Hey Cloud Community!
I’m so excited to connect with you as your new Cloud Community Manager! I’ve had the chance to meet some of you at TechXchange 2024, and for those I haven’t met yet, I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better and meeting you in person at TechXchange 2025 in Orlando! This year, we’re welcoming an amazing group of 1,400+ champions, including 58 incredible Cloud champions. Whether you’re a familiar face or a new champion, I know this year will be packed with opportunities to learn, collaborate, and make a big impact together.
Shining a spotlight on our few returning Champions:
I’d love to take a moment to highlight some of our returning champions who’ve been leading the way:
- Nitin Chavan: A Cloud leader with IBM and Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Center of Excellence at Capgemini Financial Services, Nitin helps customers on their hybrid cloud journey, focusing on IBM and Red Hat ecosystems, including Z modernization.
- Matthias Heicke: Co-Founder and CTO of Sweap, a Berlin-based SaaS event management company, Matthias blends traditional technologies like Java with modern solutions like Kubernetes, IBM Cloud, and serverless, creating scalable and maintainable systems.
- Arne Hirschfeld: A system engineer at SVA, Arne works with both technical and sales teams to deliver IBM Cloud solutions and expertise to customers.
Introducing our few new Champions:
Now, let’s give a warm welcome to a few of our new champions!
- Ilene Seelemann: A Cloud Solutions Architect with 30 years of experience, Ilene specializes in guiding regulated industries with complex security and compliance needs for IBM Cloud deployments.
- Jeff Swartz: With over 25 years of experience providing unbiased technology solutions, Jeff brings his expertise in solution selling to help enterprise customers.
- Carlos Tolon: As a Product Manager at Sysdig for IBM Cloud, Carlos helps integrate products and support customers in building their monitoring and security architecture.
A few helpful links to keep you engaged:
As we continue this journey together, there are some great resources to keep you informed:
A big Thank You to all of you:
Before I wrap up, I just want to send out a huge thank you to every single one of you in this community. Your passion, dedication, and hard work are what make this space so special. Whether you’re a returning champion or just starting your journey with us, I’m so grateful for everything you do.
Here’s to an exciting year ahead—let’s keep learning, growing, and making an impact together!
Thank you all so much!
Warm regards,
Medha Parekh
Cloud Community Manager