CITI 2025 Year in Review: A Letter by CITI CEO, Zachary Novak

Dear CITIzens and supporters,

As I sit here reflecting on 2025, I can’t help but think back to last year’s letter, when I shared that our intention for this year would be “Intention.”
The year before had been one of remarkable growth, and I wrote:

“We want CITI to continue being a place where you don’t just grow for the next step, but where you build a foundation for a lifetime of success. This means deepening relationships through peer groups, creating tools and sprints to empower intentional growth, and introducing a new tier of CITI focused on professional development within organizations.”

So… what did intention look like in 2025?

A Year of Intentional Building

This year, we focused less on speed and more on substance. Instead of adding more for the sake of more, we asked:

What will truly support our members in advancing meaningful careers?
And that question guided everything we built.

What we did this year; 

- We launched career-focused groups in areas like product and data, each led by ambassadors who now host weekly Tuesday group chats, spaces designed for consistency, connection, and thoughtful conversation.

- We expanded our in-person presence, hosting large events in Vancouver and Toronto, growing our Tech Talent Tuesday series, and even running our first-ever Hackathon, a milestone that still makes me smile when I think about the energy in that room.

- We introduced member applications, welcoming those who join CITI not for transactional networking but for intentional, long-term career development.

- We piloted CITI Advance, a new offering for experienced professionals seeking deeper conversations about career advancement.

- We built a new onboarding process, which consists of tools like our streamlined onboarding, the Career Worksheet, and the Networking for Success tool, each created to help members gain clarity, direction, and confidence as they join the community.

- We launched Peer Circles, monthly groups that bring together professionals in similar roles to get unstuck, stay accountable, and grow together.

And we welcomed incredible new team members, Cat, Christy, Elsie, and Kemi, each of whom has brought fresh energy, perspective, and support as we go to the next phase at  CITI.

But perhaps the most important thing we did this year was something far less visible:

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We slowed down.

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We shifted from gear six to gear two, giving ourselves the room to reflect on 2 key things;  - where CITI has come from and where it's going next.

A Shift Away From Metrics, Toward Meaning

Last year’s letter focused heavily on our numbers. This year however, the story isn’t in the metrics.

It’s in the clarity we gained about who we serve, what our members truly need, and the future we’re building together.

When we first started CITI in 2021, our work centered around helping people find their place in tech, providing guidance in roles that aligned with their strengths, values, and purpose. And we’ve helped over 450 professionals do exactly that.

But CITI was never meant to end at the job offer.​
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Our vision was always long-term support, ongoing relationships, community, and continuous growth. But as we grew, something unexpected happened: more people started joining with short-term, transactional goals.

We began to see a pattern, members who achieved a finite goal within a short term would move on. However, our most dedicated, long-standing members, those who have been with us for five years, told us clearly; They were here to learn and grow together, far beyond the hiring conversation.

So we listened.
We conducted discovery interviews, spoke deeply with our members, and uncovered the heart of what keeps people in CITI, which is:
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​Meaningful growth, meaningful relationships, meaningful careers.

These insights we gathered has shifted our focus towards CITI’s next direction, what we call:

CITI 3.0

In 2026, we are stepping into a bold new chapter that is focused on delivering value for the 1% of experienced tech professionals who are intentional, who want to show up authentically, advancing in their careers with a community that cares just as much about their growth as they do.

if this sounds like you, I'd like to invite you on this journey with us at CITI, where we go together into 2026 filled with intention, impact, purpose, and genuine connection with like minded people.

Join CITI HERE

In Closing

Before I end this letter, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Thank you for trusting us with your growth, your time, and your aspirations.
Thank you for inspiring us every single day to show up for you in ways that matter to you.

CITI is what it is because of people like you. I cannot wait to see what we’ll build together in 2026.

Together on the journey,

Zachary Novak