OPEN TO STRATEGIC ROLES

Kate Stefanovych

PR & marketing expert · DEFENDER Media team

I build visibility, partnerships, and high-impact projects for tech companies operating in complex environments.

FROM: Ukraine BASED: Somewhere in between Zürich / Kyiv
Kate Stefanovych

I have spent nearly a decade building visibility, stakeholder trust, partnerships, market entry, and B2G / B2C tech events. Most of my career was shaped at Sigma Software. Over 7 years, I helped grow the company into one of Ukraine's most recognized IT employers and supported its international expansion across Europe during wartime relocation.

War taught me the part that I cannot fit neatly on a CV: how to keep a brand, a team, and a project steady while Ukrainian cities are under attack.

I move fast, think clearly under pressure, and bring the most value when the situation is least predictable. I have represented tech companies and startups across Europe and globally, led the organisation of major tech summits, worked with founders, media, and communities, and turned complex business narratives into stories and projects people can easily understand, trust, and act on.

My current focus is defence tech, which is essential to protect the identity of Ukraine and the free world. It is a purpose that drives me and where I'm ready to own the unglamorous work that makes important things move faster. Since January 2026, I have been actively involved in DEFENDER Media.

With my life now connected to both Ukraine and Switzerland, I am looking for an opportunity in Zürich where I can help a defence tech company build the systems, partnerships, and strategic presence behind modern defence.

Map of Europe with Zurich pinned and Ukraine highlighted
Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit stage
Digital Tomorrow Uzbekistan portrait
Femmegineering Women in Tech event
Startup World Cup event
Kate speaking on stage
Kate on a stage panel
Yellow Network event
Startup World Cup panel
Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit panel
Digital Tomorrow Uzbekistan group
UK-Ukraine FinTech Summit stage
Web Summit Ukrainian Pavilion
UK-Ukraine FinTech Summit audience
Campaign photo block
Campaign photo block
Worked alongside governments, embassies, institutions & partners
Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
OurCrowd
London Stock Exchange
TheCityUK
National Bank of Ukraine
Embassy of Ukraine in the UK
Embassy of Ukraine in Israel
Ericsson
Beetroot
Embassy of Ukraine in Sweden
Sigma Technology
Startup World Cup
SID Venture Partners
EIT Community RIS Hub
Tech Nation
House of Europe
1inch
Base
Arrakis
EthCC
TOKEN2049
Animoca Brands
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
OurCrowd
London Stock Exchange
TheCityUK
National Bank of Ukraine
Embassy of Ukraine in the UK
Embassy of Ukraine in Israel
Ericsson
Beetroot
Embassy of Ukraine in Sweden
Sigma Technology
Startup World Cup
SID Venture Partners
EIT Community RIS Hub
Tech Nation
House of Europe
1inch
Base
Arrakis
EthCC
TOKEN2049
Animoca Brands
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Projects I built and organized

01
UK-Ukraine FinTech Summit production team at laptops 🇺🇦 🇬🇧
2021

UK-Ukraine FinTech Summit

700+ live viewers · 30+ speakers

I helped bring the right people into one room: government leaders, fintech voices, and tech companies from both countries. That meant having Mykhailo Fedorov, the NBU Governor, and the CEO of the London Stock Exchange on the same stage.

Outcome Government & founder visibility at home and abroad. Trust built across summits later helped Sigma Software's founder become President of Diia City Ukraine.
Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit panel 🇺🇦 🇮🇱
2020

Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit

800+ attendees · 50 speakers

Keynoted by Deputy PM Mykhailo Fedorov, with OurCrowd, Israel's most active VC, as strategic partner. Built to turn diplomatic goodwill into cross-border business.

Outcome 50+ Ukrainian tech companies found new customers in Israel; Israel now sources around 40% of its IT services from Ukraine.
Tech for Good Sweden-Ukraine Business Forum panel 🇺🇦 🇸🇪
2021

Tech for Good: Sweden-Ukraine Business Forum

10 startups · 20+ speakers · 9 partners

Co-organised with the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine to connect government, tech, startups, and investors around digital transformation.

Outcome Positioned Sigma Software as a Swedish-Ukrainian business bridge and deepened government- and embassy-level trust.
Digital Tomorrow Tashkent conference audience 🇺🇿
2025

Tech Synergies - Tashkent

180 attendees · 15+ speakers · 100% in person

A closed-door conference connecting international IT companies with local stakeholders: the EU Delegation, IT Park Uzbekistan, and AmCham, to accelerate Uzbekistan's digital transformation.

Outcome Opened Sigma Software's path into Central Asia, followed by a new engineering office in Uzbekistan.
02
Yellow acceleration and builder program event 🇸🇬 🇮🇳 🇦🇷 🇺🇸 🇪🇺
2025/2026

Yellow Acceleration & Builder Programs

web3 · growth · 2 programs end to end

As growth lead, I owned the strategy to onboard web2 builders into a web3 SDK ecosystem: simplifying the developer narrative, recruiting founders, and running acceleration across the globe. End to end: strategy, events, delivery, content, website.

The hard call The data showed the SDK wasn't monetisable. I brought that difficult conversation to the table, arguing the business should pivot toward agentic payments. I don't only deliver the good news; I name what isn't working.
Startup World Cup finalist group on stage 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 🇺🇸
2023/2024

Startup World Cup

The Ukrainian round of Startup World Cup

The world's largest pitch competition, giving Ukrainian startups a platform to prepare for the global stage in San Francisco, backed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

03
Hack for Peace event participants 🇬🇧 🇸🇪 🇵🇹 🇵🇱 🇺🇦
2022

Hack for Peace

anti-war tech · 5 countries

A cross-European hackathon where teams built anti-war tech, from mental health and demining to information hygiene, on-site and online across five countries.

Why we ran it To help fight the consequences of war and, alongside that mission, to build brand awareness in a new market we were planning to scale into.
Femmegineering Women in Tech gathering 🇺🇦 🇵🇱 🇸🇪 🇨🇦
2022-2024

Femmegineering - Women in Tech

community · 4 countries

A four-country community empowering women in IT, combating stereotypes, and building equitable career growth through events, interviews, and mentorship.

Recognition Won the 2023 Partnership for Sustainability Award by UN Global Compact Ukraine, and named Best Workplace for Women in Tech.
04
$0 media spend

Kharkiv Marathon

2021

Branded the pace car and a Sigma bus that led the whole route, seen by the entire crowd.

$200 to $2K profit

DOU Day

2025

Viral booth at Ukraine's biggest dev conference. 400 leads · 1,000+ chat mentions.

Free 30m² booth

IT Arena

2024

Tech Museum booth at a 5,500-attendee conference plus two free main-stage talks. 300+ leads.

Partner not paid

Web Summit 2022

2022

Ukrainian Pavilion in Lisbon, 71,000+ visitors, six startups shown, AR demo to 160+.

$0 FAANG line-up

Tech Webinar Series

2023

Hour-long series with engineers from Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google. Owned end-to-end.

05
2.5 weeks to operational

Business continuity plan

2022

Held the company together when the full-scale invasion began: owned communication and relocation, moved 1,000+ people to safety, and had 94% of employees back to work.

2 offices

Bulgaria offices

2022/2023

Owned operations to open Sigma's first Bulgarian offices in Burgas & Sofia. Expansion built from crisis response.

2K 4x/year

FIKA Townhalls

2019-2025

Drove company-wide townhalls with the full board: updates, founder interviews, live Q&A.

200+ PMs · 2 countries

PM Gathering

2020/2023

Led the event for the company's biggest division across two countries. Owned speakers, agenda, logistics, budget.

Conferences across 18 countries

Organized, partnered, and represented, from Kyiv to San Francisco, 2018-2026.

57
events
18
countries
29
organized / led
2018-2026
years active
World map of conferences attended and organized
Organized / led Partnered / supported Attended / represented larger = more years on stage
🇺🇦 Ukraine 15
  • IT Arena 2019-25
  • Devoxx Ukraine 2019-22
  • Open Tech Week 2019-21
  • JS Fwdays '19, '21
  • QA Fest 2019-20
  • Eureka startup competition 2022-23
  • .NET Fest 2019
  • OdesaJS 2019
  • ITEM 2019
  • JS Fest 2019
  • DevOps Fest 2019
  • DevOps Fwdays 2021
  • .NET Fwdays 2021
  • EthKyiv Hackathon 2025
  • Int20h Hackathon 2019
🇬🇧 UK 10
  • Clients Webinar AI 2020
  • TechMastermind: Amazon 2023
  • TechMastermind: Meta 2023
  • TechMastermind: Google 2023
  • TechMastermind: Flixbus 2023
  • TechMastermind: Linkedin 2023
  • Client Webinar: FinTech 2020
  • Client Webinar: AdTech 2020
  • Client Webinar: Security 2020
  • UK-Ukraine Tech Summit 2021
🇫🇷 France 4
  • VivaTech Paris 2026
  • EthCC Cannes 2026
  • EthCC Paris 2023
  • Cannes Founder-Investor event 2026
🇵🇹 Portugal 4
  • Web Summit 2022-24
  • ETHGlobal Online 2025
  • ETHGlobal Hack Money 2025
  • Portugal PM meetup 2022
🇦🇷 Argentina 3
  • Yellow Side Event Argentina 2025
  • ETHGlobal Argentina 2025
  • DevConnect Argentina 2025
🇧🇬 Bulgaria 3
  • ISTA Bulgaria 2022-23
  • Sofia PM meetup 2022
  • Bulgaria JS 2024
🇨🇿 Czech Republic 3
  • ETHPrague 2025
  • ETHGlobal Prgague Hack 2025
  • Yellow Side Event Prague 2025
🇵🇱 Poland 3
  • Devoxx Poland 2022-24
  • Femmeginnering Women in tech 2022-23
  • Code Europe 2023 2022
🇸🇬 Singapore 3
  • Bizthon Singapore 2025
  • Token2049 2025
  • Yellow Side Event Singapore 2025
🇧🇷 Brazil 1
  • TDC Brazil 2022-23
🇫🇮 Finland 1
  • Slush 2018
🇮🇳 India 1
  • Bizthon India 2025
🇮🇱 Israel 1
  • Israel-Ukraine Tech Summit 2020
🇳🇱 Netherlands 1
  • IGB Live Amsterdam 2023
🇸🇪 Sweden 1
  • Sweden-Ukraine Tech Summit 2022
🇹🇷 Turkey 1
  • Istanbul Hackathon 2025
🇺🇸 USA 1
  • Startup World Cup: startup competition 2024
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 1
  • Digital Tomorrow: Tashkent 2025

Let's talk

Always open to a conversation about strategic projects, partnerships, and defence tech.

Book a call