AWS Names 4 New Heroes for May 2026

Key Takeaways

• Three of four new AWS Heroes recognized for AI expertise
• Two new heroes lead Argentina's largest AWS community with 2,400 members
• Italy's Damiano Giorgi built a Bedrock-powered tool to help navigate AWS re:Invent sessions

AWS announced four new additions to its Heroes program this week. The group includes cloud architects and community organizers from three countries, with artificial intelligence emerging as the dominant specialty. Three of the four received the AI Hero designation.

The AWS Heroes program recognizes individuals who share AWS knowledge through blogs, events, open source projects, and community organizing. It is not a certification or employment relationship. Heroes earn the title by consistently helping other builders learn the platform.

Damiano Giorgi: Italy's AI Hero

Damiano Giorgi, based in Pavia, Italy, earned the Artificial Intelligence Hero title. He works as a Cloud Solutions Architect and made the jump from on-premises systems engineering to AWS. He now helps organize both the AWS User Group Pavia and AWS User Group Milan.

Giorgi built a tool called the "Unofficial post:Invent Session Suggester" using Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Nova. The tool helps attendees find re:Invent sessions that match their interests. He shares technical content on his blog, "Bass and Bytes," and speaks at conferences across Europe, including AWS Summit Milan and AWS Community Days in Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and the Adriatic region.

Darryl Ruggles: Canada's Serverless Hero

Darryl Ruggles, based in Ottawa, Canada, is the only non-AI Hero in this cohort. He earned the Serverless Hero designation after years of work as a software developer turned Cloud Solutions Architect.

Ruggles focuses on serverless architectures, containers, AI/ML, and FinOps. He shares knowledge through his blog, LinkedIn, and published projects. He participates in the "Believe In Serverless" community and attends both online and in-person AWS events.

Ricardo Daniel Ceci: Argentina's Community Leader

Ricardo Daniel Ceci leads the AWS User Group Buenos Aires, which AWS describes as Argentina's largest AWS community with nearly 2,400 members. He serves as principal organizer of AWS Community Day Argentina and was named AWS Community Leader of the Year 2025 for Latin America.

Ceci hosts a podcast featuring cloud experts, AWS Heroes, and developer advocates from across Latin America. He has over fifteen years of experience in cloud and web development. His focus is on helping Spanish-speaking builders access cloud and AI resources.

Matias Kreder: From DeepRacer to Hero

Matias Kreder, also from Buenos Aires, took a different path to the AI Hero title. He started with AWS DeepRacer, the company's autonomous racing league, and qualified as a finalist three times. That experience led him to organize racing events and machine learning talks across the region.

Kreder works as an AWS Certification Subject Matter Expert (SME) and contributed to multiple AI/ML certifications, including the AWS Certified AI Practitioner exam. He co-leads the AWS User Group Buenos Aires with Ceci and helped organize AWS Community Day Argentina 2025.

The AI Trend in This Cohort

Three AI Heroes and one Serverless Hero reflects where AWS community attention has shifted. Bedrock, Nova, and the AI Practitioner certification all appeared in 2024 and 2025. The Heroes program now recognizes builders who help others learn these newer services.

The geographic distribution also stands out. Two of four new Heroes come from Buenos Aires, which suggests growing momentum in the Latin American AWS community. Ceci's 2,400-member user group and his 2025 Community Leader of the Year award support that picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an AWS Hero?

AWS Heroes are community members recognized for sharing AWS knowledge through blogs, events, open source projects, and community organizing. It is not an employment relationship or certification.

How many AWS Hero categories exist?

AWS has multiple Hero categories including Artificial Intelligence Hero, Serverless Hero, Machine Learning Hero, Community Hero, and others based on specialty areas.

Who are the new AWS Heroes for May 2026?

The four new Heroes are Damiano Giorgi (Italy, AI), Darryl Ruggles (Canada, Serverless), Ricardo Daniel Ceci (Argentina, AI), and Matias Kreder (Argentina, AI).

How do you become an AWS Hero?

AWS Heroes are nominated and selected based on their community contributions. There is no application process. AWS looks for consistent knowledge sharing through blogs, speaking, open source, and community organizing.

Source: AWS News Blog