Leadership Through Experience, Integrity, and Innovation
“Success is when I do what inspires me: learning, building, and creating, but also when I spend quality time with my family, remain present, and am a good role model for my children. The ideal leader combines work, relationships, and a sense of inner balance.”
Petar Atanasovski, CEO of Curvy and alumnus of the 9th generation EMBA program in Belgrade, has built his career over more than a decade working with the same core team, across different roles and through four acquisitions. Before joining COTRUGLI, he was part of Devana Technologies, whose product was later acquired by GoDaddy. This transition from a startup environment into a corporate structure was a major professional shift, moving from a high level of autonomy into a structured organization with established processes. At the same time, Petar enrolled in the MBA program, which helped him see the bigger picture and prepare for his next professional steps.
“COTRUGLI pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me look at challenges from multiple angles,” Petar says. His final project, a blockchain education platform, was both authentic and practical, allowing him to apply his knowledge in a real business context. “The program’s greatest value lies in the exchange with people from different industries and positions. Every perspective contributes to understanding complex problems and strengthening decision-making.”
Petar points out that his leadership journey began early – through sports, music, and student organizations like AIESEC. Professionally, his experiences at Devana, GoDaddy, and through the COTRUGLI EMBA program enabled him to develop a more realistic and mature view of leadership, realizing how much it involves responsibility and sometimes unpopular decisions. “Today, I see leadership as a lifelong process. Beyond professional challenges, integrity is essential to me – being able to explain every decision to my children and to be proud of my journey.”
In his team, digitalization itself is not the challenge, since the industry he works in requires constant adaptation. The real challenge is keeping pace with global innovations – especially in the worlds of artificial intelligence and crypto technologies – while simultaneously managing day-to-day business. “It’s not that people resist change – it’s that we often lack the capacity to keep up with the pace of innovation. That is becoming the key challenge for all of us who want to remain leaders in our fields.”
Petar believes the greatest value of the COTRUGLI program lies in shared learning and exchanging perspectives with professionals from different industries. “Theoretical knowledge is available to everyone today, but the experience of dialogue and problem-solving in groups is what gives leaders practical skills for the future.”
Mentorship is a natural part of his leadership approach. “I see myself both as a mentor and a student. Through mentoring teams and individuals, but also by seeking advice from my own network, mutual support develops. In the COTRUGLI community, every member can be both mentor and mentee, depending on the context.”
Throughout his career, Petar has learned that the key factors are the people and communities he works with, along with situations that demand courageous decisions. “One turning point was moving from GoDaddy to the startup MVP Workshop. Trust in the team and shared values were decisive, and that long-term trust and open communication remain the foundation of my leadership path today.”
For Petar, a successful leader is not only someone who delivers results, but someone who creates a better environment every day, balancing professional growth with personal fulfillment. “Success is when I do what inspires me: learning, building, and creating, but also when I spend quality time with my family, remain present, and am a good role model for my children. The ideal leader combines work, relationships, and a sense of inner balance.”