I'm Joining the Google Cloud Team!

A couple of months ago, I reflected on "10 Amazing Years of Ubuntu and Canonical".  Indeed, it has been one hell of a ride, and that post is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg...

The people I've met, the things I've learned, the places I've been, the users I've helped, the partners I've enabled, the customers I've served -- these are undoubtedly the most amazing and cherished experiences of my professional career to date.

And for the first time in my life, I can fully and completely grok the Ubuntu philosophy:

I am who I am, because of who we all are

With all my heart, I love what we've created in Ubuntu, I love the products that we've built at Canonical, I love each and every person involved.

So, it is with mixed emotion that the Canonical chapter of my life comes to a close and a new one begins...

Next week, I have the honor and privilege to join the Google Cloud product management team, and work beside so, so, so, so many people who continue to inspire me.

Words fail to express how excited I am about this opportunity!  In this new role, I will be working closely with Aparna Sinha, Michael Rubin, and Tim Hockin, and I hope to see many of you at KubeCon Europe in Copenhagen later this month.

My friends and family will be happy to know that we're staying here in Austin, and I'll be working from the Google Austin office with my new team, largely based in Sunnyvale, California.

The Ubuntu community can expect to see me remaining active in the Ubuntu developer community as a Core Dev and a MOTU, and I will continue to maintain many of the dozens of open source projects and packages that so many of you have come to rely upon.  Perhaps I'll even become more active upstream in Debian, if the Debian community will have me there too :-)

Finally, an enormous THANK YOU to everyone who has made this journey through Ubuntu and Canonical such a warm, rewarding, emotional, exceptional experience!

Cheers,
@DustinKirkland