SNIA Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize SNIA members who have tirelessly dedicated years of volunteer work to help achieve SNIA’s goals as a leading industry association and developer of industry standards and specifications.
The success of SNIA depends upon the dedication, hard work, and commitment of its volunteers. We are pleased to honor these exceptional contributors.
Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees
Don Deel
2025 Award Recipient
Don has been actively involved with SNIA in several different volunteer roles since 2000 serving as Technical Council Chair, SMI TWG Chair, SM Chair, SM Treasurer, and SM Lab Chair. He participated in the development of the original Bluefin specification which later became SMI-S when it was contributed to the SNIA, and he continues to play an active role in the ongoing development of SMI-S today. He is also currently involved in the development of the SNIA Swordfish specification, which handles the management of storage and servers in hyperscale and cloud infrastructure environments.
SW Worth
2025 Award Recipient
SW has played a key role in SNIA with his past involvement in SNIA Education and the CIFS Conference and Plugfest which evolved into the SNIA Developer Conference. On his own personal time, SW continues to play a vital role year after year in the development of SDC. He was a major contributor on the SNW Board to help drive SNIA’s interest in SNW, served on the SNIA Board of Directors for 10+years and currently an advisor on the Technical Council.
Wayne Adams
2024 Award Recipient
Long-time SNIA Chair, Treasurer, and Chair Emeritus, Wayne Adams has been active in SNIA for over 20 years. He continues to drive activity in the SNIA Green Storage Initiative and the Green Storage Technical Work Group, as well as active participation in the HR Oversight Committee and Budget Council and as an advisor to the SNIA Board and Executive Committee. Wayne has a wealth of knowledge on how SNIA operates and continues to be very generous with his time to contribute to its future success.
PK Gupta
2024 Award Recipient
PK served as one of the founding members of SNIA India and SNIA South Asia/Malaysia. He was instrumental in driving efforts to get both Regional Affiliates up and running successfully. His great contributions continued by serving on the SNIA U.S. Board from 2018-2021. PK is a globally recognized technology leader with a passion for education. He has been a invited to speak a univerisites around the world and has served on international advisory boards in India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Kenichi Wada
2024 Award Recipient
As former SNIA Japan Executive Director and on the SNIA Japan Executive Board as Auditor, Mr. Wada played a pivotal role in the organization's success. He was instrumental in drafting the articles of incorporation, a key step in formalizing SNIA Japan as a legal entity. Mr. Wada has facilitated smooth communication between SNIA U.S. and Japan, ensuring a harmonious partnership and effective collaboration across borders. His contributions were essential to the growth and development of SNIA Japan.