Hello Everyone,

I am pleased to announce my candidacy to continue as the PTL for OpenStack-Helm in the upcoming 2024.1 release cycle.

## Key accomplishments we have collectively achieved during the Bobcat cycle

### New Features:

- Integrated a Manila chart, expanding the range of out-of-the-box use-cases. - Introduced OVN chart and support in Neutron, as OVN is emerging as the de facto standard for OpenStack networking. - Launched a Tacker chart to engage telecom sectors as potential users and contributors. - Upgraded the Elasticsearch chart to version 8.9.0. - Initiated the transition to Rook operator for Ceph management, with completion expected by cycle end.

### Pipeline and Compatibility:

- Added Compute-kit and Cinder jobs to the check pipeline for Yoga, Zed, and Antelope releases, thereby extending the range of officially supported Openstack releases.

### Platform Support:

- We stay Ubuntu-centric due to lack of resources for support of multiple platforms. During this cycle we introduced Ubuntu Jammy images, and initiated extensive testing for Jammy-based deployments.

### Other Improvements:

- Enhanced Compute-kit job stability by adopting a multinode test environment for specific releases. - Cleaned up the OpenStack-Helm storyboard. Over 100 stories were reviewed, verified and fixed or closed. as outdated. - Numerous minor fixes and adjustments, including updates for recent Kubernetes releases.

A big thank you to everyone for your contributions.

## Looking Ahead

### Documentation: The documentation still needs to be improved and aligned with all the recent changes. Users need clear understanding of how to deploy/upgrade Openstack components and which releases and scenarios are thoroghly tested and expected to work.

### Compatibility: We plan to continue expanding support for recent OpenStack and Kubernetes releases and additional Linux distributions.

I am eager to continue in my role as PTL to ensure these initiatives move forward.

Thanks. -- Best regards, Kozhukalov Vladimir