--- title: >- Introducing Cohort 5 2025 of the Astronomer Champions Program for Apache Airflow®! description: >- This final cohort for the 2024 calendar year brings together data leaders from Fortune 500 companies around the globe, all possessing extensive Airflow expertise. date: 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z authors: - author: src/content/people/briana-steel.md tags: [] categories: [] canonical_url: >- https://www.astronomer.io/blog/introducing-cohort-5-of-the-astronomer-champions-program-for-apache-airflow/ --- We are excited to announce the launch of Cohort 5 of our Champions Program for Apache Airflow®! This first cohort of 2025 brings together a distinguished group of data leaders from global organizations, each with deep expertise in Airflow and a shared commitment to driving the evolution of data engineering. ## Meet Cohort 5 of the Astronomer Champions Program for Apache Airflow®! This cohort is truly remarkable, featuring champions from renowned organizations such as Foursquare, Northern Trust, HTC Global Services, and Sofrecom, among others. With a highly selective approval process, Cohort 5 achieved an impressive 17% acceptance rate, gathering 11 exceptional data professionals ready to elevate the impact of Apache Airflow across industries. From optimizing big data architectures to enhancing MLOps and data processing, each of these champions brings unique skills and expertise to the table. Here’s a closer look at the incredible professionals of Cohort 5: ## Interested in Being a Champion? Interested in becoming a Champion? Learn more [here](https://www.astronomer.io/champions/), and [apply](https://astronomer.typeform.com/to/Un7zMYkG?typeform-source=astronomer.atlassian.net) for the 2025 Cohort!