Community
Kong Champions
Community is the DNA of Kong. As we continue to grow, we are committed to fostering a strong community and creating opportunities for our customers and all Kong users to interact, to learn, and to share their expertise. Kong is driven by our community, and we are devoted to helping our customers to learn, grow, and be successful.
The Kong Champions program is our way of acknowledging and celebrating customers for being our, well, champions! From special opportunities to share your expertise, to early product access – not to mention the exclusive swag – there’s a ton to be gained by joining the inner circle of Champions.

Who are our champions?
Our Champions are our top advocates who play a key role in engaging and growing Kong’s global presence. They share their expertise and passion through forum discussions, blogs, video testimonials, webinars, or speaking at events. They are the core foundation of our community.
We have Champions all around the world, representing customers of all sizes and stages, as well as representatives of our open source user community and our partner ecosystem.
Why become a champion?
Professional Development: Show off your expertise and build your brand through created content, webinars & user calls, and speaking opportunities, like at our API Summit.
First Look: Get early access to new product features and be the first to share your feedback. You’ll have the chance to shape the future of our Kong products.
Connect with Peers: Meet your fellow Kong enthusiasts from around the world to share your wins (and problem-solve your challenges). Attend exclusive Kong Champion-only events curated specifically for this group.
And yes, there will also be extra-special swag!
What are the expectations?
As a Champion, you’ll tell us about your interests, goals, and your specific areas of expertise. We’ll share opportunities for ways you can contribute, as well as the rewards and swag that you can earn through these contributions. We encourage Champions to participate in opportunities that align with their interests and availability. Here are some examples of ways you can contribute:
What are the perks?
As part of the Champions program, we offer a wide range of perks. Some of these include:
Access to a private, Champions-only group
Direct links to our Product and Engineering teams to provide feedback
Recognition for your expertise in the broader market
Connection with other Kong users and industry leaders
The opportunity to shape the future of Kong and our products
Access to exclusive, Champions-only events
The ability to earn exclusive swag

Apply to Become a Kong Champion
Want to join our global network of passionate Kong users? Apply to become a Kong Champion today.
Our review committee evaluates applications on a monthly basis.
Kong Champions
Vincent Behar
Senior Engineer, Ubisoft

Benjamin Bertow
Senior Technical Lead, Mercedes-Benz Tech Innovation

Aniket Bhat
Manager, Blue Altair

Nitya Bourdel
Tech Lead, API Management

Ervis Duraj
Principal Software Engineer, MMS Technology

Jason Ehmke
CTO, DevGrid

João Esperancinha
Software Engineer, Vereniging COIN

Alvin Estrada
Enterprise Solutions Architect, Walmart

Anderson Gama
SRE, Gama Technology

Patrick Huck
Senior Computer Systems Engineer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)

Daksh Jain
Senior SRE, Zscaler

Shishir Khandelwal
DevOps Engineer, PhysicsWallah

Soumil Khandelwal
DevOps Engineer, Zepto

Martin Kölbel
Principal Solutions Architect, Mercedes-Benz Group AG

Pablo Loschi
Principal Systems Engineer, Verve

Denis Magda
Director Developer Relations, Yugabyte

Musalannagari Manoj Kumar
DevOps Lead, MakoITLab
Daniel Matos
DevOps Engineer , Siemens

Saurabh Mishra
DevOps Lead , Global Payments

Sangameshwar Mokampalle
Analyst, Blue Altair

Guilherme Oliveira
Site Reliability Engineering L5, PicPay

Amrutha Paladugu
Kong API Engineer, Kenvue Inc

Deepanshu Pandey
Associate Staff Engineer, Nagarro

Ketaki Pandit
Senior Consultant , Blue Altair

Ludovic Pourrat
API Architect & API Catalyst

Raja Ravi Varman
Engineering Manager, CloudBees

Siddharth Saikumar
Cloud Security Engineering, Vanguard

Vishwasrao Salunkhe
Senior Product Software Engineer, Wolters Kluwer

Ayush Senapati
Software Engineer, Maersk

Aakash Sengupta
Senior API Developer , IDFC FIRST BANK

Mert Simsek
Senior Software Engineer, Beyn Tech

Gursimar Singh
Consultant, Independent

Aleksandr Skubi
IT Architect, Enefit

Alexander Suchier
Senior Managing Technical Consultant, NTT DATA Deutschland

Ragunath Sudalaimuthu
Senior Digital Engineer, CVSHealth

Akhil Sukhnani
Platform Engineer , Netskope

Madan Thangavelu
Sr.Director of Engineering, Uber

Avinash Upadhyaya
Senior Consultant, Platformatory

John Williams S P
Technology Architect, Accenture

Adam Zareba
Senior Software Engineer, Raiffeisen Bank International AG