The Strategic Council of the Diia.City United technology business union has chosen a new executive director through a competitive selection to replace Nataliya Mykolska, who has led the organization since late 2023 and is now moving to a new professional stage, the organization's press service said on Friday.
"It was a great responsibility and honor for me to work for this community. I am moving to a new professional stage with great gratitude to everyone with whom we developed Diia.City United together," Mykolska said, according to the release.
During Mykolska's tenure the union brought together more than 250 companies and investors and formed a Strategic Council of 21 top technology business representatives, the release said. Diia.City United President and MacPaw founder Oleksandr Kosovan praised the team's work at the organization's formative stage.
In two years the union's legal team handled more than 850 legal and tax requests from members, the release said. The organization took part in defending and developing Diia.City and in research on the sector's needs, and promoted Ukraine's tech sector globally and attracted investment through appearances at international venues, including London Tech Week and the Ukraine Recovery Conference. A community of product companies, startups and defense tech and dual-use businesses that interact within sector initiatives has also formed around the union.
"Nataliya headed the union when it still had to be built: the team, the processes, the trust of members and partners. In that time the union became an organization that business, the state and international partners reckon with. On behalf of the Strategic Council, I thank her for this work and for the fact that the next stage begins from a solid foundation. The union's goals and course remain unchanged," Kosovan said.
Preparations for the change of CEO had been under way for some time, the release said. The Strategic Council has already chosen the new CEO, who will first be presented to members, stakeholders and partners and then announced publicly, it said.
Mykolska will remain an adviser to the union for some time and will work with the Strategic Council and the new CEO, while the organization's strategic priorities remain unchanged, it said.
Diia.City is a special legal and tax space for IT business in Ukraine, created for 25 years. It currently has almost 4,700 residents.
