After nearly 12 years, my journey with Akkodis (formerly Ajilon) has come to an end
When I joined the organisation in 2014, I was the only team member holding an AWS certification. My first assignment was supporting the delivery of the Landgate Land Registry as a Service (LRaaS) project—a pioneering cloud-native platform that transformed land registry services through transaction automation and cloud migration.
I couldn’t have imagined where that opportunity would lead.
At the time, AWS offered just a single certification. As a former AWS Solutions Architect, I was fortunate to be part of the first cohort at AWS to achieve that certification. More than thirteen years later, I have maintained continuous AWS certification and remain one of the world’s longest continuously AWS-certified professionals.
Over the following decade, I had the privilege of helping build Akkodis’ AWS capability from a single cloud specialist into a globally recognised AWS practice spanning more than 10 countries and supporting over 1,600 cloud professionals.
Alongside leading the global AWS practice, I also served as the Global AWS Alliance Lead, managing the AWS partnership for a business with more than €3.7 billion (US$4 billion, AU$6 billion) in annual revenue. More recently, I had the opportunity to mentor global practice leaders across our AWS, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Support and Microsoft Cloud businesses, supporting a professional community of more than 5,000 specialists.
Looking back, one aspect I’m especially proud of is that much of this was achieved while working remotely from Australia, with a remarkably lean operating budget. It reinforced my belief that great leadership is measured by influence, collaboration and outcomes—not geography or organisational size.
Throughout my career, I have believed that leadership is about enabling others to succeed.
Whether it was developing global enablement programs, promoting certification, creating technical content, mentoring practice leaders, strengthening partnerships, or helping shape strategy across multiple regions, my focus was always the same: creating opportunities for others to grow.
There was never a large global AWS office behind these initiatives. From building practice collateral and case studies to certification programs, knowledge sharing, community engagement, partnership management and external practice development, these responsibilities were part of a role I was proud to build and continuously evolve.
Serving as the Global AWS Alliance Lead also provided a front-row seat to the evolution of the AWS Partner Network. I’ve seen partner programs introduced, refined and retired, but one principle remained constant: partnerships are most valuable when they create opportunities for people.
The AWS partnership was not simply about competencies, designations or rankings. It was about recognising the incredible engineers, architects, developers, analysts, testers and consultants whose expertise delivered outstanding outcomes for our clients every day.
To every client who trusted me and our teams—thank you.
To the practice leaders around the world who collaborated so generously—thank you.
To our marketing teams who helped showcase our capabilities—thank you.
And to every engineer, architect, developer, analyst, tester and consultant I had the privilege of working alongside, thank you. Your commitment to learning, innovation and technical excellence helped position Akkodis among the Top 100 AWS Partners worldwide by count of concurrent AWS certifications. That achievement belongs to you.
As many people know, I’ve always believed in leading by example. Only a few weeks ago I completed another round of AWS recertifications, with more planned later this year. Continuous learning has always been central to my career, and I hope it’s something I’ve encouraged in others as well. I remain with 9 active AWS certifications.
So, what’s next?
For now, I’m taking some time to reflect, recharge and consider the next chapter.
I’ll continue to be based primarily in Perth while remaining available for AWS advisory, consulting and professional services engagements.
Over the past two decades I’ve helped organisations across enterprise, government and highly regulated industries develop cloud strategies, modernise platforms, strengthen security, build partnerships and deliver complex transformations. I’m looking forward to continuing that work through Nephology, providing independent, client-first AWS consulting.
If you’re looking for strategic cloud leadership, executive advisory services or deep AWS expertise, I’d be delighted to connect.
? https://www.nephology.net.au
I’ve also always encouraged the people I’ve mentored to continuously invest in themselves. One initiative I’ve championed is the Cloud Resume Challenge. Rather than simply recommending it, I completed it myself because I believe leaders should demonstrate the behaviours they encourage in others.
You can view my Cloud Resume Challenge CV here:
? https://cv.jamesbromberger.com
Finally, many people have asked whether I’m hiring.
Not just yet…
On va voir.