The Road to Becoming an Adobe Champion

History

I’ve been involved with the Adobe ecosystem since 2009, when Day Software was acquired by Adobe. I can remember sitting in a meeting with the agency I worked at, and getting a demo of CQ 5.5, which was wildly and vastly different from other Content Management Systems I was used to implementing at the time (think legacy systems like TeamSite or Documentum). But Adobe was so willing to teach the ins and outs of the platform, and I was so willing for us to ramp up on its capabilities to the point that it was almost shocking. That was fascinating to me. As a developer, practitioner, and eventually an architect of this new and novel platform, I was hooked.

The Value of Community

AEM is part of a vast ecosystem that has seen a number of evolutions over the years. Those evolutions brought their own challenges, and surely they weren’t unique. I knew there had to be a way to gain and share knowledge, findings, and best practices with other like-minded professionals. After getting more involved with discussions at various conferences and events, I wanted to be a more permanent part of those conversations with others.

Being a co-host in the AEM User Group Community for the past 4+ years has proven that so many insights are born right from thoughtful conversations and open collaboration, and that’s what makes the community so special. Not to mention it’s a fun and uplifting group, never tiring from “talk shop” conversations. There is immense value in connecting with peers who speak the same technical language. Ultimately, these peer-to-peer conversations directly elevate the quality of the solutions we deliver to our clients.

Shaping the Tools of Tomorrow

Being an Adobe Champion is not only about using the platform, but also about defining what goes into it. With my background in Photography, I was stoked when I was able to participate in one of several beta programs, this particular one for Content Automation which brings Creative Cloud functionality to AEM as a Cloud Service. The opportunity to step into early-stage development gave me the ability not only to shape the platform but also to inform what was useful and what wasn't for thousands of customers... that's a big deal!

For me, that kind of feedback loop is where community, leadership, and product direction intersect. You’re not just learning from the ecosystem—you’re helping steer it, so the features and patterns that land in the platform better match how people actually build and ship work at scale.

Engineering for the Agentic Web

Being a leader means forward thinking. As AI-driven use cases have made their way into practically all of the ways we do our work, it's become even more important to stay on top of these trends, know what to look out for, and ensure our customers know how to follow best practices. To name just a few: Ensure a solid GEO strategy, optimize content for machine consumption, and produce content responsibly with proper controls.

A Champion actively explores these frontiers, and utilizing tools and sandboxes like the AEM Playground for agentic capabilities helps with these explorations. Leveraging the generative features of GenStudio for Performance Marketing, and managing brand consistency via the AEM Governance agent has provoked a number of use cases that we take to market, prove with our customers, and share with the broader community.

As I discussed during my Adobe Summit 2026 AMA session, "Preparing Content, Commerce, and Brand Discoverability for the Agentic Web," modern architecture must prioritize how AI bots consume and interpret brand data. As Tom Cranstoun mentions as the Convergence Principle in his MX Handbook, "Interfaces optimized for machines inherently improve experiences for humans." This becomes increasingly important as AI bot traffic overtakes human traffic.

The Power of Enablement

Since early in my career, freely sharing knowledge has been a part of my DNA. And it doesn’t matter whether it was a technical breakthrough or another “aha” moment, a strategic best practice or a simple tip. Sharing is caring! I don’t believe in hoarding expertise…when we openly share what we know, we collectively elevate our work, become better partners and advocates, and accelerate our long-term career growth.

But as much as I love learning from others, the real reward is in teaching. I’ve made it a point to ensure everyone is able to join the conversation via whatever channel is available. Whether it’s giving a demo to a large group or walking through a process with someone one-on-one, it is always gratifying to see the lightbulb-turning-on moment when a complex concept finally clicks. To me, that is the definition of success.