Gulliver Prep Students Earn Top Honors in 2026 La Plume Young Writers’ Contest

Miami, Florida is a vibrant, multicultural city known for its dynamic blend of urban sophistication and coastal charm. As a hub for international business, arts, and education, Miami offers educators a unique opportunity to engage with a diverse student population in a globally connected
environment. The city boasts year-round warm weather, beautiful beaches, and a thriving cultural scene, making it an inspiring place to live and work. With a strong emphasis on innovation in education and access to a wide range of professional development resources, Miami is an ideal location for passionate educators looking to make a meaningful impact.

Highlights of Miami

Explore South Beach: Famous for its Art Deco architecture, vibrant nightlife, and white-sand beaches, South Beach is a must-visit. Stroll along Ocean Drive or relax by the turquoise waters of the Atlantic.

Cruise Biscayne Bay: Take a boat tour around Biscayne Bay to see the city skyline, celebrity mansions on Star Island, and
nearby islands. It’s a relaxing way to enjoy the coastal beauty that defines Miami.

Tour the Everglades: Just a short drive from the city, Everglades National Park offers airboat rides, wildlife watching (look out
for alligators!), and a unique glimpse into Florida’s natural ecosystems.

Visit Wynwood Walls: This dynamic arts district showcases massive street murals from world-renowned artists. It’s a colorful,
ever-changing outdoor museum that also features galleries, boutiques, and cafes.

Experience Little Havana: Dive into Miami’s Cuban culture by visiting Little Havana. From live music and salsa dancing to delicious
Cuban cuisine, this neighborhood is full of energy and tradition.

Donald MacKenzie began his career at Deloitte, the global audit and consulting firm, before co-founding Conway MacKenzie, Inc., in 1987, a financial and operational advisory firm focused on special situations. Over more than three decades, he played an integral role in building the firm and, as Chief Executive Officer, guided its successful business combination with Riveron Consulting, LP in 2019.

Today, he serves as Senior Advisor with Riveron and is widely recognized for leading complex financial, operational, and restructuring engagements across a broad range of industries, including automotive, energy, manufacturing, franchise, government and municipal services, industrial contracting, steel, and technology.

Throughout his career, he has advised boards of directors and executive leadership teams and has served on select corporate boards. He has also held interim executive leadership positions — including Chief Executive Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer — for both public and private companies ranging from startups to middle-market and highly complex organizations.

A Certified Turnaround Professional and Certified Public Accountant, Donald earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Michigan State University.

Donald and his wife, Evelyn, joined the Gulliver community in 2023 and their two sons, Jonathan and Donald, attend the school.

Philip Lee is Executive Managing Director at Mangrove Partners, where he served as a Partner since 2011. Prior to joining Mangrove, he built his career across several leading investment firms, including Citadel Investment Group, Brahman Capital, Millennium Partners, and an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital.

Born in South Korea, he immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of four and grew up outside Philadelphia. A graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he attended on academic scholarship and was a member of the Joseph Wharton Scholars Program.

Philip has been involved with organizations including Alpha Phi Omega at Penn and the Korean American Community Foundation in New York, where he served as President of the Young Professionals Steering Committee from 2009 to 2010. In 2022, Philip and Jennifer established an Endowed Scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania to support undergraduate students in need. To support Gulliver, Philip and Jennifer established the Lee Family Merit Scholarship within the Gulliver Merit Scholarship Program.

In 2023, he and his wife, Jennifer, joined the Gulliver community after relocating to Miami with their two children. His son, Miles, attends the school.

Anant Bhalla is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of 1823 Partners US Services LLC, a Miami-based $20 billion asset manager. He also serves as Senior Partner and Chief Investment Officer of JAB Holdings, a global investment holding company across consumer and insurance businesses including brands like Panera, Pret a Manger, Krispy Kreme, Coty, NVA, and more.

Anant has built a distinguished career as an investor, business builder, and operator across the financial services industry, with leadership experience spanning asset management, insurance, and wealth management.

From 2020 to 2024, Anant led the transformation of American Equity (NYSE: AEL), helping reposition the company as a prudent long-term investor for insurance policyholders with a $70 billion balance sheet and capabilities across asset structuring, private credit, and real assets. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, the company delivered a threefold return for shareholders, culminating in a $4.3 billion merger with Brookfield Reinsurance. Prior to American Equity, Anant held senior leadership roles — including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Treasurer — at Brighthouse Financial, MetLife, AIG, Lincoln Financial, and Ameriprise Financial. He is also an active voice in conversations surrounding macroeconomic policy, financial inclusion, and retirement security in America.

Anant and his wife, Anubha Lal, joined the Gulliver community in 2023. Their two children, Taarak and Vishv, attend the school.

Centennial Society

Recognizing supporters of the Centennial Campaign with new gifts of $100,000 or more

A distinguished group of donors who are leading the way in Centennial fundraising with new transformative gifts of $100,000 or more, helping to shape the next century of excellence at Gulliver.

Leila Zivkovic is a human rights attorney, business leader, and devoted mother of three. With over 20 years of global experience in human rights, justice reform, and post-conflict development, she has worked with the UN, OSCE, British Army, World Bank, and other international organizations.

Leila led war crimes prosecutions in Bosnia with the OSCE and was awarded the UN Medal for Peace by HM Queen Elizabeth II for her service with the British Army. She currently consults for the World Bank on legal frameworks in the Balkans and is a board member of OKAPI Train, a military and police security training company. As a partner at Springshare LLC, she also contributes to educational technology worldwide.

A strong supporter of immigrant rights and animal welfare, she remains active in pro bono legal work and rescue efforts. Leila is a proud Gulliver Prep parent with two children currently enrolled.

Eion Hu grew up in North Jersey and currently resides in Miami. He graduated from DePaul High School (N.J.) in 1993, Harvard College in 1997, and Harvard Business School in 2003. Eion has spent his career in finance, joining Salomon Smith Barney in the Mergers and Acquisitions group in 1997 and TJC, a leading middle-market private equity firm, in 1999. Since then, he has helped build the culture and core values at TJC through the continuous mentorship of the firm’s younger professionals and partnerships with great companies and talented executives.

Eion is a member of TJC’s Partnership Board, Executive Committee, and Investment Committee. He serves as Head of the Executive Committee of the Friends of Harvard Football, member of the Harvard Varsity Club board of directors, and member of the Harvard Athletics Visiting Committee.

Christopher Drew is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of JLL Capital Markets’ Miami office. With over 20 years of experience, he joined JLL through the acquisition of HFF, and he is primarily responsible for executing and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Miami Debt and Equity Placement team.

Christopher specializes in arranging various forms of financing for real estate assets nationwide, including joint venture equity, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, and senior-level financing. He secures financing for all asset types, including retail, office, industrial, multifamily, cold storage, and more.

Prior to joining JLL, Christopher held senior finance and leadership positions at HFF, Cushman & Wakefield, and the New York Mets organization. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami and serves on the board of CTO Realty Growth.

Dr. Siemionow (MD, PhD) is an orthopedic surgeon by training and an entrepreneur who has founded and co-founded a number of medical companies that use advanced technology to improve clinical outcomes.

Dr. Siemionow completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a fellowship in spine surgery at Rush University Medical Center. His PhD focused on the effects of inflammation on nerve cell function. Dr. Siemionow is co-founder of Global Spine Outreach, a non-profit organization whose mission is “to save children with severe spinal deformities.”

He is co-founder of Holo Surgical Inc, a digital surgery company that has developed an artificial intelligence-based surgical guidance system that now has clinical applications. He is also co-founder of Inteneural Networks Inc, a company that uses machine learning to diagnose neurodegenerative disorders. He is also a co-founder of Kardiolytics Inc, a company that uses artificial intelligence machine learning to develop algorithms for automated analysis of cardiovascular CT images. Dr. Siemionow has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts and chapters in books on surgery and basic scientific research. He holds 50 patents and patent applications that have been successfully commercialized.

Dr. Siemionow is currently a board member of Dystrogen Therapeutics, Kardiobot, Dystrogen Gene Therapeutics, and Biometrics.

Jackie Mansfield is a founding member of Tristar Capital, a boutique real estate development and investment firm with offices in New York City and Miami. After spending several years on Wall Street in the Mortgage-Backed Securities departments of Morgan Stanley and Daiwa Securities, Ms. Mansfield partnered with David Edelstein in the late 1990s with their first acquisition of a portfolio of properties on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

Over the past 25 years, Tristar has developed or repositioned a variety of high-profile real estate assets including the critically acclaimed W South Beach Hotel & Residences in Miami Beach, FL and the Miracle Mile Shops on the Las Vegas Strip. In addition, Tristar has amassed a substantial portfolio of Class A trophy office buildings headquartered by large cap tech tenants including Apple, Facebook and Amazon in core urban locations in Seattle, WA, Bellevue, WA, and Silicon Valley, CA.

In addition to her investments with Tristar, Ms. Mansfield led a small investment group in the acquisition of a 100-key beachfront hotel in the historic summer enclave of Montauk, Long Island. She was also involved in buying and repositioning three boutique hotel properties in Southampton, including the popular Capri Hotel.

Ms. Mansfield serves on the Board of Directors for Breakthrough Miami and is a member of the Real Estate Advisory Board for the Herbert School of Business at the University of Miami. Ms. Mansfield has three children that are Gulliver Lifers.

Fabio Ribeiro has led diverse teams at the dawn of the internet, helping pioneer Brazil’s iconic ISP, iG. He founded and successfully exited SOL, a business in the aviation industry, and went on to start Neptuno in 2003, a multi-strategy fund focused on technology and forward-thinking investing. In recent years, he has guided Neptuno into the venture capital space, with a vision to empower entrepreneurs at the convergence of exponential technologies.

Fabio holds a BA from FAAP, São Paulo, a Master’s degree in Economics from Bocconi University, Milan, and an MFA in Interactive Media and Game Design from the University of Miami. He currently serves on the boards of Aura Minerals and the Institute for Data Science & Computing and the School of Communications, both at the University of Miami. Fun Fact: Fabio is a helicopter and airplane pilot.

Sergio Rhein Schirato has over 25 years of experience in the financial industry. In 2009, he co-founded Daemon Investments, a hedge fund with operations in the U.S. and Brazil, where he currently serves as CEO. Previously, he was a partner and director at Itaú-Unibanco based in São Paulo.

Sergio holds a Ph.D. in biosciences from the University of São Paulo, a Master’s in applied mathematics, and an MBA jointly awarded by NYU Stern, the London School of Economics, and HEC Paris. He also completed postdoctoral research at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo. His academic contributions include numerous peer-reviewed publications on time series analysis and dynamical systems.

Beyond finance and academia, Sergio is an avid scuba diver actively engaged in conservation and exploration projects, and a passionate cyclist. He is also the proud father of two daughters.

Mike Komaransky, father of Hugo ’26 and Luca ’29, graduated from University of Chicago in 2001. He worked as a trader and later a partner at DRW Trading in both Chicago and London, starting Cumberland, one of the world’s first cryptocurrency trading desks. He moved to Miami in 2018 and founded Grapefruit Trading, Ransky Trading and currently manages a portfolio of crypto-related investments

Vincent Signorello founded Scout Capital Partners in 2017 and Scout Cold Logistics in 2021. He currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Scout Cold Logistics. Previously, Vincent was the President and CEO of Florida East Coast Industries, a wholly owned company of Fortress Investment Group. Vincent also served in executive roles at Fortress Investment Group, Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers. Prior to his investment banking and private equity career, Vincent served as an active duty officer in the United States Army where he led reconnaissance and infantry units. Vincent supports numerous non-profit organizations involving education and veteran assistance, including serving as the previous Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Gulliver Prep. Vincent, his wife Shannon, and his two children Cole and Mason currently reside in Coconut Grove.

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