Member Spotlight: A Conversation with Luka Prelevic
Q: Your career and family office spans a wide range of industries, from law to renewable energy, real estate and tech. How did you decide to pursue such diverse ventures, and what unites them under your vision?
In reality, the strong common thread that united the build-up of these business lines is the entrepreneurial spirit that runs in every generation of our family. Each generation wanted to build further and seize some of the opportunities that were opening and then scale them, which led to a diverse holding. Additionally, we discovered hidden important synergies between the business lines, as for example our law firm turned out to be an amazing lead source and edge in the due diligence process for real estate, and our real estate knowledge helped us already have a reputation and experience to build on in the renewable energy space. Looking back, I believe we have built a strong entrepreneurial spirit that helps us keep reinventing ourselves.
Q: You’ve made a significant impact through your work, including dedicating a one-third of billable hours of the law firm to those in need, you’re currently working on developing the largest solar power plant in Southeast Europe and you have a history of donations towards policy and other causes. What drives your passion for creating change, and how do these projects reflect your values?
What’s quite characteristic to our family and each individual in it, is that we incorporate the impact and a good cause in most of the things or investments we do. Rather than being a carved out effort, the impact we deliver is incorporated into the businesses we build or invest in, which indeed includes all the billable hours of the law firm that we donated or seeing a large air pollution problem and acting on it, or employing local families from underdeveloped communities, or other examples. Hence, I guess one of our core values is incorporating the impact in what we do, rather than carving it out as a consequence. Additionally, our passion is strongly rooted in the humble beginnings and the build-up and dedication over the decades. I believe we have developed a strong ability to focus on the long term outcomes and intangible value of particular projects, which funnily enough in turn as a side-effect drove our family’s reputation and often grew the uniqueness of some of projects which helped us stand out and ultimately come back to generating more value than a short-term orientation would.
Q: Your eco-resort / national park combines luxury with sustainability. What inspired this project, and how do you balance business success with preserving nature?
We’re simply inspired by nature, in all its beauty and healing power. I believe in the saying that one can take infinite inspiration from nature. This project has been inspired by our desire to revive that mountain, make it much closer to visitors in terms of content, but ensure that all of the projects are able to blend-in with nature, both visually and in terms of the impact on it. We discovered that there are many future customers that assign a lot of value to nature preservation, to healing opportunities and to solutions which are not just simply sustainable, but are deeply rooted in how nature works.
Q: On a personal level, your passion project combining sports cars and luxury fashion is fascinating. How did this idea come about, and what does it mean to you to create something truly one-of-a-kind?
I always had a passion for the car and mobility space, including anything from racing go karts, to building a tech company in the car space, to co-authoring one of the major McKinsey studies on mobility, but I always thought sports and collection cars would be just the cost and ultimately, pleasure. On the other hand, I’ve been blessed with some great friendships with members of some of the top global luxury fashion families. At one point, I realized that there is value in beauty, and that we can create truly unique car interiors in collaboration with the fashion brands. This project also introduced me to some dear new friends and incredibly successful individuals, and serves as a careful lesson not to assume there is no value in things that seem like pure passion initially. Furthermore, the ability to create something that is truly one-of-a-kind for us means delivering the ultimate ability to express oneself and create unique beauty that lasts.
Q: Looking ahead, what’s next for you? Are there new challenges or opportunities you’re excited to tackle in your professional or personal life?
The road ahead has lots to do with uncovering further the impact that we can create with our resources and entrepreneurial spirit, including fully developing some of the existing projects such as renewable energy, sustainable hospitality or the intersection of cars and fashion. Furthermore, I’m incredibly excited about other opportunities to build in some of the other areas I’m exploring including the insurance industry and tech. I’m also grateful and excited by the communities I’m part of, including helping build Spark in Europe for the benefit of the entire existing Spark community and the future members we will all reach.
Luka Prelevic is a dynamic entrepreneur and investor with a diverse portfolio spanning real estate, technology, renewable energy, law, and sustainable hospitality. His family began their journey by building one of Southeast Europe’s most prominent law firms, after which Luka found his own success when he developed and successfully exited a software venture. After gaining invaluable experience at McKinsey globally, Luka shifted his focus to managing larger investments, including passive portfolios, significant single bets, and real estate holdings.
Luka’s family office is driven by a mission to combine financial success with meaningful impact. It oversees transformative projects such as the largest solar power plant in Southeast Europe, a luxury eco-resort, and philanthropic initiatives that donate one-third of the billable hours of the family’s law firm to those in need. Luka also explores passion-driven projects, blending creativity and innovation, like bespoke ventures in sports cars and luxury fashion. Luka’s leadership reflects a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and giving back, setting a remarkable standard for the intersection of purpose and profitability.