Meet Our Team

Igor Jokanovic is co-founder and Chairman of Areté Investment Fund. With 18 years of experience in the real estate industry, he leads a team of highly qualified individuals responsible for the daily management of the fund. Igor focuses on real estate due diligence, closings, and legal aspects of every real estate purchase. In the past 15 years he has overseen the successful purchase and sale of over one hundred real estate projects. Igor obtained his first degree from a top ranked grammar school in the capital off Croatia, Zagreb. He then earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Rockford University in Illinois with a major in Business Management and Philosophy. In 2005, Igor completed a Master of Business Administration Degree in Finance and International Business from Loyola University in Chicago. He has had successful tenures with LaSalle Bank and Morgan Stanley as a relationship banker and wealth manager respectively. Igor co-founded the American Southeast Europe Chamber of Commerce, a not for profit organization focusing on business and cultural exchange between countries of Southeast Europe and the United States.

He leads the Board of Directors at Council Oak Montessori School in Blue Island, a non-profit private school established in 1990, as the President. Igor has also co-founded and is currently President of the Areté group of companies: Areté Realty LLC, Areté Renovators Inc., Areté Contractors LLC, and Renovators’ Outlet together bringing more than $5 million in annual revenues. In his time with these companies, Igor has managed and overseen in excess of one thousand remodeling and new construction projects throughout the Chicagoland area.

Davor Jokanovic is co-founder and Vice President of Areté Investment Fund. He is responsible for the financial and investment performance of the fund. He also leads the team of project managers and subcontractors to deliver the highest quality and performance to residential remodeling clients. In the past 15 years he has overseen the successful completion of thousands of remodeling and construction projects throughout the Chicagoland area. received his first degree from Boylan High School in Rockford, Illinois while successfully playing on their varsity basketball team all four years. He completed his Bachelors of Science Degree from DePaul University in Chicago with a major in finance. He successfully tenured with Chase Bank in their finance and derivatives department.

He is a member of the Board of Directors at Council Oak Montessori School in Blue Island. Davor has also co-founded and is currently Vice President of the Areté group of companies: Areté Realty LLC, Areté Renovators Inc., Areté Contractors LLC, and Renovators’ Outlet.

Antonio joined Arete Renovators as a Project Manager and subcontractor in 2010. Since joining the team, he has held additional positions including lead carpenter, assistant manager, and estimator. He became a certified carpenter at the Union carpenter’s School of in 2001 and a certified home inspector at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 2006. In 2013, he became President and Founder of Delcore Inc, and Deluna Construction. Antonio holds eighteen years of experience in the construction industry and has worked in various areas of the construction industry including: residential, commercial and industrial.

Ivan Koconda joined our contracting team in March 2016 as Construction Project Manager with more than 6 years of experience in managing projects. Ivan is responsible for managing and coordinating construction teams from start through finish of multiple residential and commercial projects, and acts as a prominent resource for our clients to ensure that their vision and goals are successfully met. He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of each project, including the managing, coordinating, and control of all financial aspects of each project, providing an estimate, working within budget, scheduling and negotiation of contracts, and change orders. He is the direct liaison and lead communication between clients, engineers, architects, designers, and the lead enforcer of contractual provisions from pre-bid to the final warranty is issued on each project.

Ivan received his Master of Engineering Management/Energy Management from Faculty of Technical Science at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia.

Marina joined Arete Renovators in 2014 and is also a member of our Renovators’ Outlet showroom team. She graduated from economics school in Serbia and then worked for over three years as an Assistant Professor. She is a certified economist with seven years of experience in economics and accounting. As Client Service Manager she is responsible for daily reports and communication with clients and suppliers. She also creates project estimates for clients and controls project progress, materials, and deadlines.

Danka joined the Renovators’ Outlet team in 2017. She graduated from the Faculty of Business Economics in Serbia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Banking. She is a certified economist with years of experience. She is motivated to always learn something new and to face new challenges.

Steliana joined Areté Renovators in 2015. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Real Estate Economics from the University of Economics in Sofia, Bulgaria. After graduating, she worked for two years in one of the largest real estate agencies in Varna, Bulgaria.

As a Project Coordinator with Areté Renovators she is responsible for daily communication, coordination, and updates with clients, subcontractors, and suppliers. She is also responsible for scheduling, monitoring the progress of projects, and coordinating the purchase and delivery of all materials. In her most recent role as Property Manager, she facilitates and executes lease contracts and oversees the management and completion of project maintenance requests for Areté Realty owned properties.

Ivana joined Arete Renovators in May 2018 and is also a member of our Renovators’ Outlet showroom team. She previously worked for Arete as a project coordinator, controlling project progress, materials, and worked as the team’s design assistant. In her new role, Ivana facilitates the purchasing of all project materials, delivery to the jobsite, and balancing of accounts.

Gina joined the Arete Renovators and Renovators’ Outlet teams in 2017 after moving to Chicago from Naples, Florida. She graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a degree in Communications and Public Relations. For the last four years, she worked as Director of Corporate Administration for a community management company assisting with Human Resources and serving on the Executive Committee which helped drive and growth for the business. Gina is excited to bring this experience to the Arete team to help build the brand. In her spare time, Gina enjoys travelling, experiencing the Chicago culture and food scene, and spoiling her boxer Lola and bulldog Dexter.

Harsh moved to Chicago in 2017 and in 2019 joined Areté Renovators as a Project Coordinator. Prior to joining Areté, he worked as a construction inspector. As the son of a civil engineer, the roots of construction were instilled in him at an early age. Harsh completed his undergrad in civil engineering and is currently pursuing a Master’s in construction engineering and management from Illinois Institute of Technology. In his free time, Harsh enjoys going to the beach and listening to music. He also enjoys swimming which is one of his favorite sports.

Meet Branko! After meeting a few people on our team, Branko knew Areté would be a great fit for him and decided to join us as one of our Project Coordinators. He has worked in construction for 5 years, starting on small projects as an electrician and plumber. Branko loves to learn and worked as a plumber’s apprentice so he could gain more knowledge of the trade. He is happy to work for Areté so he can combine his knowledge with larger opportunities and projects and create great results together. Branko is extremely passionate about the industry, enjoys the hard work, new challenges, teaching others what he knows, and creating a dream home for every client. He is a team player and looking forward to working with a great energetic team to make Areté the best remodeling company in Chicago.

Marija was born in Serbia but lived in Italy for over 18 years. She speaks three languages and graduated from a tourist school where she loved the idea of travelling and constantly exploring new professions. Having lived in Italy for several years, she was always drawn to the world of creativity since Italy is such a huge hub for fashion and beauty. Her love for the creative arts has grown into interior design. She feels that she is finally in a perfect place to pursue her passions as part of Areté’s design team. She looks forward to challenging herself and discovering and building on new goals.

Rayne has joined the Arete team as Marketing Assistant in 2019. She is currently a part-time student at Arizona State University and has a passion for Photography. In her short year living in Chicago, Rayne has worked at the Shedd Aquarium, attended Columbia College Chicago, and worked behind the scenes on an up and coming amazon prime show. She is excited to work with the marketing team at Arete and developed a great social media presence for the company.

Dalibor moved from Montenegro in 2017 and joined the Arete team shortly after as the transport associate. He has a bachelors from Tourism and has a wide range of skills. These skills include repairs, installations, and electrical work. He provides the best transportation service and nothing makes him more motivated than satisfied clients. He enjoys his job as well as sports and animals. Dalibor has a huge love for tennis and his dog and spends his free time with both.

Chintan joined in as an Intern in July 2020, working on measurement drawings and design for bathrooms and interior projects of the company. He is an Architect by profession and has work experience of 3.5 years ranging from Institution to housing projects. Currently he is pursuing a Masters of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology. Chintan is curious to know and develop understandings about technical aspects of construction & re-modeling in United States.

Vasilka joined Arete in 2020 and is a certified interior designer. She attended FDTME-Faculty of Design and Technology of Furniture and Interior back home in Macedonia and achieved her certification for interior design at ITAcademy in Serbia. Growing up in a very talented and creative family, she started developing her passion for creating at early age. Vasilka is very passionate about the interior design industry and looking forward too many successful achievements in this field as a lifelong career. She loves to shop, read magazines, draw, travel, watch documentaries, and hang with her pug named Fez.

Coming Soon…

Rooney is a golden retriever who came to the United States from Serbia with his owner, and our Client Service Manager, Marina. He was born on July 10, 2011 and his favorite things to do are go to the beach to swim and play with his ball. Rooney is currently single and looking for a mate to breed!