Nikola Ilic — CEO
At 14, I joined a resistance movement (Otpor) to bring down a dictator in Serbia. What I learned changed everything I know about leadership. The movement didn't win because of one brilliant leader. It won because everyone led. Uncertainty was the fuel, not the obstacle. Shared power made us unstoppable. Twenty-five years later, after I've co-founded 4 social movements and built 4 businesses across Europe and the US, I teach that same model to managers and executives standing at the most important inflection point of their career. Here's the pattern I see most often: You're good at what you do. You've had real wins. But the higher the uncertainty, the more everything lands back on your desk. Your team waits for direction instead of creating it. Decisions slow down. And somewhere underneath the busyness, there's a quiet sense that the way you've been leading isn't going to be enough for what's coming next. That's not a talent problem. It's a leadership model problem. I developed Collective Intelligence Leadership — a framework that teaches leaders how to turn uncertainty into a strategic advantage. Not by having better answers. By creating the conditions where better answers emerge. The result: teams that think better together. Organizations that generate leadership at every level. Leaders who create more freedom — not more dependency — around them. And uncertainty that stops being a threat and starts being fuel for creativity, purpose, growth, and change. I've co-founded 4 social movements and built 4 businesses across Europe and the US. Every single one succeeded for the same reasons: investing relentlessly in leadership development, building a culture of collective intelligence, and creating space for both individual and collective action and growth. I've applied this framework with many private sector clients, the Obama Foundation, UNICEF, and Volt Europa. I teach it at Georgetown University. And I've tested it under real pressure, in real movements, with real stakes — not just in classrooms. I'm a practitioner first. A professor second. Everything I teach, I've done. If any of this resonates, here's how we can work together: → The LeadUp Accelerator — a live cohort program for mid-career leaders ready to operate at a higher level (action-learning based, not lecture-based) → Leadership program design — for organizations building or improving internal leadership development → Keynote speaking — interactive, action-oriented, research-backed sessions on leading through uncertainty and building collective intelligence
Stackforce AI infers this person is a leadership development expert specializing in change management and organizational development.
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Experience: 19 yrs 4 mos
Skills
- Change Management
- Leadership Development
Career Highlights
- Pioneered Collective Intelligence Leadership framework.
- Trained thousands of leaders globally.
- Expert in leading through uncertainty.
Work Experience
Obama Foundation
Program Curriculum Facilitator (3 yrs 10 mos)
Interim European Program Lead (2 mos)
Georgetown University
Adjunct Professor - Leadership (4 yrs 5 mos)
Volt Europa
Leadership Development Program Co-Lead (6 yrs 5 mos)
European Strategy Team Leader (11 mos)
Strategy Advisor (1 yr 5 mos)
ChangeLab
Founder and CEO (7 yrs 5 mos)
World Bank Group
International Development Consultant (1 yr 7 mos)
Harvard Kennedy School
Teaching Fellow - Organizing: People, Power, Change (5 mos)
Teaching Fellow - Financial management for Public sector and NGO (4 mos)
Iskra - Ukus pravih vrednosti
Founder and Head of leadership team (1 yr 6 mos)
Srbija u Pokretu / Serbia on the move
President (2 yrs 3 mos)
Co-Founder / Steering Committee Member (11 yrs 5 mos)
Delta Holding
Executive Outreach Department Chief (2 yrs 9 mos)
Education
Master's degree - Master of Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School
Executive Leadership Coaching Certification (ACC level) at Georgetown University
BBA at Hult International Business School
High school degree at Gallia Academy High School USA
High school at Third Belgrade Gymnasium
