Tag: 3BL

AEG’s LA Galaxy, six-time MLS Cup champion, was honored as the 2025 Marisa Colaiano Community Impact Club of the Year by Major League Soccer, recognizing the Club’s deep and ongoing commitment to the Los Angeles community. The honor was announced as part of Major League Soccer’s 2025 Mark Abbott MLS Club Business Awards.

The award was voted on by all 30 MLS clubs, with finalists subsequently reviewed by a league panel of judges to determine the winner based on each club’s overall community contributions.

“The LA Galaxy is proud to be deeply rooted in Los Angeles, and winning MLS’s Community Impact Club of the Year meant so much to us,” said Tom Braun, President and Chief Operating Officer of the LA Galaxy. “Our community and foundation efforts were driven by our values, and this recognition reinforced our commitment to creating lasting impact in our city and across Southern California.”

Throughout 2025, the LA Galaxy made a measurable difference through service, partnerships, and purpose-driven programming. The Club logged more than 800 volunteer hours from players, staff, and alumni, contributed $2 million in monetary and in-kind donations to support inclusion, health, and education initiatives, and redeemed more than 4,000 pounds of recyclables through California Redemption Value to provide new equipment for youth. In addition, the Galaxy supported 56 community organizations and served more than 5,000 youth through development programs. A comprehensive overview of these efforts will be included in the Club’s 2025 annual report, expected in January 2026.

At the heart of the Galaxy’s community mission was the goal of creating safe, inclusive spaces for people of all ages and backgrounds to access and enjoy the game of soccer. The MLS recognition highlighted the Club’s wildfire relief efforts, as well as longstanding programs such as the LA Galaxy Special Olympics Unified Team, Protect the Pitch, Kick Childhood Cancer, Rising Stars, and other initiatives.

Here is a snapshot of the Club’s impact:

Wildfire Relief Efforts: In January 2025, a series of destructive wildfires swept through Southern California, impacting many Galaxy fans and communities across Los Angeles. In response, the LA Galaxy and the LA Galaxy Foundation mobilized immediately, providing financial assistance, organizing a supply drive, supporting localized community service projects, and committing to recovery efforts that continued throughout the year.

LA Galaxy Special Olympics Unified Team: The LA Galaxy Special Olympics Unified Team, presented by Herbalife, concluded its 2025 season with an unbeaten record. The program brought athletes and partners together for a full professional-style experience, including a signing day, media day, nutrition training, competitive matches, and an end-of-season banquet. The team also traveled to Miami to face the Special Olympics Unified team at Inter Miami’s first-team practice facility, further expanding opportunities for inclusive competition.

Ongoing Community Programming and Support: Rooted in one of the most diverse cities in the world, the Galaxy continued to honor the cultures and experiences of its fans, staff, and players through heritage celebrations, including Central American, Mexican American, and Armenian Heritage Nights, among others.

During the year, longtime community partner Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) identified a need for additional support for the families it serves. The LA Galaxy responded by providing assistance and amplifying CARECEN’s mission during its annual Central American Heritage Night match.

Through the Community Partner of the Match program, the Club provided financial support and recognition to at least 17 nonprofits per season. In 2025, the Galaxy also activated relationships with partners such as Herbalife, Dignity Health, City National Bank, Yaamava, and others to advance wildfire relief efforts, build mini pitches to expand youth access to soccer, and support a wide range of community initiatives.

The LA Galaxy’s community relations and foundation efforts were guided by three core pillars: Youth Sports, focused on growing the game through access and opportunity; Health & Wellness, using soccer to promote physical activity and healthy development; and Inclusion, leveraging the sport’s power to unite people of all backgrounds through programming and access to the game.

Together, these efforts underscored why the LA Galaxy was recognized by Major League Soccer as the 2025 Community Impact Club of the Year.

For the first time ever, Lenovo’s annual global innovation event, Tech World, will take center stage at Sphere in Las Vegas on the opening day of CES® 2026. Lenovo is not simply presenting its technology and vision at the keynote at Sphere, but as An Official Technology Partner of Sphere Studios, it is Lenovo’s own technology helping power the creation of the content and the production itself. Lenovo’s high-performance workstations and infrastructure platforms are integrated into Sphere Studios’ production workflows and operations, supporting Sphere’s immersive content creation and showcasing Lenovo’s end-to-end capabilities.

Out-of-this-world experiences

Sphere is a truly unique entertainment venue. Standing 366 feet high and 516 feet wide to the east of the Las Vegas Strip, it’s the largest spherical structure on Earth. In fact, Sphere—and the 1.2 million LED tiles that light up its exterior—can be seen from space.

Both the exterior LEDs and the floor-to-ceiling, 16K resolution wraparound screens inside are fully programmable. Known as “the Exosphere,” the 360-degree digital display—along with an immersive sound system, 4D wind, temperature and scent effects, and haptic vibrating seats—offers audiences an immersive experience like no other.

Sphere (NYSE: SPHR) is a leader in live entertainment that showcases a broad array of sporting events, concerts, family shows, and more for millions of guests annually.

Much-needed processing power

Lenovo was chosen as the infrastructure provider to support content creation for Sphere and drive the custom image processing software.

Hundreds of Lenovo ThinkSystem SR655 V3 servers, powered by AMD EPYC™ processors and NVIDIA A40 GPUs, are used to develop and test original content and immersive experiences. AMD EPYC processors offer up to 128 PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 lanes, which is crucial for multi-GPU systems. Each GPU requires significant bandwidth, and the more GPUs connected, the more PCIe lanes are required. AMD EPYC processors ensure that even in systems with many GPUs, there is enough PCIe bandwidth to avoid bottlenecks —making the Lenovo ThinkSystem servers the ideal blend of performance and efficiency to render cutting-edge visuals for Sphere.¹

Choosing the right technologies

Lenovo’s strong technology partnerships with AMD and NVIDIA were an important selling point for Sphere. The combination of AMD EPYC processors and NVIDIA accelerated computing makes the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR655 a powerful and versatile server.

To enable robust networking connectivity for media streaming, NVIDIA BlueField DPUs and NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx NICs — along with the NVIDIA DOCA Firefly Service and NVIDIA Rivermax software were used — ensuring that all the display panels act as one synchronized canvas.

Lenovo, AMD, and NVIDIA collaborated closely to strategize on the best combination of products for Sphere Studios’ use case, which ultimately delivered the optimal combination of price and performance.

In order to keep the project on schedule, the Lenovo team needed to meet very aggressive delivery timelines for the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR655 servers, including a two-day deadline for an initial test system. Lenovo coordinated with AMD and NVIDIA to ensure all the components were on site and assembled, ready for the Sphere team to test the server on schedule, demonstrating the company’s commitment to the project’s success while providing outstanding service and product performance.

Putting the plan into action

Sphere Studios in Burbank uses 420 ThinkSystem SR655 and SR665 V3 servers.

Thanks to its globally engineered supply chain, ranked 8th in the world by Gartner, Lenovo was able to deliver 50 servers per week to Sphere Studios for six weeks straight to fulfill the initial order of 300 servers in 2022. Lenovo’s technical team helped Sphere Studios to set up a remote management environment utilizing Lenovo XClarity One software.² Additional server orders to further grow the environment came in subsequent years.

Wowing audiences

Today, the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR655 V3 servers help Sphere Studios to render extremely high-resolution video content rapidly—from the immersive concert film for the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency to the awe-inspiring visuals for Darren Aronofsky’s multi-sensory cinematic experience, Postcard From Earth.

Lenovo, AMD, and NVIDIA technology also enable Sphere Studios to create thematic content and immersive experiences for sporting events. Sphere hosted the Riyadh Season Noche UFC fight and the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft™. Other entertainment at Sphere includes concerts such as Back Street Boys, Eagles, Kenny Chesney, and a re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz. Sports and entertainment will never be the same again.

Click here to see the upcoming shows and events at Sphere. To learn more about Lenovo’s partnership with the MSG Family of Companies, click here.

¹ The SR655 supports up to 6 single-wide GPUs, making it ideal for AI inference, virtualized desktop infrastructure (VDI), and other GPU-intensive applications.
² Lenovo XClarity Administrator provides robust system management capabilities, allowing for efficient monitoring and handling of hardware alerts and events.

As society evolves in step with rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), computational thinking skills are gaining more attention as an important driver of future career success.

What is computational thinking?
Computational thinking is a problem-solving process. It involves breaking down complex issues into manageable parts, recognizing patterns, and developing step-by-step solutions like those that could be implemented through the computer programming process. It encompasses concepts including logical reasoning, abstraction and algorithmic thinking.

While AI can be used to help solve problems and even generate computer programs, AI does not replace the need for computational thinking. These skills actually become more important in the age of AI.

According to experts from TCS Ignite My Future, Tata Consultancy Services’ professional development program for educators, computational thinking skills are critical to student success after they graduate. They believe computational thinking strengthens critical thinking abilities, boosts confidence in problem solving, and prepares young people to better adapt to a rapidly changing, technology-driven world. As a program, Ignite My Future is dedicated to empowering teachers with free resources to incorporate computational thinking into their classrooms and core school subjects, but families can also reinforce these skills at home.

Why it’s important
“Creating an AI-ready workforce is a high priority in every industry, and students and young professionals with computational thinking skills will be far ahead of their peers in tomorrow’s workforce,” says Kelli Recher, TCS Ignite My Future Global Innovation Lead. “If we can teach those skills early, the next generation will be better able to use AI responsibly, identify and solve problems, and help shape the technology as it continues to develop.”

Reports reveal a more competitive technology job market than ever before and educational institutions at all levels are reorganizing around how to teach students about computer science in the AI age.

Schools in countries such as China, Finland, and South Korea are already implementing AI to support student learning. In addition, all over the world, collaboratives, coalitions and conferences are convening universities, researchers and other stakeholders to determine the best ways to teach and manage AI. In the U.S., efforts led by the White House Task Force on AI Education are promoting Al literacy and proficiency among America’s youth and educators. Similar government planning for AI education is happening around the globe.

No special skills needed
Knowing parents are busy and don’t always see themselves as teachers of such subjects, TCS Ignite My Future suggests they encourage their children to explore patterns in everyday things. It’s an easy way for parents to teach these critical skills. For instance:

• Traffic signals: Demonstrate that patterns are practical and useful by observing traffic signals in the neighborhood.
  • By sitting with you near a busy corner with a traffic light, kids can learn that green, yellow and red have different meanings, are timed to control traffic in certain ways and that they always follow a specific sequence. These are things you can let younger kids discover through observation or encourage older kids to time and record at different times of day.
• Arts and Crafts: Help children discover patterns in drawings, paintings or crafts, whether they are creating the artwork themselves or observing color and shape patterns in works of art created by others.
  • Parents can give kids a start by creating a simple bracelet pattern on a string with colored beads and asking them to replicate it. This will enhance their visual pattern recognition skills and their fine motor skills.
• Dance: Learning how to do specific or choreographed dances is another great way to develop computational thinking skills because dance is all about pattern development.
  • Learning a dance enhances all kinds of cognitive functions because it requires memorizing steps, sequences and patterns and developing physical and spatial awareness.
• Everyday things and daily activities: Computational thinking skills can also be attained by analyzing patterns in stories, recognizing patterns in everyday objects such as stripes, dots or flowers on wrapping paper.
  • Families can even turn routines into “algorithms.” All they have to do is break down daily tasks—like making a sandwich, getting ready for school or even brushing their teeth—into steps and exploring what might happen–good or bad–if the order shifted.

Whether a child dreams about becoming a doctor, scientist, teacher, entrepreneur, artist or any other profession, computational thinking can help them be more creative, work through challenges, and use technology thoughtfully and responsibly.

Learn more about Ignite My Future here.

As society evolves in step with rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), computational thinking skills are gaining more attention as an important driver of future career success.

What is computational thinking?
Computational thinking is a problem-solving process. It involves breaking down complex issues into manageable parts, recognizing patterns, and developing step-by-step solutions like those that could be implemented through the computer programming process. It encompasses concepts including logical reasoning, abstraction and algorithmic thinking.

While AI can be used to help solve problems and even generate computer programs, AI does not replace the need for computational thinking. These skills actually become more important in the age of AI.

According to experts from TCS Ignite My Future, Tata Consultancy Services’ professional development program for educators, computational thinking skills are critical to student success after they graduate. They believe computational thinking strengthens critical thinking abilities, boosts confidence in problem solving, and prepares young people to better adapt to a rapidly changing, technology-driven world. As a program, Ignite My Future is dedicated to empowering teachers with free resources to incorporate computational thinking into their classrooms and core school subjects, but families can also reinforce these skills at home.

Why it’s important
“Creating an AI-ready workforce is a high priority in every industry, and students and young professionals with computational thinking skills will be far ahead of their peers in tomorrow’s workforce,” says Kelli Recher, TCS Ignite My Future Global Innovation Lead. “If we can teach those skills early, the next generation will be better able to use AI responsibly, identify and solve problems, and help shape the technology as it continues to develop.”

Reports reveal a more competitive technology job market than ever before and educational institutions at all levels are reorganizing around how to teach students about computer science in the AI age.

Schools in countries such as China, Finland, and South Korea are already implementing AI to support student learning. In addition, all over the world, collaboratives, coalitions and conferences are convening universities, researchers and other stakeholders to determine the best ways to teach and manage AI. In the U.S., efforts led by the White House Task Force on AI Education are promoting Al literacy and proficiency among America’s youth and educators. Similar government planning for AI education is happening around the globe.

No special skills needed
Knowing parents are busy and don’t always see themselves as teachers of such subjects, TCS Ignite My Future suggests they encourage their children to explore patterns in everyday things. It’s an easy way for parents to teach these critical skills. For instance:

• Traffic signals: Demonstrate that patterns are practical and useful by observing traffic signals in the neighborhood.
  • By sitting with you near a busy corner with a traffic light, kids can learn that green, yellow and red have different meanings, are timed to control traffic in certain ways and that they always follow a specific sequence. These are things you can let younger kids discover through observation or encourage older kids to time and record at different times of day.
• Arts and Crafts: Help children discover patterns in drawings, paintings or crafts, whether they are creating the artwork themselves or observing color and shape patterns in works of art created by others.
  • Parents can give kids a start by creating a simple bracelet pattern on a string with colored beads and asking them to replicate it. This will enhance their visual pattern recognition skills and their fine motor skills.
• Dance: Learning how to do specific or choreographed dances is another great way to develop computational thinking skills because dance is all about pattern development.
  • Learning a dance enhances all kinds of cognitive functions because it requires memorizing steps, sequences and patterns and developing physical and spatial awareness.
• Everyday things and daily activities: Computational thinking skills can also be attained by analyzing patterns in stories, recognizing patterns in everyday objects such as stripes, dots or flowers on wrapping paper.
  • Families can even turn routines into “algorithms.” All they have to do is break down daily tasks—like making a sandwich, getting ready for school or even brushing their teeth—into steps and exploring what might happen–good or bad–if the order shifted.

Whether a child dreams about becoming a doctor, scientist, teacher, entrepreneur, artist or any other profession, computational thinking can help them be more creative, work through challenges, and use technology thoughtfully and responsibly.

Learn more about Ignite My Future here.

With its Medtronic Spark project, launched to “ignite the curiosity of young people, unleash their talents, and increase diversity in health technologies,” Medtronic aims to transform both young people and global healthcare. Turkey stands out as an important part of this grand goal.

As part of the company’s 10-year global initiative, Medtronic Spark aims to empower 1 million students from low-income households worldwide with education, mentorship, and scholarships, helping them discover their talent in health technology and increase equal opportunities.

Within this context, 110 students from Darüşşafaka visited Medtronic Türkiye’s innovation center in Istanbul during the event.

Read the full article on Anadolu Ajansı.

With its Medtronic Spark project, launched to “ignite the curiosity of young people, unleash their talents, and increase diversity in health technologies,” Medtronic aims to transform both young people and global healthcare. Turkey stands out as an important part of this grand goal.

As part of the company’s 10-year global initiative, Medtronic Spark aims to empower 1 million students from low-income households worldwide with education, mentorship, and scholarships, helping them discover their talent in health technology and increase equal opportunities.

Within this context, 110 students from Darüşşafaka visited Medtronic Türkiye’s innovation center in Istanbul during the event.

Read the full article on Anadolu Ajansı.

For the past decade, Entergy New Orleans has hosted its annual Operation Secret Santa event for our customers visiting the Canal Street Customer Care Center for billing assistance.

During the event, customers arriving for what they believe to be a standard appointment are met with a delightful surprise. Santa Claus, accompanied by Deanna Rodriguez, Entergy New Orleans president and CEO, and Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy vice president of corporate social responsibility, happily announced that their electric bills had been paid in full. This initiative is made possible through Entergy’s The Power to Care program, designed to provide emergency bill payment assistance to older adults and customers with disabilities during their time of need.

“This event is about meeting our customers where they are and offering a little extra support during the holidays,” said Rodriguez. “Through The Power to Care program, we’re able to provide meaningful relief and support to customers when they need it the most.”

The Secret Santa response from customers was heartwarming, with many expressing gratitude and relief during an already challenging time of year. Now an annual tradition, the event remains one of the most rewarding moments of the year and reflects Entergy’s commitment to supporting our customers and strengthening the communities we serve.

Through The Power to Care program, Entergy collaborates with local nonprofits, dedicated employees, and generous customers to offer emergency bill payment support year-round. Since its inception in 2008, the program has raised over $50 million, assisting more than 250,000 customers in need.

As the holiday season approaches, we invite everyone to join us in extending a helping hand to our neighbors in need. Your support can play a vital role in ensuring that those struggling can keep their lights on during this chilly winter season.

Discover how you can contribute to keeping the power on for someone in need this holiday season.

View original content here.

For the past decade, Entergy New Orleans has hosted its annual Operation Secret Santa event for our customers visiting the Canal Street Customer Care Center for billing assistance.

During the event, customers arriving for what they believe to be a standard appointment are met with a delightful surprise. Santa Claus, accompanied by Deanna Rodriguez, Entergy New Orleans president and CEO, and Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy vice president of corporate social responsibility, happily announced that their electric bills had been paid in full. This initiative is made possible through Entergy’s The Power to Care program, designed to provide emergency bill payment assistance to older adults and customers with disabilities during their time of need.

“This event is about meeting our customers where they are and offering a little extra support during the holidays,” said Rodriguez. “Through The Power to Care program, we’re able to provide meaningful relief and support to customers when they need it the most.”

The Secret Santa response from customers was heartwarming, with many expressing gratitude and relief during an already challenging time of year. Now an annual tradition, the event remains one of the most rewarding moments of the year and reflects Entergy’s commitment to supporting our customers and strengthening the communities we serve.

Through The Power to Care program, Entergy collaborates with local nonprofits, dedicated employees, and generous customers to offer emergency bill payment support year-round. Since its inception in 2008, the program has raised over $50 million, assisting more than 250,000 customers in need.

As the holiday season approaches, we invite everyone to join us in extending a helping hand to our neighbors in need. Your support can play a vital role in ensuring that those struggling can keep their lights on during this chilly winter season.

Discover how you can contribute to keeping the power on for someone in need this holiday season.

View original content here.

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey, to date.

Hi, I’m Dwayne Codrington, I go by Codgi, which is a shortened version of my last name. I am originally from Barbados and am a Senior Engineering Manager on GoDaddy’s Identity Platform team. We are responsible for the company’s Authentication (AuthN) and Authorization (AuthZ) Platforms. Our Platforms serve both internal and external GoDaddy partners and customers. I have been with GoDaddy for a little over six years, and becoming a Software Engineer has always been my goal!

During my college days at Florida Tech, I was fortunate to intern across various parts of the industry and also gained hands-on experience by working part-time at a software startup called Security Innovation. I was hired full-time right out of college at Microsoft where I spent 10 years leading teams in Office, SharePoint and later what would become Office M65. From there, I spent 5 years at SkyKick: a Cloud migration, Backup and Management startup who was a key GoDaddy partner. There, I led various teams in the Cloud Backup, Cloud Manager, and Infrastructure teams from inception through to millions of dollars of revenue. I feel very privileged to have been able to go straight into the industry right out of college.

How do you approach leading and motivating your team?

The two are intertwined as Jensen Huang (CEO of Nvidia) once said “the role of the manager is not to broker power between workers but to collectively motivate the company’s workforce. Our position at the company should have something to do with our ability to reason through complicated things, lead other people to achieve greatness, inspire, empower other people, support other people.”

Good leadership begins with recognizing that a successful team thrives when each member’s motivations are understood and thoughtfully aligned with the team’s objectives. Imagine a team as a boat with many rowers – the greatest chance of success comes when everyone is paddling in unison toward a shared destination. To achieve this, leaders must clearly define and communicate the team’s direction. True leadership also means being willing to take on additional tasks, demonstrating commitment and unity. By doing so, you send a powerful message: We are in this together, and together, we will achieve our goals! My leadership centers on those key principles along with adaptability, authenticity, openness and transparency.

What advice would you give to aspiring Software Engineers hoping to move into leadership roles?

I’ve discussed this question with many of my own team members or other peers’ Individual Contributors (ICs) over the years. I’d distill it down to 3 major things:

1. Understand why you want to be a leader
2. Be good at your craft
3. Develop your leadership skills

Understand why you want to be a leader: When I first entered the field, advancing your career beyond Senior level meant you had to become a manager. As a result, many people remained ICs with senior titles because they either didn’t want to manage or weren’t suited for management roles. Today, things are different: you can now pursue Principal IC or Architect career paths, allowing for professional growth without moving into management. There’s also a common misconception that Engineering Managers hold all the power and make every decision. In reality, managers report to their own leadership and don’t operate independently. If you choose the management track, it should be because you understand what it takes to lead a team of Engineers and are committed to helping them succeed.

Be good at your craft: As our internal leadership portal says: “before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself.” As a Software Engineering leader, you spend a fair amount of time assessing the skillsets of your Engineers to understand how best to make your team successful. I believe you lead by example and if you aren’t good at your craft, how is any assessment going to be taken credibly? How can you lead the direction of an area if you aren’t able to get in and lead from the ground as needed? Are you good at time management and leading projects? Becoming an expert at your craft provides a solid foundation of credibility that you can rely on when it truly matters.

Develop your leadership skills: Modern Engineering leadership encompasses a broad scope of responsibilities and demands a wide set of leadership skills. Key competencies include relationship building, effective project management (such as planning, tracking progress, and holding team members accountable), clear communication, adaptability, and a solid understanding of human psychology. Additionally, awareness of team, group, organizational, and company dynamics and politics is essential. Developing and strengthening these skills will significantly enhance your success as you transition into a leadership role. Gaining experience by leading multiple technical projects before committing to a full-time leadership position is an great way to cultivate these abilities.

How do you support the internship program, and can you share any success stories from working with interns?

For many years, I ran our division’s summer intern outreach program which ensured our interns got a chance to interact with each other as well as the senior leadership within the division. Over that period of time, I also ran GoDaddy Black in Tech’s (GDBIT) Engineering’s summer intern outreach program which connects our interns with each other and full time employee (FTE) Engineers across the company. Internship programs are a great way to attract, assess, and retain top talent.

Our group has had great success with interns: we have had over a 67% conversion to FTE since I joined. The program has brought in spectacular new team members in Engineering, and many more GDBIT members. Many of these individuals completed several summer internships with the company, giving me the opportunity to witness their development year after year.

By far one of the best moments is seeing these former interns take on more senior roles in the company and giving back to the internship program as speakers and mentors.

You’re also a part of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)! What impact do you think these groups have on company culture?

I am a member of the GDBIT Core leadership team and also co-founded GDBIT Engineering, a subgroup within GDBIT dedicated to supporting individuals who are currently in, or aspiring to enter, Engineering roles. One of our company’s key values is Building Value whereby we aim to focus on being advocates to improve our customer experience. Our customers come from many different backgrounds, so our company strives to create an environment that encourages participation from all voices in order to best understand, connect with, engage, and create products that truly meet the needs of everyone we serve.

Our ERGs play a vital role in fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcomed and valued, which is essential for our success in this space. It’s inspiring to see that inclusivity is not just a stated value, but a principle that truly guides our company’s actions. The strong support our ERGs receive, from leadership all the way to the executive team, demonstrates our commitment to create an environment where everyone feels supported and respected and highlights the positive influence ERGs have on our workplace culture. Our internship program is a great example, consistently creating opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to thrive and feel a sense of belonging. Shout out to our Recruiting team for their ongoing efforts to identify and support talented candidates, helping to build a more accessible and collaborative organization.

If you had to describe GoDaddy’s culture in one word, what would it be and why?

Collaboration. I tell everyone that one of our core company values is Joining Forces and it’s more than just a phrase on a wall; our teams really live it here. As someone leading Platform teams, I have the opportunity to work with people from a wide range of disciplines, and the culture is: how can we work together to achieve our goals? In contrast, at other companies I’ve worked for outside of GoDaddy, even scheduling a meeting for a cross-functional initiative could be a challenge!

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, exploring my passion for cars, watching and playing sports, traveling to new places, and cooking delicious meals.

Two months ago, my wife and I welcomed our second child into the family. Our newborn already has a lively and energetic older brother who is two years old. I have family ties in the state, including one of my cousins and his family, as well as two of my ten godchildren, so I make it a point to spend time with them whenever possible. A lifelong car enthusiast, I have competed and served as a technical advisor at the amateur level in everything from radio-controlled cars and go-karts to full-size race cars, earning race wins and championships along the way. I still enjoy working on my cars, especially my former track car and prized possession: a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII, which I have also personally tuned in the past.

Segueing into sports, I am a lifelong fan of Arsenal (English Premier League), the LA Lakers (NBA), McLaren (Formula 1) and the West Indies Cricket team. I also am a big fan of Real Madrid (LaLiga), Juventus (Serie A), the Seattle Seahawks (NFL), the Seattle Storm (WNBA), Porsche, MotoGP and the World Rally Championship even though neither of my lifelong teams (Kawasaki and Mitsubishi respectively) compete anymore. My wife has picked up watching several of these sports and teams over time and I hope to pass on some of this love to my kids as well. Basketball and football (soccer) have always been major parts of my life and while I don’t play either competitively at the amateur level anymore, I still enjoy shooting around or working on various drills as time permits.

Traveling is one of my greatest passions because it allows me to immerse myself in different cultures, cuisines, and histories. With my mum having been a history teacher, visiting historic sites holds special meaning for me. I am aiming to visit 30+ countries, and with only 7 visited so far, I have a long way to go! I’ve had the goal for a while to visit all 50 US states and have visited 32 to date with 3 more scheduled for next year.

Cooking is another passion of mine. I enjoy recreating favorite restaurant dishes at home and love adding a West Indian twist whenever possible. I continually refine these recipes, often experimenting at potlucks or when hosting family and friends. My wife, however, sometimes has to endure the less successful culinary experiments, but it’s all part of the fun and learning process.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

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Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey, to date.

Hi, I’m Dwayne Codrington, I go by Codgi, which is a shortened version of my last name. I am originally from Barbados and am a Senior Engineering Manager on GoDaddy’s Identity Platform team. We are responsible for the company’s Authentication (AuthN) and Authorization (AuthZ) Platforms. Our Platforms serve both internal and external GoDaddy partners and customers. I have been with GoDaddy for a little over six years, and becoming a Software Engineer has always been my goal!

During my college days at Florida Tech, I was fortunate to intern across various parts of the industry and also gained hands-on experience by working part-time at a software startup called Security Innovation. I was hired full-time right out of college at Microsoft where I spent 10 years leading teams in Office, SharePoint and later what would become Office M65. From there, I spent 5 years at SkyKick: a Cloud migration, Backup and Management startup who was a key GoDaddy partner. There, I led various teams in the Cloud Backup, Cloud Manager, and Infrastructure teams from inception through to millions of dollars of revenue. I feel very privileged to have been able to go straight into the industry right out of college.

How do you approach leading and motivating your team?

The two are intertwined as Jensen Huang (CEO of Nvidia) once said “the role of the manager is not to broker power between workers but to collectively motivate the company’s workforce. Our position at the company should have something to do with our ability to reason through complicated things, lead other people to achieve greatness, inspire, empower other people, support other people.”

Good leadership begins with recognizing that a successful team thrives when each member’s motivations are understood and thoughtfully aligned with the team’s objectives. Imagine a team as a boat with many rowers – the greatest chance of success comes when everyone is paddling in unison toward a shared destination. To achieve this, leaders must clearly define and communicate the team’s direction. True leadership also means being willing to take on additional tasks, demonstrating commitment and unity. By doing so, you send a powerful message: We are in this together, and together, we will achieve our goals! My leadership centers on those key principles along with adaptability, authenticity, openness and transparency.

What advice would you give to aspiring Software Engineers hoping to move into leadership roles?

I’ve discussed this question with many of my own team members or other peers’ Individual Contributors (ICs) over the years. I’d distill it down to 3 major things:

1. Understand why you want to be a leader
2. Be good at your craft
3. Develop your leadership skills

Understand why you want to be a leader: When I first entered the field, advancing your career beyond Senior level meant you had to become a manager. As a result, many people remained ICs with senior titles because they either didn’t want to manage or weren’t suited for management roles. Today, things are different: you can now pursue Principal IC or Architect career paths, allowing for professional growth without moving into management. There’s also a common misconception that Engineering Managers hold all the power and make every decision. In reality, managers report to their own leadership and don’t operate independently. If you choose the management track, it should be because you understand what it takes to lead a team of Engineers and are committed to helping them succeed.

Be good at your craft: As our internal leadership portal says: “before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself.” As a Software Engineering leader, you spend a fair amount of time assessing the skillsets of your Engineers to understand how best to make your team successful. I believe you lead by example and if you aren’t good at your craft, how is any assessment going to be taken credibly? How can you lead the direction of an area if you aren’t able to get in and lead from the ground as needed? Are you good at time management and leading projects? Becoming an expert at your craft provides a solid foundation of credibility that you can rely on when it truly matters.

Develop your leadership skills: Modern Engineering leadership encompasses a broad scope of responsibilities and demands a wide set of leadership skills. Key competencies include relationship building, effective project management (such as planning, tracking progress, and holding team members accountable), clear communication, adaptability, and a solid understanding of human psychology. Additionally, awareness of team, group, organizational, and company dynamics and politics is essential. Developing and strengthening these skills will significantly enhance your success as you transition into a leadership role. Gaining experience by leading multiple technical projects before committing to a full-time leadership position is an great way to cultivate these abilities.

How do you support the internship program, and can you share any success stories from working with interns?

For many years, I ran our division’s summer intern outreach program which ensured our interns got a chance to interact with each other as well as the senior leadership within the division. Over that period of time, I also ran GoDaddy Black in Tech’s (GDBIT) Engineering’s summer intern outreach program which connects our interns with each other and full time employee (FTE) Engineers across the company. Internship programs are a great way to attract, assess, and retain top talent.

Our group has had great success with interns: we have had over a 67% conversion to FTE since I joined. The program has brought in spectacular new team members in Engineering, and many more GDBIT members. Many of these individuals completed several summer internships with the company, giving me the opportunity to witness their development year after year.

By far one of the best moments is seeing these former interns take on more senior roles in the company and giving back to the internship program as speakers and mentors.

You’re also a part of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)! What impact do you think these groups have on company culture?

I am a member of the GDBIT Core leadership team and also co-founded GDBIT Engineering, a subgroup within GDBIT dedicated to supporting individuals who are currently in, or aspiring to enter, Engineering roles. One of our company’s key values is Building Value whereby we aim to focus on being advocates to improve our customer experience. Our customers come from many different backgrounds, so our company strives to create an environment that encourages participation from all voices in order to best understand, connect with, engage, and create products that truly meet the needs of everyone we serve.

Our ERGs play a vital role in fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcomed and valued, which is essential for our success in this space. It’s inspiring to see that inclusivity is not just a stated value, but a principle that truly guides our company’s actions. The strong support our ERGs receive, from leadership all the way to the executive team, demonstrates our commitment to create an environment where everyone feels supported and respected and highlights the positive influence ERGs have on our workplace culture. Our internship program is a great example, consistently creating opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to thrive and feel a sense of belonging. Shout out to our Recruiting team for their ongoing efforts to identify and support talented candidates, helping to build a more accessible and collaborative organization.

If you had to describe GoDaddy’s culture in one word, what would it be and why?

Collaboration. I tell everyone that one of our core company values is Joining Forces and it’s more than just a phrase on a wall; our teams really live it here. As someone leading Platform teams, I have the opportunity to work with people from a wide range of disciplines, and the culture is: how can we work together to achieve our goals? In contrast, at other companies I’ve worked for outside of GoDaddy, even scheduling a meeting for a cross-functional initiative could be a challenge!

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, exploring my passion for cars, watching and playing sports, traveling to new places, and cooking delicious meals.

Two months ago, my wife and I welcomed our second child into the family. Our newborn already has a lively and energetic older brother who is two years old. I have family ties in the state, including one of my cousins and his family, as well as two of my ten godchildren, so I make it a point to spend time with them whenever possible. A lifelong car enthusiast, I have competed and served as a technical advisor at the amateur level in everything from radio-controlled cars and go-karts to full-size race cars, earning race wins and championships along the way. I still enjoy working on my cars, especially my former track car and prized possession: a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII, which I have also personally tuned in the past.

Segueing into sports, I am a lifelong fan of Arsenal (English Premier League), the LA Lakers (NBA), McLaren (Formula 1) and the West Indies Cricket team. I also am a big fan of Real Madrid (LaLiga), Juventus (Serie A), the Seattle Seahawks (NFL), the Seattle Storm (WNBA), Porsche, MotoGP and the World Rally Championship even though neither of my lifelong teams (Kawasaki and Mitsubishi respectively) compete anymore. My wife has picked up watching several of these sports and teams over time and I hope to pass on some of this love to my kids as well. Basketball and football (soccer) have always been major parts of my life and while I don’t play either competitively at the amateur level anymore, I still enjoy shooting around or working on various drills as time permits.

Traveling is one of my greatest passions because it allows me to immerse myself in different cultures, cuisines, and histories. With my mum having been a history teacher, visiting historic sites holds special meaning for me. I am aiming to visit 30+ countries, and with only 7 visited so far, I have a long way to go! I’ve had the goal for a while to visit all 50 US states and have visited 32 to date with 3 more scheduled for next year.

Cooking is another passion of mine. I enjoy recreating favorite restaurant dishes at home and love adding a West Indian twist whenever possible. I continually refine these recipes, often experimenting at potlucks or when hosting family and friends. My wife, however, sometimes has to endure the less successful culinary experiments, but it’s all part of the fun and learning process.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

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