Microsoft appoints former AWS community leader Jason Dunn as Director of Community

Dunn joins Microsoft after six years at Amazon Web Services and a separate 15-year association with Microsoft as an MVP

Jason Dunn visited Microsoft’s Redmond campus shortly before announcing his appointment as Director of Community.

Microsoft has appointed former Amazon Web Services community leader Jason Dunn as Director of Community, bringing him into the company as an employee after 15 years as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional.

Dunn announced on LinkedIn that he had started the role. The appointment follows six years at Amazon, where he worked within the AWS developer community and most recently served as Principal Developer Community Program Manager.

His move to Microsoft also turns a longstanding connection with the company into his first position on its staff.

“In a lot of ways it felt like coming home again; I've never been a Microsoft employee before, but I was a Microsoft MVP for 15 years, and a vendor for several years,” Dunn wrote.

He visited Microsoft’s Redmond campus during the week before starting the job. Dunn said he had spent considerable time there through his previous work with the company and had long wanted to become a Microsoft “blue badge” employee.

Six years building developer communities at AWS

Dunn joined the AWS community team in March 2020 and worked on its developer community programs, including AWS Community Builders.

The program connects technical contributors who create content and share knowledge about AWS technologies. Dunn’s work involved building relationships between the community and internal teams, an approach that now forms relevant background to his new Microsoft position.

Reflecting on his departure, Dunn said he had worked at Amazon for six years. He described being part of the original AWS community team in 2020, alongside colleagues working across the Community Builders, AWS Heroes and user group programs.

Before joining Amazon, Dunn had already developed a long association with Microsoft. Alongside his 15 years as a Microsoft MVP, he worked with the company as a vendor and credited people across its marketing and product teams with shaping his early career.

He named Derek Brown, John Starkweather and Jason Gordon among the Microsoft employees who recognized what he could contribute.

Community work built around internal connections

Dunn has more than 15 years of experience creating global communities. His work centers on connecting those groups with internal company teams so that feedback, information and value can move in both directions.

Customer experience and the removal of friction are also central to his approach.

“The greatest threat a business has is not their competitors; it's the expectations of their customers,” Dunn states.

He also views feedback as useful even when it is difficult for an organization to receive, arguing that companies need to understand the expectations shaping their customers’ experiences.

AI as a supporting tool for community teams

Dunn believes AI can help community teams accelerate analysis, identify useful information in data and reduce barriers created by their tools. However, he draws a distinction between using the technology to support community management and expecting it to replace relationships between people.

“AI has a role to play in building communities,” he said, adding that it “can't replace human to human connection.”

“More to come later on which amazing team I'm joining, and what I'll be focused on building for Microsoft. But, yes, it will be a community,” he wrote.