My journey with the OpenStack project has been a very rewarding one. I have had the good fortune of meeting some wonderful people and being part of a very dynamic and vibrant community. I am the founder and the lead organiser of the OpenStack Indian User Group. I am also an OpenStack Ambassador, one of 10 people around the world nominated into the post by the OpenStack Foundation. I take these roles very seriously and do my best to live up to responsibilities that come with them.
The community has been kind enough to nominate me as a candidate for this years Board of Directors Election. This is a great honour for me and a very humbling experience. I would welcome the opportunity to represent my community and my region at the Board of Directors. I feel that the Asian region generally, and India specifically, are very under represented. More than 30% of the use cases for OpenStack and almost 50% of the users come from Asia. India has the third largest user community and the fastest growing user community in the OpenStack ecosystem. I think it is high time the region got represented on the OpenStack Board of Directors.This would increase the diversity of the Board and make it more representative of the community, thereby bringing balance to its perspective.
I would also welcome the opportunity to represent Asia and India. If elected, I would encourage the growth of OpenStack in our region. I have helped and mentored the growth of several user groups. The events and meetups I have organised in the past have led to many professionals and students getting the exposure they need to accelerate their careers. I would like to bring the limelight on the burgeoning startup scene in India and help create an environment of creativity and innovation. I have a vision for India as a Centre of Innovation developing and commercialising intellectual property, rather than an offshoring destination. I feel that the voice of the users, developers, operators from outside of the North American region needs to be heard on the Board. I would welcome the opportunity to be that voice. I aim to increase the voice of OpenStack customers, developers and operators worldwide, particularly in Asia, through my candidacy.
Finally, I would also like to remind the voters that this is an election of the directors selected from amongst the individual members. Most of the companies that support the OpenStack Foundation have already or are in the process of voting in Board members along company lines to represent their interests. I would urge the voters to not vote for their employers but to vote in true democratic fashion: for who they think would best represent the interest of the individual members and their region.
Thanks
Kavit Munshi
