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HautePARTNERS

Power Moves

UC Group CEO Ignas Jurkonis and his wife, Gerda, share how they’re building a family empire.

BY LAURA SCHREFFLER IGNAS AND GERDA JURKONIS ARE COUPLE GOALS. NOT ONLY HAS THE COUPLE FOUNDED multiple startups, including UC Group, a priority freight forwarder and visionary supply chain solution for Fortune 500 companies where Ignas currently serves as CEO, but the two consistently give back, most recently having formed a partnership with the Global Empowerment Mission and Bethenny Frankel’s BStrong Initiative. Together, this husband-and-wife duo is focused on entrepreneurship, thought leadership, philanthropy and family. ith fourishing global businesses and two small children, the Jurkonis’ have a unique and innovative take on having it all and getting it all done. Splitting their time between Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago and Bogota, the Lithuanian-born team stays focused on what’s important.

Haute Living: What makes you unique as a couple and as entrepreneurs?

Ignas and Gerda Jurkonis: Our family lives an active lifestyle. We learn to stay together as individuals and as a team. Matching and supporting individualities is a very mindful and important aspect that makes us high-performing in all our roles: managing companies and working with nonprofts, being partners and parents. e live in multiple locations and balance our time. Time is a very high value for us, so we need to make sure it is always well spent and rich for memories.

HL: What are your thoughts on the phrase power couple? Does it apply to you?

IJ and GJ: We love this phrase, and it relates to us completely. It’s not about the impression, it’s about self-feeling and encouragement. For us it’s about everyday and life management. This phrase assimilates high energy, values, performance and lifestyle.

HL: How do you incorporate thought leadership practices into your daily life, at your companies and at home?

IJ and GJ: Expertise, insight and a valuable perspective are the main elements that get us to thought leadership status. It takes dedication, patience, strategy, education and, most importantly, an ability to listen. In business,we are usually considered as having an innovative, di erent, unusual approach. However, family is di erent. It’s about teaching kids and each other the natural di erences of thinking, and the value of that. espect and discussions that are based on personal research play an important role, along with constant physical, spiritual and educational development. Such development brings di erent perspectives on family and life values.

HL: As a couple navigating your company across many cities and countries, what are key elements to keeping it all running smoothly?

IJ and GJ: It really comes down to how we spend our time in the present moment. Power couple or power family for us is about passion, high energy, high performance and being mindfully present. This requires a fast transition of mind between business, social or family environments. Living a fast life has a high risk of missing things, of moments passing by without notice. We work hard to live lives that are full of memories and quality relationships. This requires the ability to recognize and avoid things that are not a priority or don’t bring value to us as individuals and as family. It can be challenging sometimes.

HL: What do you see as the next phase of entrepreneurship?

IJ and GJ: Entrepreneurship is a big part of our purpose, not only in business but also in family and life. Constant searches for innovation in time management, purpose expression and family relationships are part of our journey. The ability to have an impact and a ect the lives of those who trust our leadership is a mission we are committed to. In fact, Ignas and his team are launching a business platform in Latin America that will focus on changing employee lives by creating unlimited growth and success opportunities for them. In this startup, individual employee dreams will become the primary interest of the business. All leadership will be seen through a psychological and human behavior lens. We call it “the engine for opportunity.”

HL: What to you is the greatest luxury in life, and why?

IJ and GJ: Enjoying life to the fullest, in the moment, is the greatest luxury. For us, luxury is to be healthy, mobile and free, having enough time to enjoy your best life now. Luxury is a state of mind, and your life is whatever you do to make the best of it.

CITADEL COMPLETIONS AND HAUTE LIVING TEAM UP FOR NBAA NETWORKING EVENT

Joe Bonita, managing director of Citadel Completions, and April Donelson, vice president of Haute Media Group

THE CITADEL COMPLETIONS TEAM RECENTLY JOINED FORCES with Haute Media Group to host an exclusive networking reception event during NBAA 2021. The NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) is the prime event in the business aviation industry and is among the largest aviation trade shows in the United States. This year’s event was held from October 12 to 14 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Citadel Completions is one of the world’s premier providers of VIP/ VVIP interior completions for large aircraft. Its foremost commitment is to revolutionize completion process standards and deliver luxury-outfitted VIP/ VVIP on the industry’s most aggressive schedule. The company was founded by the private owner of several VIP/VVIP aircraft. Citadel can accommodate the entire range of VIP/VVIP owners, including private entities, government/ heads of state and corporate protocol operators.

The NBAA-BACE is the first in-person opportunity in nearly two years to view product advancements and technology development. With so many new industry innovations and emerging technologies redefining the future of air transport, NBAA-BACE once again brought dozens of compelling topics and education sessions in addition to featuring the latest innovative products and services from over 700 exhibitors.

On October 12, the first evening of the event, Citadel Completions and Haute Living welcomed dozens of esteemed guests to a private hangar at Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport. The event brought together VIP/ VVIP private owners and operators, original equipment manufacturers, key suppliers and vendors, and other influential business aviation leaders. The aircrafts open for guests to experience were a privately owned, luxury outfitted A340-500 and a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), and other private aircraft were on display as a backdrop. The evening proved to be a spectacular collaborative networking event.

NIKOLA VUČEVIĆ CELEBRATES HIS

COVER IN CHICAGO

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1. Nikola Vučević 2. Vučević, Zach LaVine 3. Chicago Bulls players Ayo Dosunmu, Patrick Williams, Javonte Green, Daniel Oturu, Ethan Thompson 4. Brian Rappaport, Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls, and Patricia Vasconcelos 5. Glenfiddich 26-year 6. Vučević with Haute Media Group CEO Kamal Hotchandani

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4 HAUTE LIVING CELEBRATED RECENT COVER STAR ikola u evi with an intimate dinner at hicago’s aple Ash on ctober . His hicago Bulls teammates — including Troy Brown, r., avonte reen, Patrick illiams, Tony Bradley, evon otson, Zach a ine, Ali e ohnson, Alex aruso, Ayo osunmu, arko Simonovic, errick ones, r., aniel turu, Stanley ohnson, att Thomas and than Thompson — all came out to support their new colleague, who previously played for the rlando agic. Brian appeport, luxury portfolio specialist at illiam rant Sons S, introduced each course and provided a Scotch pairing with each alongside his colleague Patricia asconcelos. The event also celebrated the launch of a special edition year old Scotch.

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