• Abhi Jayanty

    Abhi Jayanty

    Data Engineer at Quorum

    I'm a Data Engineer and overall data enthusiast who loves working with Azure, SQL Server and Microsoft Fabric/PowerBI, taking any opportunity I can to present and speak about anything I have discovered. Having worked in data and AI for just over a year I've achieved multiple Azure certifications and I'm still keen to learn as much as I can about Azure's analytics platforms and services.

    When I'm not playing with data, I'm playing FIFA and FPS games as well as being completely obsessed with all things football, cricket, Formula 1 and wider motorsport.

  • Alessio Nigro

    Alessio Nigro

    Data Engineer at DataSense

    As a Data Engineer at DataSense and a passionate musician, I bridge the worlds of technology and creativity. By day, I focus on transforming data into actionable insights and streamlining analytics processes for businesses using Databricks. By night, I immerse myself in music, exploring diverse languages and cultures. This combination of technical expertise and artistic perspective allows me to innovate and inspire, demonstrating how Databricks and data can be harnessed to solve real-world challenges creatively.

  • Alexander Arvidsson

    Alexander Arvidsson

    Star Wars fan extraordinaire

    Alexander is a principal solutions architect at Data Masterminds. Nobody really knows what it means to be a principal solutions architect, but he spends his days helping clients of all shapes and sizes to take better care of and make more sense of their data.
    He has spent the last 25 years poking around with data, databases and related infrastructure services such as storage, networking and virtualization, occasionally emerging from the technical darkness to attend a Star Wars convention somewhere in the world.
    He is a Data Platform MVP, frequent international speaker, podcaster, Pluralsight author, blogger and a Microsoft Certified Trainer, focusing on the Microsoft data platform stack.

  • Anastasia Salari

    Anastasia Salari

    Microsoft MVP | Power Platform Consultant at MDW | Captain Platform

    Passionate about data, I help individuals and companies find and implement the right solutions corresponding to their needs. Solutions based on Power BI, Power Apps and Power Automate that allow them to value and visualise data, optimize processes, as well as make use of the low-code/no-code platform to build specific tools.
    Understanding the business needs and proposing the right solutions is what motivates me!
    Moreover, I love sharing tips, facts and interesting examples with the community under the "Captain Platform" character.

  • Andreas Geysegoms

    Andreas Geysegoms

    Data Engineer @ AE

    Andreas is a technical consultant and Data engineer, who has a background in software development, security fundamentals, data engineering, machine learning and analytics. His passion is helping others by building software solutions, mainly with Python and SQL. He is fascinated by all things related to security and data.

  • Andrew Pruski

    Andrew Pruski

    Field Solutions Architect

    Andrew is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Docker Captain, and VMware vLeader. He also helps organise Data Ceili and EightKB.

    He is interested in all things database/kubernetes/container related and shares his passion for these topics by speaking at events across the world.

    Originally from Wales but now exploring Ireland.

    You can find him on twitter @dbafromthecold and blogging at dbafromthecold.com

  • Anita Ambalavanan

    Anita Ambalavanan

    Product Manager, Power BI

    Anita is a Product Manager at Microsoft where she works on Copilot experiences within Power BI. She previously worked on the Fabric Customer Advisory Team, supporting private previews and customer evidence across Fabric workloads. She holds a degree in Computer Science from Purdue University. Prior to Microsoft, she was an intern for Salesforce and the United States Department of Defense.

  • Ásgeir Gunnarsson

    Ásgeir Gunnarsson

    Data Platform MVP

    Ásgeir is a Data Platform MVP and owner of North Insights ApS. He works on Business Intelligence solutions using the whole of the MS BI stack. Ásgeir has been working in BI since 2007 both as a consultant and internal employee. Before turning to BI Ásgeir worked as a technical trainer and currently teaches BI courses at the Continuing Education Department of the University of Iceland.

    Ásgeir speaks regularly at events both domestic and internationally and is the group leader of the Icelandic PASS Group as well as the Icelandic Power BI user group.

    Ásgeir is the co-author of Pro Power BI Administration from APRESS and the Power BI MVP book

    Ásgeir is passionate about data and loves solving problem with BI.

  • Bart Vernaillen

    Bart Vernaillen

    Freelance consultant

    Bart is a MSSQL DBA with a great passion for automation trough PowerShell, problem solving and simplifying complex things.

  • Ben Ferry

    Ben Ferry

    Senior Data Analyst at International University of Applied Sciences

    Power BI professional.

    Seven years of experience with Power BI implementation. From Power BI trainings to managing large scale roll-outs, report design to Power BI governance.
    Preferred topics are Data Visualisation, Deneb, Power Query, API connectivity, Deneb, Buttons/bookmarks, uncomplication of Analytics.

  • Ben Mellaerts

    Ben Mellaerts

    Data Strategist at Dataroots

    Ben holds a Master's degree in Information Management, specializing in bridging the gap between business and IT, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence.

    He first worked at Telenet, a leading Belgian telecommunications company, where he led advanced analytics initiatives that drove actionable insights for business.

    His passion for data strategy led him to join Dataroots, a data and AI consultancy. His engagements range from fostering a culture of data evangelism to implementing cutting-edge analytics and reporting solutions.

    Currently, Ben is involved in launching a digital podcast platform in Flanders as a Data & Analytics Lead.

  • Brian Bønk

    Brian Bønk

    Principal Architect, Data & Analytics

    Brian has worked with SQL Server for more than two decades - varying projects on both size and complexity. Now he's working to support the Data & Analytics team at Fellowmind.

    Honored with MVP on Data Platform from 2023.

    Currently given the honor of being Microsoft Recognized Fasttrack Solution Architect since 2022.

    Brian loves data and is always trying to glue the business and tech together using his knowledge and experience.

    He is always open to meet new people and help them get better at their job or task.

  • Cathrine Wilhelmsen

    Cathrine Wilhelmsen

    Data & Analytics Lead Consultant in Evidi | Microsoft Data Platform MVP

    Cathrine loves data and coding, as well as teaching and sharing knowledge 🤓 She is based in Norway and works as a Data & Analytics Lead Consultant in Evidi, focusing on Data Integration and Data Warehousing. Her core skills are Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL, SQL Server and T-SQL development, but she enjoys everything from programming to data visualization. Outside of work she’s active in the Azure and Microsoft Data communities as a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, international speaker, blogger, organizer, and chronic volunteer. She blogs at cathrinew.net and tweets at @cathrinew.

  • Cédric Charlier

    Cédric Charlier

    Data Architect

    Cédric is a talented architect active in the domain of Data Mesh, Big Data, Data warehousing and Graph Databases. He has more than 15 years of successful experience with Microsoft Data Platform in large European industrial groups and Services companies.

    Driven by quality and reliability, he is the main developer of an open-source solution for testing BI solutions (cubes, etl, reports …) named NBi (http://www.nbi.io) and is contributing to other open-source solutions. Cédric also advocates for the introduction and general usage of agile practices in Data world. He is also a fan of prototyping and has developed some advanced knowledge about query languages

  • Cláudio Silva

    Cláudio Silva

    Data Platform Architect, T-SQL Performance Tuner, PowerShell Automator

    I work as a Data Platform Architect.
    I love performance tuning and I'm also a PowerShell lover who automates any process that needs to be done more than a couple of times.

    I'm a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and an active SQL Server and PowerShell community member. Also, I'm a contributor to open-source projects such as dbatools (https://dbatools.io) and dbachecks (https://dbachecks.io).

    I blog at https://claudioessilva.eu .

  • Conor Cunningham

    Conor Cunningham

    Partner Architect at Microsoft

    Conor Cunningham is Partner Architect at Microsoft where he has been building database engines for 25+ years. Currently, Conor works on Fabric Data Warehouse and the underlying SQL engine (which is shared with SQL Server and Azure SQL Database). He is also the engineering site leader for the Microsoft office in Austin, Texas (USA) where he runs an engineering team focused on advanced hardware for future database designs where he and his team delivered improvements such as AVX-512 SIMD support, numerous batch mode performance improvements, and various T-SQL feature extensions. Conor is the author of the query optimizer chapter in Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Internals and holds dozens of patents on features related to database design. Conor served as the breadth architect for the SQL Server 2016, 2017, and 2019 releases before joining the Fabric DW team.

  • David L. Bojsen

    David L. Bojsen

    Architect @ Tabular Editor, Lead Architect @ Tabular Tools

    I have been working with data for more than 15 years.
    I specialise in cloud data platform, IoT and the intelligent edge.

    Now working on building the best productivity tools for data professionals

  • Denis Selimovic

    Denis Selimovic

    Microsoft MVP, Principal Consultant @ b.telligent

    I am an enthusiastic Power BI user, Speaker, Power BI Super User, co-organizer of the Fabric User Group Switzerland and Microsoft MVP.

    I work as Principal Consultant, trainer and mentor in the area of Business Intelligence in Switzerland.
    I have been lucky enough to work with Power BI since its release in 2015 and gain experience in many interesting projects since the beginning. In my blog WhatTheFact.bi I write about everything related to Power BI, best practices, share tips and look forward to exchange with you!

  • Dennie Declercq

    Dennie Declercq

    Microsoft MVP || Developer & President DDSoft

    Dennie is Microsoft MVP Developer Technologies and has experience in accessibility with Microsoft technologies. In daily life Dennie is president and developer at DDSoft, a nonprofit that connects IT to People who are less tech-savvy. Dennie invented technical solutions and systems to help people with disabilities to participate in their daily life. Thanks to his autism he's the right man at the right spot to contribute as a volunteer in function of people with disabilities.

  • Devang Shah

    Devang Shah

    Principal Program Manager at Microsoft

    Devang is a Principal Program Manager specializing in working on terabyte to petabyte-scale big data analytics projects in the EMEA region. He specializes in product innovation, product evangelization, community building, and product adoption strategies. With a strong educational and professional background in technology, software development, cloud adoption, and data analytics, he has spent the last decade advising clients on implementing large-scale and complex software systems, and data analytics solutions. Devang has been involved in producing training content, and tutorials for Microsoft Fabric experiences.

  • Dries Gielis

    Dries Gielis

    Data platform engineer @ Datashift

    Dries is a versatile developer that has worked on a variety of data projects in different industries. Dries fulfilled key roles in Business Intelligence and Data Engineering projects and focuses on gaining technical development skills, without losing track of the business’ and client’s needs. At the moment, he is growing as a cloud data solution architect. Over the past years, he gained experience in building modern data pipelines using various technologies, building data models and architecting data landscapes.

  • Els van Vessem

    Els van Vessem

    Data Engineer and BI Consultant

    Els van Vessem (they/them) works as a BI Consultant/Data Engineer for a national government organization in The Netherlands, after 5 years working in data for organizations in healthcare. They focus on topics of diversity, non-data skills needed for data jobs, compassion and mental health. Outside of work they hang out on bluesky (@geekingthething), help events with their code of conducts and harassment/abuse policies, read a whole lot of books, and spoil their two kitties.

  • Emilie Rønning

    Emilie Rønning

    Senior consultant at Quarks

    Emilie Rønning, a data girl in an Azure world.

    She is a senior data engineer, based in Oslo, Norway. In addition to creating well-functioning insights and analysis data platforms, Emilie loves creating and implementing structure and solutions automating manual processes for her clients.

    When not geeking out, she enjoys a long hike and a night or two in her hammock.

  • Emily Tehrani

    Emily Tehrani

    Product Manager, Microsoft Fabric

    Emily is a Product Manager under the Query Optimization team in Fabric SQL and Synapse Dedicated SQL Pools. Focusing on understanding and closing gaps in optimization, Emily currently owns features such as automatic statistics and result set caching, as well as MERGE.

  • Enrico van de Laar

    Enrico van de Laar

    Data Privacy Engineer @ Privinity

    Enrico has been working with data in all kinds of formats and sizes for over 20 years and has a passion for data privacy. Through his company NMTY he supports organisations with implementing data solutions that respect privacy and avoid unethical or manipulative use of data. Enrico is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has so far written four books on data related technologies and topics.

  • Erwin de Kreuk

    Erwin de Kreuk

    Data Platform MVP | Lead Data and AI |Public Speaker | InSpark | Innovate to Accelerate

    Erwin de Kreuk is a passionate and very experienced Microsoft Solution Architect.
    Working as a Principal Consultant/ Lead Data and AI for InSpark in the Netherlands. Speaking at different national and international data community events. He is been awarded as Data Platform MVP.

    He is working in the world of data on the Microsoft Platform for last 14 years and the last 6 years he has shifted his focus to the Azure Platform.
    Answering complex customer cases and technical issues are part of his day-to-day work. In addition to this work, he is a member of the Technology Board within InSpark and leads a team of highly experienced Data Expert in the field of Microsoft Data Platform.

    He is eager in helping out customers in getting the most added value out of their complex Analytics environment with a strong focus on solutions in the Azure Cloud (Platform as a Service) and Microsoft Fabric
    As a Technology Board member, he is always investigating the latest (vs newest) possibilities/opportunities and sharing his enthusiasm among his colleagues, the community and customers. He is one of the main Stakeholders for the InSpark Solution (Managed) Oxygen, a Modern Data platform Estate as-a-service.

  • Esa Denaux

    Esa Denaux

    Data Engineer @ Micropole BeLux

    Esa Denaux serves as a resident Data Dynamo at Micropole Belux, boasting over five years of data-engineering expertise. Her journey commenced as a Marketing Maven at Mediahuis nv, where she delved into search engine ads, SEO, and marketing automation, all while wielding her coding prowess in Python, .NET Core, and NodeJS. Levelling up her data game, she mastered crafting cloud dataplatforms and wielding ELT pipelines with Databricks and Data Factory, honing her skills further while handling smart metering big data at Fluvius.

    Currently, at her client De Lijn, Esa's passion for public transit intersects with her data-driven dreams, ensuring every data byte aligns for operational excellence. With a knack for transforming numbers into gold, Esa embarks on a quest to infuse joy into every dataset she touches.

  • Francisco Costa

    Francisco Costa

    Natixis, Power Platform Developer

    I am a young and driven individual with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a deep dedication to serving my community. I've been interested in a wide range of Technology subjects since I was a child, knowing that learning is a lifelong journey. Along with my personal development, I actively seek opportunities to give back to the community by providing assistance and knowledge to others. I strive to be an inspiring figure, bridging the realms of knowledge and community service with unwavering dedication and a strong belief in their transformative power.

  • Frank Geisler

    Frank Geisler

    GDS Business Intelligence GmbH

    Frank Geisler is owner and CEO of GDS Business Intelligence GmbH. He is Data Platform MVP, MCT, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Security Engineer Associate, Azure Data Engineer Assoicate and DevOps Engineer Expert In his Job he is building Business Intelligence Systems based on Microsoft Technology, mainly on SQL Server and Power BI and he is also building Azure Infrastructures and Architectures with PowerShell. Besides this he is author of several books including Power BI für Dummies, Azure für Dummies, Docker für Dummies and Pro Serverless Data Handling with Microsoft Azure. He is also a frequent speaker at national and international Conferences including PASS Summit, SQL BITS and SQL Server Konferenz. In 2004 he was Co-Founder of PASS Deutschland e.V. where he is at the board of directors for many years and he runs the Microsoft Data Community Regional Chapter Münsterland.

  • Giancarlo Costa

    Giancarlo Costa

    European Food Safety Authority, Cloud Solutions Architect

    Giancarlo joined EFSA in 2006 where he is part of the Architecture & Solutions team. As Cloud Solutions Architect, he oversees the architectural evolution across multiple key projects. He recently had a leading role in the democratization of data and analytics at EFSA, contributing to the development of the EFSA Data Mesh Architecture and Decentralized Cloud Governance.

  • Gianluca Sartori

    Gianluca Sartori

    @spaghettidba

    Gianluca Sartori is a Data Platform MVP, independent consultant and performance tuning specialist. He has been working in the software industry since 1999 and has been working with SQL Server ever since. He also works as a SQL Server trainer and in his spare time he writes technical articles and participates the SQL Server forums. Gianluca enjoys presenting SQL Server topics at conferences in Europe and US. He is currently working as lead DBA at a famous Formula 1 team.

  • Grace O'Halloran

    Grace O'Halloran

    Principal Data Engineering Consultant @ Advancing Analytics | DevUp Co-founder | Microsoft Certified Azure Developer & Administrator | She/Her

    I am a senior Azure data engineering consultant and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, with 6+ years experience working with Azure Data Platforms and a passion for infrastructure, networking and security. I also co-founded DevUp, a social mobility initiative for removing barriers to technology.

  • Heini Ilmarinen

    Heini Ilmarinen

    DevOps Consultant, Polar Squad

    Heini is a math teacher turned Azure expert. With her background in mathematics and teaching, she has a great passion for problem solving, simplifying complex things and a unique approach to architectures.
    She is a DevOps Consultant at Polar Squad and a Data Platform MVP, specializing in Azure infrastructure and the data platform. She has been working with customers large and small for the past several years to help them sort out their path to the cloud and make sense of their architecture - both hybrid and cloud. She has worked extensively with both Azure infrastructure and analytics solutions, and makes the most of this skillset in her projects, as well as while speaking. On her free time Heini spends time in the nature, either snowboarding or mountain biking, depending on the season.

  • Hélène Kielbowicz

    Hélène Kielbowicz

    Agile Coach / Scrum Master / Trainer / Certified ComColors Coach

    I'm what's known as a Slasher ... Since starting my career in October 2003, I've held a number of different positions. I started out as an analyst-developer and I'm now a scrum master/ComColors certified coach/change manager/trainer on a freelance basis.
    Thanks to my rich and varied background, I'm firmly convinced that people are the key to a company's success. That's why I've decided to use my experience and skills to help teams facing change (Agile transformation or other) to move forward together towards a common goal and vision by developing the group's agility, co-creation and collective intelligence.
    My current mission is a Scrum Master role in the banking sector for the past two years.

  • Hugo Kornelis

    Hugo Kornelis

    I make SQL Server fast (.com)

    Hugo Kornelis is an established SQL Server communiity expert who spends a lot of time at various conferences. He is also a blogger, technical editor of a variety of books, and Pluralsight author. He was awarded SQL Server MVP and Data Platform MVP 12 times (2006 - 2016 / 2019 - now).

    When not working for the community, he is busy at his day job: freelance database developer/consultant.

    Hugo has over 20 years of SQL Server experience in various roles. He has a strong database design background, but also loves to write and tune complex queries.

  • Jan Meskens

    Jan Meskens

    Data Strategist, Founder of Sievax

    Jan Meskens is a data consultant at the intersection of architecture, data strategy, and data management. With over a decade of experience in diverse data consulting roles, Jan has been instrumental in guiding companies through the successful integration and implementation of data-driven strategies. He provides his services through his consulting company, Sievax.

    In academia, Jan imparts his knowledge to students at University College, focusing on AI and data-centric courses. Beyond his consultancy and teaching roles, he actively contributes to the broader data community by writing articles on Medium and presenting on data-related topics at various conferences, meetups, and workshops.

    With a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, Jan offers a unique perspective in the world of data and artificial intelligence. His central ethos? Making data usable and understandable for many people within an organization will always result in valuable data.

  • Jan Van Meirvenne

    Jan Van Meirvenne

    Microsoft Data & AI Platform Architect

    Most 90's kids loved Jurassic Parc for the dinosaurs. Jan loved it for the premise of a fully computerized environment. After building some of the movies 'Unix system' interfaces in the BASIC programming language, the passion for IT was sparked. The sense of wonder induced by that movie is something that Jan tries to pass on to every person he meets.

  • Jo David

    Jo David

    BI-Consultant

    10 years in IT (C# developer, SSRS, SQL, PBI), 5 years as BI consultant specialised in Power BI. Developing, modelling, training, coaching, governance, user adoption,....

  • Joël Vangrunderbeeck

    Joël Vangrunderbeeck

    Microsoft BI consultant @ Bmatix

    Eager to learn and happy to share.
    Working as a consultant in the microsoft BI landscape and passionate about new things.

  • Joey D'Antoni

    Joey D'Antoni

    Joey Dantoni Principal Consultant Denny Cherry and Associates Consulting

    Joseph D'Antoni is a Principal Consultant at Denny Cherry and Associates Consulting, and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with over 20 years of experience working in both Fortune 500 and smaller firms. He is a frequent speaker at major tech events like Microsoft Ignite, PASS Summit and Enterprise Data World. He blogs about all topics technology at joeydantoni.com. He believes that no single platform is the answer to all technology problems. He lives in Malvern, PA and holds a BS in Computer Information Systems from Louisiana Tech University and an MBA from North Carolina State University, and is the co-author of the Microsoft book "Introducing SQL Server 2016"

  • Johan Ludvig Brattås

    Johan Ludvig Brattås

    Suffers from chronic curiosity

    Johan Ludvig Brattås is a director at Deloitte, and a dedicated community guy. He has worked with MS SQL server since late 1999, mostly with BI in one form or another. Since 2015, most of his work has been in the cloud working on data platform services such as Snowflake, Databricks and Synapse.

    Combining his passion for MS SQL Server with his passion for sharing knowledge, he started speaking at various events in the SQL Community. This is also a way to give back to the community for all the things he has learned over the years. When not working, Johan Ludvig either spends his time with his kids, playing with new technology or teaching coeliacs how to bake glutenfree food.

  • Johannes Vink

    Johannes Vink

    Business Intelligence Architect

    Johannes is an all-round BI architect on the Azure data platform. He likes to understand business processes as BI is a cross-over between hardcore IT and business processes. Especially now the traditional data warehousing is evolving into bigger data platforms and the technical side is opening up a lot of business opportunities.

  • John Martin

    John Martin

    Senior Data Engineer Consultant @ Advancing Analytics

    John is an experienced data platform professional having spent over fifteen years working with Microsoft SQL Server, Azure, and AWS technologies. Working closely with clients to solve their data platform problems with innovative solutions with a focus on simplicity, maintainability, and automation.

  • Johnny Winter

    Johnny Winter

    Senior Consultant, Advancing Analytics

    Johnny currently works as a consultant for Advancing Analytics. He’s been working with Business Intelligence software since 2007, specialising in the Microsoft data platform since 2016. He’s a self-confessed Business Intelligence geek and in his spare time runs the website and YouTube channel Greyskull Analytics, where he likes to nerd out about all things Power BI.

  • Karel Coenye

    Karel Coenye

    Competence Centre Data - Teamlead & Data Architect @ VLAIO

    Karel Coenye started as an Architect for Vlaanderen Connect in may 2020 and has been working with data in different roles since 1999. Currently working as a Data Architect on the Azure Platform and as the project manager for the ongoing Azure Projects for VLAIO.

    Currently he is involved in different projects as cloud architect while coaching and training both data scientists and developers. Experienced in both big data and No SQL scenarios as with smaller environments. Using an unique approach and knowledge of both processes and data flows the focus is always on the result, not on the technology used.

  • Koen Verbeeck

    Koen Verbeeck

    Senior Consultant @ AE - Data Platform MVP

    Koen Verbeeck is a data professional working at AE. He helps organizations to get insight in their data and to improve their analytics solutions. Koen has over a decade of experience in developing data warehouses, models and reports using the Microsoft data platform. Since 2017 Koen is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. He has a blog at http://www.sqlkover.com, writes articles for MSSQLTips.com and is a frequent speaker at SQL Server events.

  • Kris van der Mast

    Kris van der Mast

    CEO at VaHa - Solution architect at SD Worx - aOS ambassador

    As a freelance Microsoft technologies expert Kris helps his clients to reach their goals. Actively involved in the global community he was a Microsoft MVP between April 2007 and July 2022. First for ASP.NET and since 2016 achieving in 2 disciplines: Azure and Visual Studio and Development Technologies. Kris is also a Microsoft ASP Insider, Microsoft Azure Advisor and a Belgian Microsoft Extended Experts Team (MEET) member. In the Belgian community Kris is active as a board member of Belgian Azure User Group AZUG and is chairman of the Belgian User Group Initiative (BUG). Since he started with .NET back in 2002 he’s also been active on the ASP.NET forums where is also a moderator. For his professional profile you can check out his LinkedIn. His personal site can be found at www.krisvandermast.com. Kris is a public (inter)national speaker and is a co-organizer of the CloudBrew conference.

  • Kristijan Shirgoski

    Kristijan Shirgoski

    Microsoft Data & Analytics Consultant at Lytix

    Kristijan Shirgoski is a computer scientist by education and Azure Architect in his current role in Lytix. Having studied in University of Ljubljana for his bachelors and KU Leuven for his masters, he has obtained a lot of international exposure. With over 6 years professional experience and 5 Azure certifications, he is eager to help organisations achieve their goals and modernise their processes.
    In his spare time he enjoys doing sports and travelling.

  • Kurt Buhler

    Kurt Buhler

    Goblin guy

    Kurt is a business intelligence consultant and mentor. He specializes in understanding how a business works to take a user-centric approach to business intelligence.

    Kurt discovered his passion for working with data when completing his PhD in Biomedical Sciences. Since 2018, Kurt has worked with Power BI. Kurt is an author of the Power BI implementation planning and the Fabric adoption roadmap, guidance published by Microsoft to help organizations adopt and implement Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.

    Today, Kurt focuses on delivering articles, presentations, and trainings for Power BI and Analysis Services. Kurt also provides consulting to help customers plan and implement Power BI in their organization.

    Kurt speaks at international conferences, like Sqlbits and Dataminds Connect. He likes to meet with and mentor people who transitioned their careers to the data and analytics space from other sectors and specializations.

    When he is not working, you can find Kurt preparing his Dungeons & Dragons campaign, or spending time with his family.

  • Lauren Faber

    Lauren Faber

    Senior Product Manager - Power BI

    Lauren Faber is Product Manager for Power BI working on Power BI Office integration experiences and Power BI Copilot. She received her master's in information systems management from Brigham Young University in 2018. Prior to joining Microsoft, she interned at Walmart Labs and a Utah start-up as a software engineer. She was initially a member of the Power BI Customer Advisory Team working with customers to showcase their journeys with Power BI, and lead customer Power BI events to gather information on customer needs around the globe.

  • Linda Torrång

    Linda Torrång

    Data Platform Engineer, DataMasterminds

    With a diverse background in journalism and retail, Linda brings both business insight and attention to storytelling to the table as a data warehouse developer. Coupled with her passion for learning new tech and trying new things.

  • Liping Huang

    Liping Huang

    Senior Solution Architect @ Databricks

    Hi, I am Liping, Data & AI Solution Architect, ex-Microsoft, I specialize in Big Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence. In addition to helping customers build out data platforms and solving real-world problems using data, I am also a blogger (https://www.dataleaps.co.uk), YouTuber (https://www.youtube.com/@dataleaps), international public speaker (https://www.sessionize.com/lipinght).

  • Magnus Ahlkvist

    Magnus Ahlkvist

    SQL Server specialist, Data Platform MVP, SQL Community organizer. Paid work out of Transmokopter SQL AB.

    Magnus works as an independent SQL Server consultant at his company Transmokopter SQL AB, with everything from on-premise to cloud databases, from database design and T-SQL programming to infrastructure planning and administration, from transaction intensive databases to data warehousing workloads.
    When paid work stops, community work starts. Magnus is a long time co-leader for SQL Server User Group Sweden, he's organising SQL Friday every Friday noon and he's speaking and volunteering on data events, small and large. In October 2020, Magnus was awarded the Microsoft Data Platform MVP award.

  • Marc Lelijveld

    Marc Lelijveld

    Data Platform MVP | Technical Evangelist | Solution Architect Data Solutions & Insights

    Data Platform MVP, Power BI and Fabric enthusiastic, public speaker and passionate for everything which transforms data into action! Working at Macaw in the Netherlands as Solution Architect and Technical Evangelist in the Data Solutions & Insights team.

    What I like the most? Sharing my thoughts, experience, best-practices and enthusiasm about Microsoft data platform with others. I mostly do this in public speaking at usergroups, conferences, customer presentations and end-user training. Besides that I also have my own blog which you can find at https://data-marc.com/

  • Marco Hansma

    Marco Hansma

    InSpark - Expertteam lead Data & Analytics

    As a data architect, I specialize in leveraging Azure and Fabric dataplatforms. I design and implement data solutions for our clients and contribute to our company’s innovative solutions built on top of Fabric.

  • Maria Lys

    Maria Lys

    Sopra Steria, Data Visualisation Consultant

    In 2018 I decided to completely change my career, from 12 years in scientific research, teaching (Management), and Business Analysis to the dynamic world of IT - mastering Dutch in 5 months, and diving into data science in 6. Since 2019 I've spent over 5 years working as a Business Intelligence Consultant. Along this journey, I discovered my passion for data visualization and a UX mindset; the topics that energize me the most. I want to share my passion for making data visuals smart but also beautiful, in a way that is easy to understand and inspires action. In all of this, I intend to use my teaching skills to engage with the participants and keep the audience focused.

  • Marius Panga

    Marius Panga

    Solutions Architect at Databricks

    Solutions Architect at Databricks with considerable experience in business intelligence, data warehousing, and data engineering.

  • Mariya Ali

    Mariya Ali

    Product Manager, Microsoft Fabric

    Mariya Ali, Product Manager at Microsoft's Fabric Datawarehouse, specializes in crafting query optimization experiences. She thrives on empowering customers with actionable insights that elevate the user experience and drive maximum efficiency in data analytics.

  • Marthe Moengen

    Marthe Moengen

    Microsoft Data Platform MVP | Managing Data Analyst at Sopra Steria

    Like Beyonce but in tech.
    Data Architect working within the realm of Microsoft data platform solutions. A Fabric nerd, Power BI geek, and Data Governance enthusiast from Oslo!

  • Mathias Thierbach

    Mathias Thierbach

    Data Platform MVP, Power BI Contributor, Developer of pbi-tools

    In 2015, after having spent over ten years as a Software Developer and Architect with Microsoft technologies, Mathias Thierbach moved into the Microsoft BI space. He soon landed on Power BI, but also realized quickly that the development and engineering tools and practices were nothing like the ones well established in software development. This is how pbi-tools started as a project, the only complete source control solution for Power BI.

    During seven years of leading a data management team at YouGov, he experienced the benefits of those efforts every day. Having open sourced the project in fall of 2021, Mathias spends a lot of his free time bringing source control and DevOps practices to the wider Power BI community now.

    In addition to his open source engagements, Mathias cares deeply about his role as an enterprise technology leader. Like many, once having started as a single contributor technologist, he had to pivot significantly when he moved into a manager role, responsible for building, stabilizing and growing a team of data engineers, analysts and architects. Mathias is now passionately sharing the many experiences and learnings that came out of that journey with the community.

  • Matt Gordon

    Matt Gordon

    Senior Architect at Centric Consulting

    Matt is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has worked with SQL Server since 2000. He is the leader of the Lexington, KY Data Technology Group and a frequent domestic and international community speaker. He's an IDERA ACE alumnus and Redgate Ambassador. His original data professional role was in database development, which quickly evolved into query tuning work that further evolved into being a DBA in the healthcare realm. He has supported several critical systems utilizing SQL Server and managed dozens of 24/7/365 SQL Server implementations. As a consultant, he works with customers large, medium, and small to migrate to the cloud, make their data estate operate efficiently, and find the right tools and solutions within the Microsoft Data Platform.

  • Nick Verhelst

    Nick Verhelst

    Plainsight -- Data Analytics Consultant

    A quantum physicist that transitioned into the data-realm. Nick is a born problem solver that loves to find simple solutions to complex puzzles. He does this in the most pragmatic way possible. When designing a solution, Nick will often repeat the famous Kent Beck quote: “Make it work, make it right, make it fast!”.

    You can find Nick at his happiest when he is using his know-how to create added value. With knowledge as a personal driver, he is a natural coach and quick learner. This is also reflected in his spare time where Nick is always learning something new or teaching others about his passions.

  • Nico Jacobs

    Nico Jacobs

    Power BI, Azure data stack and SQL Server trainer at U2U

    Dr. Nico Jacobs started his career as a data mining researcher at the university of Leuven, Belgium. He joined U2U in 2004 as an instructor, author and technology strategist. His current technical expertise focuses on Power BI and Data Engineering/Data Science on Microsoft Azure. As a passionate trainer, Nico likes to inspire his students to gain a thorough knowledge on the subject. Nico regularly speaks at local and international conferences. You can see what he’s up to by following @SqlWaldorf on Twitter .

  • Parcifal Van Gucht

    Parcifal Van Gucht

    Analytics Architect - element61 - Power BI Enthusiast

    Parcifal graduated with an Advanced Master of Science in Statistical Data Analysis - Major Computational Statistics from Ghent University in the summer of 2022.

    Previously, he followed the Master of Science in Personnel Management and Industrial Psychology. During his Master, he wrote a thesis on the application and acceptance of AI applications within Recruitment and Selection. The thesis describes two of his great interests. Firstly, the development and application of innovations, and secondly, human behavior, more specifically behavior of persons within organizations: what drives a person, how does this behavior come about and what are its possible consequences for the individual and the organization.

    During his studies, Parcifal gathered experience on this topic from the perspective of an industrial psychologist. However, he wanted to expand this perspective with a more statistical approach based on data. Therefore, he chose to proceed with the advanced Master of Statistical Data Analysis with a Major in computational statistics. During this Master, he wrote his thesis on the modeling of linguistic complexity through Generalized Additive Mixed Models. Further, he has had the opportunity to combine statistical knowledge with proficiency in R, Python and SAS.

    Parcifal started working at element61 in September 2022 where he has gathered experience in Databricks, Azure, Fabric, Power BI and TimeXtender. In 2024, Parcifal has been instructing the first Fabric Analyst In A Day sessions in Belgium.

  • Paulina Jędrzejewska

    Paulina Jędrzejewska

    b.telligent, Power BI Consultant

    Paulina specializes in data modeling and automation in Power BI. She also has experience with data warehousing, SQL, and ETL.

    "I got to know Power BI during my studies and it was love at first sight. I'm amazed how powerfull this tool is and that it is becoming better every month. As a consultant and trainer, I have the opportunity to inspire my clients and show them that Power BI is more than just colorful reports."

  • Peter van den Bos

    Peter van den Bos

    Business Intelligence consultant

    Peter van den Bos is een Business Intelligence (BI) Consultant en eigenaar van Dutch BI Geek. Hij is een ervaringsdeskundige op het gebied van BI, met als expertise Microsoft BI Stack en DAX. Al tien jaar doet hij dit werk met veel passie en houdt hij zichzelf constant scherp, omdat hij nooit een complexe uitdaging uit de weg gaat. Tips & tricks op het gebied van BI deelt hij op zijn online platform (www.dutchbigeek.nl) d.m.v. blogs, vlogs én trainingen. Dit is dan ook iets waar hij energie van krijgt; kennis overbrengen naar mede geïnteresseerde. Verwacht dus een enthousiaste spreker die waardevolle kennis kan overbrengen vanuit het werkveld. De sessie van Peter is geschikt voor starters, maar ook zéér interessant voor de Business- en Financial Controllers.

  • Rob Sewell

    Rob Sewell

    Be-Whiskered Automator of Things

    Rob was a SQL Server DBA with a passion for PowerShell, Azure, Automation, and SQL (PaaS geddit?). Now he just helps people make things. He is a Data Platform MVP and an Azure MVP,a SQLBits committee member, a PowerShell Conference Europe organiser, and maintainer of many open-source projects. He has spoken at and volunteered at many Data and PowerShell events all over the world. He is a proud supporter of the Data and PowerShell communities.

    He relishes sharing and learning and can be found doing both via Twitter and his blog. He spends most of his time looking at a screen and loves to solve problems. He knows that looking at a screen so much is bad for him because his wife tells him so. Thus, he is often out riding his bike as his eyes are not good enough to play cricket any more.

    He has a fabulous beard

  • Robert French

    Robert French

    Data Shepherd, Data Plumber, and Data Dance Teacher

    From the first day at university when Robert was introduced to a mainframe computer, it was love at first sight. Since then he has worked hard to establish a career in Business Intelligence. Having worked in a diverse range of industries such as Banking, Retail, Architecture, and Grant Management software. Currently the co-organizer of the Glasgow Data user group. He is always on the lookout for more computer mischief.

  • Rui Romano

    Rui Romano

    Principal Program Manager @ Microsoft | Power BI Team

    Rui is an experienced Microsoft Professional with a deep passion for data and analytics. He has spent the last decade helping companies make better data-driven decisions and is known for his innovative and practical solutions to complex problems.

    As a speaker, Rui is engaging, insightful, and highly knowledgeable. He can distil complex data concepts into simple, understandable language, and is truly passionate about helping others develop their data skills.

    Currently works as Product Manager at the Power BI product team, focusing on Pro-BI experiences.

  • Sam Debruyn

    Sam Debruyn

    Microsoft Data Platform MVP for Microsoft Fabric, tech lead data & cloud @ Dataroots

    Sam Debruyn is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Cloud Data Solution Architect passionate about modern data platforms such as Microsoft Fabric. Sam has over 10 years of experience with Microsoft Azure and regularly blogs about his adventures in data. He contributes to the Microsoft Fabric community through blog posts, open-source projects, and speaking engagements at data meetups and conferences.

  • Sander Stad

    Sander Stad

    Data Masterminds, PowerShell Underdog

    Sander is a SQL Server DBA with over 20 years of experience in IT. He has worked with SQL Server since version 2000 and is a Cloud and Datacenter Management (CDM) MVP.
    He is a huge PowerShell enthusiast and will try to automate processes as much as he can.

  • Sebastiaan Leysen

    Sebastiaan Leysen

    Manager Data & AI at delaware

    Sebastiaan is a solution architect at delaware, where he advises clients on best practices and architectural design choices for the optimal use of analytical tools and data platforms. He acts as a bridge between decision-makers and data engineers.

    As a certified Databricks Champion, Sebastiaan leads delaware's internal Center of Excellence (COE) on data architecture, which gathers and disseminates project best practices.

  • Silviu Tofan

    Silviu Tofan

    Lead Product Specialist, Databricks

    Silviu is part of a specialised team within Databricks EMEA Field Engineering organisation, looking after their Serverless Compute Platform and Data Warehousing product lines. He works closely with large enterprises looking to onboard their end-to-end analytics capabilities safely and securely onto the Databricks platform for leveraging SQL at scale.

  • Simon Whiteley

    Simon Whiteley

    Data Platform MVP. Databricks Beacon. Cloud Architect, Nerd

    Director of Engineering for Advancing Analytics Ltd, Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Databricks Beacon. Simon is a seasoned solution architect & technical lead with well over a decade of Microsoft Analytics experience, who spends an inordinate amount of time running the Advancing Spark YouTube series. A deep techie with a focus on emerging cloud technologies and applying "big data" thinking to traditional analytics problems, Simon also has a passion for bringing it back to the high level and making sense of the bigger picture. When not tinkering with tech, Simon is a death-dodging London cyclist, a sampler of craft beers, an avid chef and a generally nerdy person.

  • Sophie De Waele

    Sophie De Waele

    Data Strategy Consultant at Dataroots

    Bridging the gap between business and IT to help companies gather insights from their data to make data-driven decisions.

  • Štěpán Rešl

    Štěpán Rešl

    Data Platform MVP | Managing partner & Lead technical consultant at DataBrothers

    I am a data lover, especially in the ecosystem of Microsoft tools. I primarily focus on Power BI, Azure Synapse, and Azure SQL. In general, I follow a very simple motto.

    "Don´t say it cannot be done, or someone who doesn´t know it will come and do it."

    I am a co-founder and a Lead Technical Consultant at DataBrothers. We are Power BI experts and consultants with a focus on data analysis, reporting, and training in Power BI. We work with our clients across the globe on developing custom solutions and training their users on all levels (from business to development).

  • Steve Campbell

    Steve Campbell

    Sunny BI Training and Consulting, Owner

    I’m Steve Campbell.
    For my job, I run Sunny BI, a Microsoft data training and consulting firm focused on analytics and reporting.

    Outside of this, I love to blog on PowerBI.tips, present at conferences and webinars, and co-run the Brew City Power Platform user group. It’s a fantastic community and I recommend being a part of it!

  • Thomas Kronawitter

    Thomas Kronawitter

    Making Data Matter

    Thomas is Head of Data-Driven Applications & Services at GRENKE in Baden-Baden.
    GRENKE is a financial solution provider offering services in more than 30 countries, from Singapore to Santiago de Chile.

    His department aims to deliver business value through data and data related services and applications.
    He has spent the last 20 years with data, databases, IT services and related infrastructure. Before that he was a paramedic with the German Red Cross.

    When he is not pretending to work, you will probably find him on his motorcycle as far away from paved roads as possible.

  • Tjomme Vergauwen

    Tjomme Vergauwen

    Senior Architect/Consultant @ Acumen Consulting

    Creating my first database at the age of 15, on a ZX Spectrum :-), and being in the BI/data business professionally as of 1998, I've delivered a lot of succesful solutions in various domains and various technologies, from designing the data lake(house)/data warehouse/database with ETL procedures till building the reporting environment on top of this data warehouse, database or cube.
    I've been trained by Ralph Kimball and Dan Linstedt (Certified Data Vault 2.0 Practitioner (CDVP2)). Also had the pleasure of dining with Bill Inmon (yes, I know the reason for the issues with Ralph).
    My current focus as a Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert is on creating future proof environments where data lake(house)s can live to their full potential.

  • Tom Bouten

    Tom Bouten

    Data Governance Lead @ element61

    Tom has accumulated extensive experience working with Data & Analytics since 2014.

    Tom started his professional journey as a systems and process auditor at PwC. He garnered invaluable expertise in the area of business processes and internal controls. Alongside traditional methods, Tom's primary focus revolved around utilizing data to conduct audits of clients' financial, IT, and operational processes. This endeavour provided him with substantial exposure to employing ETL techniques on data extracted from various ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, JDE, Dynamics, Navision and others.

    Recognizing his proficiency, Tom was appointed as the lead for the Belgian Centre of Excellence for data-enabled auditing. In this capacity, he facilitated the digital transformation of audit procedures by introducing novel tools (based on SQL, Power BI, Qlik, ACL, Alteryx), and methodologies, and imparting training. Moreover, Tom contributed to process mining projects (Celonis, Perspectives) at clients and supported the initiation of the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) service offering at PwC (UiPath).

    In 2018, driven by his aspiration to focus more intensively on Business Intelligence, Tom decided to depart from PwC and joined Goodman, a prominent industrial real estate developer.

    Assuming the role of Business Intelligence Lead for Europe, he formed and implemented an encompassing data strategy for the European branch of the company. This endeavour involved the successful deployment of Power BI, the establishment of a Modern Data Platform on Azure (with TimeXtender), and the upgrade of TM1 to IBM Planning Analytics. Furthermore, Tom assumed responsibility for the rollout of Data Governance and BI Governance frameworks in the organization. During his time at Goodman, he further developed his skillset on Azure, ETL (SSMS, SSIS, Data Factory, TimeXtender, TurboIntegrator) and reporting (Power BI, SSRS, IBM PAW & PAfE).

    Since July 2023, Tom started on a new chapter of his career by joining element61, where he will be supporting clients to maximize their data value with Data Governance.

  • Tonie Huizer

    Tonie Huizer

    Software, Data, DevOps Consultant at Promicro

    My name is Tonie, with 20+ years of experience in IT I like to read, experiment, talk and write about software.
    The fun I experience in my job is the combination of people and technology.
    To be honest I'm not the greatest DBA, Developer or SysAdmin, but I like to follow up and combine a lot of the things those people do.

    in 2021 I started to write small stories on Medium, because talking about software is one thing...
    In my stories I explain Azure, SQL and other Microsoft technologies with (if possible) one central topic Whisky!

  • Traci Sewell

    Traci Sewell

    Tech-adjacent mind fixer

    Traci lives in Somerset with some (very cute) cats, some horses and her husband, Rob. When not looking after all of those, she works to soothe people's minds as a psychotherapist. Being tech-adjacent she has been drawn into the tech event organising world, where she brings her life long knowledge, expertise and fearsome determination to empower and protect those who are outside of the generic majority box.

  • Ust Oldfield

    Ust Oldfield

    Cloud Walker and data geek who dives into data lakes, architects data platforms and empowers users through good data strategy

    I help others unlock value in data through consulting, mentoring and knowledge sharing. I love learning new technology and new ways of implementation - whether that's driven by people, process, or technology; and sharing those learnings with the wider community.

    When not learning, working or knowledge sharing , I love spending time with my family and cooking up delicious storms in the kitchen.

  • Wout Cardoen

    Wout Cardoen

    Senior Azure Data Architect

    Hi, I’m Wout!
    Thanks for taking an interest in my bio.
    I’m a highly motivated, results-driven professional specializing in Microsoft Azure. Passionate and adept at translating business challenges into innovative Azure solutions, I thrive on creating robust and effective platforms.
    Over the past five years, I've immersed myself in the intricacies of Azure data platforms, mastering the domain with unwavering commitment. My expertise includes overseeing more than 20 high-impact hybrid data solutions, both within Belgium and for multinationals across various sectors. I’m excited to share my knowledge and insights with you!

  • Yvette Lovas

    Yvette Lovas

    Senior BI Consultant @ BI Consulting

    As a Senior BI Consultant with an extensive educational background in Data Visualization and Data Science. I am passionate about Power BI and Data Visualization, and I am lucky to call that my profession.

    I believe community is key in personal and professional development, thus I find joy in mentoring and coaching the next generation of data wizards, and taking active role in the Hungarian Power BI User Group as well.

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