“Beloit College changed the trajectory of my life”

Silvija Martincevic ’02 is the CEO of Deputy, the industry-leading workforce management platform supporting over 1.5 million hourly workers and 375,000 workplaces globally. 

Silvija Martincevic '02 Silvija Martincevic '02 Before joining Deputy, Silvija was Chief Commercial Officer at Affirm, a Silicon Valley-based fintech, where she was responsible for scaling the company from 6.5k to 200k customers, growing revenue from $100 million to $1.3 billion, and building partnerships with industry giants, including Shopify, Walmart, and Amazon. Silvija helped take Affirm public in a $24 billion IPO on Nasdaq in 2021.

Prior to Affirm, Silvija led Groupon’s operations in Europe, Australia, and Asia as Chief Operating Officer and was a CEO and Co-Founder of Zenna Financial Services, where she focused on impact investing.

It’s not accidental that Silvija joined Deputy, a mission-driven business that aims to “improve the world of work one shift at a time.” She is a rare business leader who prioritizes mission-driven purposes and recognizes that success isn’t only about making money.

It is a natural fit for me to call Deputy home, given my lifelong obsession for solving problems that help underserved communities, making the world better, and doing it all with the support of exceptional technology and a purpose-driven culture,” Silvija says.

To Beloit students who aspire to become business leaders, Silvija shared her three leadership principles: empathy, integrity, and resilience.

Empathy helps build trust and fosters strong, genuine relationships, and I believe you cannot lead effectively without it. Integrity is the foundation of trust, and trust is what drives successful teams and organizations. Setbacks are inevitable. What matters is how you get back up and learn from those experiences. Even the toughest moments do pass, but we are left with more wisdom, strength and humility,” she says.

Silvija received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Beloit College and an MBA in Econometrics and Statistics from the University of Chicago. Born and raised in a small farming village in Croatia, Silvija came to Beloit College as an international student.

Beloit College changed the trajectory of my life,” she says. “During my time at Beloit, I was supported by incredible professors, built lifelong friendships, and was fortunate to belong to Beloit’s accepting community where intellectual curiosity and personal integrity were prioritized. The guidance, support, and encouragement I received from Beloit College helped me transform from a quiet and shy international student into a young woman with confidence and belief in herself, who was excited to go out into the world and make a difference. Without a doubt, Beloit College was my springboard into an exciting future, and I am so grateful for my time there!”

January 20, 2025

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