Taking the first step...

Today started like any other… Woke up, brewed coffee, and sat down at my desk in my home office to begin the work day at 9am. However, today was no ordinary day.

Today, I embarked on a new path as a Principal Solutions Architect for Triumph Technology Solutions .

I am thrilled for the opportunity to join the Triumph team! Triumph is an Advanced Tier AWS Consulting Partner, and this role will allow me to flex both my technical breadth and depth. I am looking forward to applying my experience to help customers realize their own disruptive and transformative potential.

The hardest part of any journey is taking that first step.

While change is new and exciting, it is not easy to leave behind something that you have truly loved. Arriving at the decision to leave was very difficult and weighed on me heavily. I will be forever grateful for my 5 1/2 year tenure at AWS. It has grown me tremendously – both personally and professionally. Taking the first step down a new path is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.

A look in the rearview mirror

If you try to move ahead while staring in the rearview mirror you will never enjoy what is right in front of you. In the end, I have no regrets regarding my decision. From time to time though it is therapeutic to take a quick glance in the rearview mirror to see where you have been, and how it has prepared you for where you are going.

My time at AWS was simply incredible. Here are some of the highlights that I can share.

Recognition and awards

I had the honor and privilege of being recognized for some of my accomplishments while at AWS.

TAM of the year award for technical expertise & development (2018)

The Technical Account Manager (TAM) of the year award is presented to a selection of TAMs across various categories. I am honored to have received this recognition of my technical expertise and ongoing pursuit of knowledge. The Learn and Be Curious leadership principle has always been on the forefront of my mind.

Mike Culver award (Q3, 2018)

This could easily be my most treasured moment throughout my entire professional career. The Mike Culver award is an AWS-wide recognition to an individual that has demonstrated outstanding Customer Obsession.

To this day I feel very honored to have received this award, presented on stage by Andy Jassy himself!

Team of the year award, Worldwide Commercial Operations (2019)

Teamwork makes the dream work! I am blessed to have been a part of this dream team. I miss these folks every single day. We accomplished many great things in a small amount of time. All while remaining Customer Obsessed, Earning Trust, and Delivering Results. I learned so much while working with these individuals. It was great to see the entire team gain recognition for all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this achievement.

Lifelong friends

One of the best parts of my AWS journey was serving customers alongside my lifelong friend, Ryan. I first met Ryan in my high school years, and both graduated from the same very small school in the middle of nowhere. Who would have ever thought we would end up at AWS together as a TAM partner pairing?!

A highlight for both of us, we delivered a breakout session at re:Invent in 2017 titled, “Getting from Here to There - A Journey from On-premises to Serverless”. The talk focused on how to migrate from traditional on-premises systems to an AWS EC2 / VPC architecture, and finally, from the EC2 / VPC architecture to Serverless. We delivered this talk in one of the largest spaces in the Venetian!

Ryan and I worked together for 4 1/2 years of my time at AWS. We advocated fiercely on the behalf of our customers and had a lot of fun along the way.

I am forever grateful for this time and am confident our paths will continue to cross in the future!

Giving back

The last 1 1/2 year of my tenure at AWS allowed me to give back to the AWS Certification programs that have helped me so much throughout my entire career. I transferred into a new role within the AWS Training & Certification organization, serving as a Sr. Certification Technical Architect.

Certifications have motivated me to obtain and validate the necessary skills and knowledge required to continue serving all customers at a very high level. I had an amazing time working with Subject Matter Experts who are the actual authors of exam content, and met so many talented individuals – each with a unique perspective and a diverse set of skills. These individuals are absolutely invaluable to the success of the certification program as a whole.

While on this team, I met so many amazing individuals who are all absolute rock stars. There are many unsung hereos of this group that deserve much more recognition than they receive. Everyone is truly passionate about certification as a whole, and everyone strives to Deliver Results while Insisting on the Highest Standards.

This group was my last stop at AWS. I will always remember each and every one of you, and you all have a special place in my heart.

I hope to continue contributing back to the programs from this side of the table as a Subject Matter Expert (SME)!

Eyes on the road

Now it is time to focus back on the path ahead. I must keep my eyes on the road in order to continue my professional growth journey. That said, I will never forget where I came from, the experiences I had, or how important it is to continue to Learn and Be Curious.

To all of you that have taken a chance on me, mentored me, served with me, inspired me, or befriended me when I needed it the most, I will always be sincerely grateful and appreciative of every moment past, present, or future.

You never know when or where our paths may cross again…