The AWS Summit 2025, held in Washington, D.C., was a major global gathering in the cloud computing industry with over 14,200 participants. The event convened a cross-section of technology professionals, corporate executives, public sector leaders, and researchers to explore the evolving landscape of cloud innovation and its impact on digital transformation across industries.
In the keynote event, Dave Levy, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services (AWS), outlined the evolving role of cloud technologies in national security, healthcare, and economic resilience. A notable announcement during the session was the planned launch of the AWS Secret-West Region by the end of 2025, a classified cloud region designed to support U.S. government workloads up to the Secret classification level.
The summit also featured insights from renowned leaders, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Dr. Aneaze Offodil of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Pearson CEO Omar Abbosh. They spoke on the growing impact of cloud and AI on public services and the need for secure, scalable infrastructure.
Among the most anticipated moments of the summit was the first-ever formal presentation of the prestigious AWS Golden Jacket. This award has been conferred so rarely that speculation grew around who qualified, how it was awarded, and whether it remained active at all. At AWS Summit 2025, the Golden Jacket moved from its quiet reputation to formal recognition. AWS recognized individuals who had achieved technical mastery and made lasting contributions to the cloud industry through subject-matter expertise, mentorship, and the development of technical solutions with global impact.
One of the individuals officially honoured was Harshvardhan Chunawala, an engineering technologist and cybersecurity researcher, who received the Golden Jacket after completing all twelve active AWS certifications, along with ongoing contributions to cloud security, education, and space. With over a decade of experience, he has helped build secure cloud infrastructure for enterprises, startups, and research institutions across sectors including finance, healthcare, and media.
As an AWS Authorized Educator, he teaches cloud computing and cybersecurity, and has trained more than a thousand students across three continents, supporting the broader adoption of secure and scalable cloud practices. He has also led academic initiatives at Carnegie Mellon University, where he contributed to the Carnegie Mellon Mission Control and served as a Mission Operator for the Iris Lunar Rover, the first university-built lunar payload launched in the United States in January 2024. During the ceremony, Chunawala wore a MoonRanger t-shirt, referencing Carnegie Mellon’s continued lunar exploration efforts and his work at the intersection of cloud security and space systems.
The Golden Jacket’s appearance on stage at AWS Summit 2025 marked a shift in how long-term achievement in cloud computing is acknowledged. Once known mainly within internal circles, the distinction is awarded to those who have earned all active AWS certifications and demonstrated sustained contributions through mentorship, technical advancement, and community involvement. With few recipients named and no set cadence for future awards, it remains one of the rarest and most selective distinctions in the global cloud ecosystem.