Sunil James

A seasoned IT security, identity and infrastructure leader with experience launching core cloud services at AWS and GCP and helping scale startups from zero to acquisition.

About Me

If there is one thread that connects my career, it is this: I build for the people who build everything else. I did not graduate thinking I would spend my life in cloud and security. I studied computer science and political science and originally thought I would pursue the Foreign Service. It turns out the political science side — communication, clarity, persuasion, and presenting complex ideas — became just as valuable as the technical foundation. Throughout my career, I have operated at the intersection of engineering reality and business outcomes, taking complex technical problems and turning them into products, platforms, and organizations that scale.

Career Highlights

Much of my career has been spent building foundational cloud and infrastructure platforms at global technology companies. At AWS, I served as a founding product manager for Amazon Virtual Private Cloud and later Direct Connect, helping bring core services to market that enabled enterprise cloud adoption at scale. At Google Cloud, I worked with engineering teams to build critical networking and infrastructure capabilities during the platform's early growth. Following the acquisition of my startup Scytale by HPE, I led a global engineering organization responsible for identity and authorization systems that underpin HPE GreenLake, managing nearly three hundred engineers across multiple regions. Earlier in my career I worked in threat intelligence and security, including roles at Mandiant, and later founded Scytale to advance workload identity, helping launch the SPIFFE open source project and build a global community around a new approach to infrastructure identity.

Techquity Solutions

I provide Techquity clients with practical support that combines technical expertise and clear leadership. I know cloud, security, networking, identity, and platform engineering. I have deep experience leveraging AI for various engineering and non-engineering scenarios. I also see how these technical choices affect business results. I assist leadership teams in clarifying what needs to be built, defining a scalable operating model, aligning product and engineering with a clear roadmap, and ensuring that foundational systems are trustworthy and reliable. This helps the organization move quickly and confidently. I excel in high-pressure situations where there is uncertainty, and the cost of poor infrastructure decisions is high.

Innovations & Impact

• Led global engineering teams at HPE GreenLake responsible for mission critical identity, authentication, and authorization systems
• Co-founded, led, and sold Scytale (to HPE), the cloud-native workload identity startup behind SPIFFE
• Led product management for core networking services at Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Launched Amazon VPC and Amazon Direct Connect, foundational cloud services that enabled enterprise cloud adoption at scale
• Led product management for Mandiant (now a GCP division) to deliver the industry's first cloud-based incident response management platform
• Commercialized early threat intelligence and network defense capabilities before most enterprises had mature security postures

Why Techquity?

Techquity matches my work style. I like that it uses an embedded model instead of a slide-driven advisory approach. I enjoy working closely with leadership teams to solve real technical and organizational problems and achieve meaningful results. I also appreciate being part of a group of experienced professionals who have built important systems at scale. This experience helps us question assumptions, improve our thinking, and create practical value for our clients.