evolved?
I started a computer repair shop out of college and grew it into a managed services and cybersecurity firm before selling it at the end of 2021. These days I‘m focused on the ‘buy and build’ side of entrepreneurship — taking proven service businesses and using technology and operational rigor to help them grow. Different muscle than starting from zero, but the core is the same: great people, durable systems, something that lasts.
Was there something you learned at Gulliver—inside or outside the classroom—that’s made an impact on your life?
Gulliver taught me how to think, not just what to think. Teachers like Maria Gonzalez and Robert Rodriguez-Walling used literature and history to push us to form our own opinions and look at
things from different angles. That skill has compounded — in business, in parenting, in Everything.
Are there any Gulliver teachers or coaches who positively influenced you?
Maria Gonzalez and Robert Rodriguez-Walling stand out. I also had the privilege of growing up at a school run by Marian Krutulis, whose superpower was making you feel welcome and challenging you at the same time. That combination is rare, and it shaped my experience more than I realized at the time.
What clubs, sports, or extracurriculars were you involved in at Gulliver Prep, and how did they influence you?
Band and the film program. Both pulled me out of my comfort zone and gave me an early appreciation for craft and collaboration — things that have carried through in how I build businesses and teams today.
What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Gulliver?
Watching Sean Taylor dive over the entire defensive line to send us to the state championship. Witnessing that in person is something I’ll never forget.
What has been one of your proudest moments?
One just happened recently. I coached the winning team in this year’s Gulliver business plan competition, and they went on to win the NFTE regional competition as well. Getting to work alongside those students and watch them take their idea all the way through was incredible.
What advice would you give to current students?
Don’t underestimate the opportunity in front of you, and find a mentor — or several. Your Gulliver education is an incredible foundation, but the real acceleration comes when you pair it
with practical experience and people further down the road than you.
As we mark our Centennial year, Gulliver is paving the way for the future of education in Miami by advancing Next-Level Teaching & Learning and Thriving Students, and building support for The Next 100 Campaign. What excites you most about what’s ahead for our students and our community?
Without question, the International Business & Entrepreneurship Signature program. I’ve been involved with the business plan competition for 12 years as a judge and coach, and the evolution has been tremendous. When I was a student, there was no entrepreneurship program at all. Watching this year’s winning team take the NFTE competition — and imagining what the program could be in another decade — is genuinely exciting.
As the school continues to grow and innovate, what do you believe is most important about honoring Gulliver’s history?
It’s a balance. The school has to be future-focused — preparing our kids for a world that looks very different from the one we grew up in. I anticipate my own kids going to Gulliver soon, so this is personal. But we also have to honor what Marian Krutulis built: a place that was rigorous and welcoming at the same time. That culture is the foundation, and keeping it intact as the school grows is what honoring the legacy really means.
How do you stay connected with, and support, Gulliver, and why is it important?
Most of my connection comes through my personal network — many of my close friends, colleagues, and fellow parents are Gulliver alumni or Gulliver families. I recently joined the
alumni WhatsApp group, and I stay actively involved through coaching the entrepreneurship program each year. Supporting Gulliver matters because the school doesn’t stop serving you when you graduate. It continues to be a resource — as a professional, as a parent, as a member of this community — and the ability to help shape what it becomes for the next generation is a privilege worth taking seriously.
