From an early age, Ivan was engaged with his father's private company, which main activity was trading large quantities of precious metals, foundries, and appliances throughout Yugoslavia.
The son of a political dissident, Ivan and other members of the family were exposed to attacks perpetrated by Yugoslavian-Serbian politicians since 1982 when he was seven years old. The whole family was forced to fight to survive and flee the country which was ruled by a totalitarian regime. He and his family were seen as enemies of the very state in which they had grown up.
They managed to leave the country during wartime and were granted political asylum in Cyprus via the UN. This meant starting a new beginning in a foreign country and being left without friends and relatives, property, or financial resources in a completely new environment, with members in the family suffering with health issues due to the persecution they had just escaped from.
Ivan restarted in Cyprus in the hospitality business as a partner, at a small construction company, worked in trading certain major brands. It was through these struggles that Ivan, a holder of dual citizenship, both Macedonian and Serbian, became determined to re-establish his family in the Balkans. He decided to create a project with deeper meaning and impact that would help establish closer ties for the broader region. He is one of the founders, the Chairman and CEO of STP Capital Partners Holdings, a company established by a distinguished group of professionals and companies, mainly from the United States. He is also one of the founders of Stone Bridge Studios, alongside famous actors and film directors D.W. Moffett, John Malkovich, Mat Dillon and others. It should bound the people both economically and culturally, provide more economic and educational opportunities for the young population and open the bridges to the West - thus help ensure what happened to him as a young man never happens in the Balkans again. Ivan speaks Serbian, English, Macedonian and basic Greek.
The son of a political dissident, Ivan and other members of the family were exposed to attacks perpetrated by Yugoslavian-Serbian politicians since 1982 when he was seven years old. The whole family was forced to fight to survive and flee the country which was ruled by a totalitarian regime. He and his family were seen as enemies of the very state in which they had grown up.
They managed to leave the country during wartime and were granted political asylum in Cyprus via the UN. This meant starting a new beginning in a foreign country and being left without friends and relatives, property, or financial resources in a completely new environment, with members in the family suffering with health issues due to the persecution they had just escaped from.
Ivan restarted in Cyprus in the hospitality business as a partner, at a small construction company, worked in trading certain major brands. It was through these struggles that Ivan, a holder of dual citizenship, both Macedonian and Serbian, became determined to re-establish his family in the Balkans. He decided to create a project with deeper meaning and impact that would help establish closer ties for the broader region. He is one of the founders, the Chairman and CEO of STP Capital Partners Holdings, a company established by a distinguished group of professionals and companies, mainly from the United States. He is also one of the founders of Stone Bridge Studios, alongside famous actors and film directors D.W. Moffett, John Malkovich, Mat Dillon and others. It should bound the people both economically and culturally, provide more economic and educational opportunities for the young population and open the bridges to the West - thus help ensure what happened to him as a young man never happens in the Balkans again. Ivan speaks Serbian, English, Macedonian and basic Greek.