Some people build a career by staying put and going deep. Ilvana Damjanovic built hers by doing the opposite and proving that ambition, adaptability, hard work, and a genuine willingness to take on whatever was needed will get you further than any fixed plan.
Fourteen years, multiple locations, and the convergence of three usually distinct career paths have resulted in one uninterrupted thread of invaluable contribution.
Ilvana joined Opteon in December 2011 as a Business Manager in Canberra. From the start, her growth and potential were clear. Ilvana learned how the business worked by doing the work, all of it, not just the parts that sat neatly in her job title.
As Business Manager for over a decade, Ilvana was the connective tissue of the ACT office. Coordinating workflows, leading teams, managing client relationships, and keeping the business functioning while simultaneously developing the expertise to one day value it herself. That combination of commercial understanding and operational understanding takes years to build. Ilvana built it.
James Brennan who hired Ilvana into the Canberra business explained: “Ilvana displayed early in her career that she had the ability to get all employees working together as a team for the benefit of the business. She did so with a combination of firmness, respect, and empathy on all occasions. Ilvana has a rare quality in that she has a great working and personal relationship with each employee whilst still being able to drive individual and team performance. A unique quality that has contributed to a happy, productive and successful business”.
Life moved Ilvana at times both interstate and overseas. The kind of transitions that sideline careers at organisations without the infrastructure or the intent to support great people through them. At Opteon, it did not slow her down. She worked remotely, stayed connected, and kept contributing because she was the kind of person who does that, regardless of where she was sitting.
In November 2023, Ilvana was appointed Company Director, recognising more than a decade of running a business, serving clients, and carrying institutional knowledge that no induction program could replicate.
In June 2026, Ilvana qualified as a CPV valuer, adding formal credentials to 14 years of incredible service in the valuation industry and to Opteon.
Ilvana's career spans what we would describe as three distinct pathways: the technical specialist track, the leadership track, and the corporate track. Most people follow one.
Ilvana has followed all three, by showing up with the character and work ethic to earn each step.
Ilvana is the kind of person who does not wait for permission to take things on. She fills gaps before anyone must ask. She moves across geographies and time zones without losing momentum. She turns "I'll figure it out" into a genuine career philosophy.
Ilvana said: “I believe that your word is your greatest asset and throughout my career, I’ve made it a priority to deliver what I committed to. I consider myself fortunate to have been employed by Jim Brennan and worked with leaders like Calvin Rogers. Their main priority for the business was creating a positive culture and looking after our people. Today, I’m surrounded by an incredible team in Canberra - kind, supportive, and committed to each other’s success. It makes all the difference.”
The pathways were there. Ilvana is the one who walked them.
If you are thinking about what a career at Opteon could look like, whether that is going deep as a technical specialist, stepping into leadership, or moving into a corporate role, Ilvana's story is worth sitting with. There is no single right way to build it. There is just the work, the character you bring to it, and how far you are willing to go.