The first 2025 meeting of the DPDK Governing Board took place on January 23.
The board covered three major items in this session: a September 2025 event in Santa Clara, CA; the departure of two longstanding board members + the arrival of their replacements; and 2025 leadership elections.
Santa Clara Event
DPDK leadership formally proposed and then voted to approve a second 2025 event, following the planned DPDK Prague Summit that will be held May 8-9.
The new event is a community-driven conference in the Bay Area on Thu., September 18 – Fri., September 19th, to be held at board member Intel’s campus in Santa Clara. Intel generously offered a free meeting space, and assistance with AV, food, and security, among other amenities. Prospective speakers will be encouraged to submit to a CFP, per a traditional summit, and those selected will lead a series of talks. Food and beverages will be offered to attendees.
The community and member-driven nature of the fall 2025 event (including a free conference space) creates a significant cost savings for the project, although it will require additional PM coordination on the back end.
All nine board members who were present reviewed the cost estimates and high-level budget, and unanimously greenlit this proposal. Planning for the Santa Clara conference will begin immediately.
This is the first of two proposed community-driven events in the near future; another board member has informally suggested the use of their own member campus for fall 2026, though this is still in the discussion phase.
Departure/Replacement of Current DPDK Board Members
During the weeks ahead, two board members are stepping down from the DPDK project: Rashid Khan is being replaced by Ian Joliffe as the Red Hat representative , and Robin Giller is being replaced by Tim O’Driscoll as the Intel representative.
Election of 2025 DPDK Leadership
On a related note: Mr. Khan’s longtime role as DPDK Governing Board Chair and Mr. Giller’s longstanding tenure in two roles – DPDK Governing Board Vice Chair and Treasurer – means that three leadership roles are now vacant: Chair, Vice Chair, and Treasurer. The Governing Board agreed to do one week of nominations followed by one week of voting, and the election began confidentially, following the meeting, with the collection of nominations via email and online forms. Election winners will be disclosed on the website when the election wraps.