Born in Venezuela, daughter of Latvian immigrants, Māra Vītols – Hrgetić graduated as Computer Engineer at Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas.

Her first job was precisely for FUNINDES-USB, the Foundation for Research and Development of the same university, in a project for Petróleos de Venezuela, the nation’s oil industry.

After many years as systems analyst in the family business (building construction) and as assistant to the Latvian Consul in Venezuela, she started, with husband Josip Hrgetić, their own business – a conference and meeting center in Caracas (in 1996, still operating).

In 2012 they opened a sibling business in Croatia, the FORUM Zagreb Congress Center.
Since 2015 they organize annual business meetings for Croatia and its diaspora. Mara was the program director of the first 5 conferences, actually she’s an external consultant.

Josip & Māra have 3 children – one lives in Latvia, two in Croatia.