Andrii Hrytseniuk steps down as CEO of the Brave1 cluster

Andrii Hrytseniuk, who headed the state cluster Brave1, is stepping down as CEO. Iryna Zabolotna, Brave1’s Chief Operating Officer, will oversee the association’s development during the transition period. The cluster’s page states this.

Hrytseniuk became head of Brave1 in June 2025. He was preceded by Nataliia Kushnerska, who left the post and joined the defence tech company Roboneers, where she worked until February 2026.

Before joining Brave1, Hrytseniuk had over 20 years of experience in IT, digital transformation and crisis management. In particular, he served as IT Director at leading banks, and since 2023 he has worked in the Ministry of Digital Transformation, where he led the development of projects such as “Diia”, “Mriia”, “eOselia” and others.

The cluster adds that under Hrytseniuk’s leadership, it launched an updated grant programme with an accelerated application review procedure, as well as grant competitions for developing low-cost anti-aircraft missiles, autonomous drones and scaling up the production of explosives, the Brave Students programme and university-based research centres.

“We gave a powerful boost to new solutions: AI-powered turrets, terminal guidance systems, amphibious UGV, relay drones, and Starlink-carrying drones,” the post states.

Who will become the next CEO has not yet been announced. Viktor Rudenko continues to serve as acting head of the Innovation Development Fund, which includes Brave1 and the Ukrainian Startup Fund.