Ilija Brajković is CEO of Kontra, a Zagreb marketing and technology agency he has led since 2011. Kontra works across performance marketing, creative, and web development for brands like Kärcher, Xiaomi, Samsung, Bayer, Goodyear, Daikin, and the Zagreb Tourist Board. He also organizes Marketing Meet Up Zagreb, which held its 110th edition in October 2026.
He came into marketing through engineering. A master’s in computer science from the University of Split, Microsoft Student Partner, an internship at Tampere University of Technology, then community manager at ShoutEm in 2009. In 2012 he cofounded Fenix.Agency, building Facebook apps used by Walt Disney, Discovery Channel, Microsoft, Opel, and Renault. Along the way he advised Microsoft, Renault, and Suzuki on digital marketing, and Favikon named him one of Croatia’s top 20 business influencers in 2025.
His operating model runs on four values Kontra puts in writing: credibility, results, proactivity, education. He splits the week into maker days and manager days so his team gets real time for deep work. Through #IlijaPovediNas he shares openly how the agency is run, from calendars to hiring to handling people who disagree with you online.
Ask him about:
how to sell results instead of hours.
