Carol Smock
TechFluent, Executive Director
Carlsbad, California, United States
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Carol is an executive with a passion for delivering results and developing high-performing teams. Currently leading TechFluent, the premier education program for Microsoft Biz Apps and AI Foundational learning. She is an experienced driver of engagement and leadership, with hands-on strategy, project and delivery expertise, technical product ownership, business start-ups and staff development. Carol has successfully led technical delivery and scrum teams in highly matrixed, geographically dispersed environments to deliver complex, enterprise-level business solutions.
Area of Expertise
Topics
Strategic Consulting in the AI Era: Microsoft Solutions for Business Impact
This session is designed for mid-career professionals transitioning into tech consulting or leadership roles. It focuses on aligning Microsoft’s AI-powered platforms with strategic business outcomes—highlighting how Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Azure AI drive operational efficiency, customer engagement, and data-driven decision-making. Participants will explore use cases, pilot project strategies, and ethical considerations in AI adoption. The session emphasizes how consultants can guide clients through digital transformation, scale solutions, and measure impact.
It also introduces relevant Microsoft certifications and TechFluent’s cohort model for skilling the industry.
Who Moved the Cheese? Navigating AI's Early-Talent Blind Spot.
AI has been the talk of college convocations this summer. While organizations scramble to implement AI in talent acquisition, its long-term impact on early-career and transitionary roles is largely ignored. Is this a quiet crisis for future capability, or is it more noise than reality?
Join TechFluent's Executive Director Carol Smock and practitioner Shikhar Agarwal for a gritty roundtable on the future of early-stage talent. We’ll bypass the hype to look at patterns from frontier firms and tackle a vital question: How do we apply AI at the entry point to create opportunity, and how can partners step up to architect these new pathways? Come prepared to share insights and walk away with a blueprint for a sustainable workforce.
Creating Effective Talent Pipelines in The Modern Microsoft Ecosystem
The Microsoft ecosystem is experiencing a talent transformation. As AI reshapes roles, partner business models evolve, and customer expectations accelerate, one challenge continues to rise above the rest: building sustainable talent pipelines.
Based on insights from Carol Smock's 10-part thought leadership series on talent in the Microsoft ecosystem, this interactive panel discussion brings together industry leaders to explore what it takes to attract, develop, and retain talent in today's partner landscape.
From early-career professionals and career changers to technical specialists, marketers, sellers, consultants, and future AI-focused roles, the conversation will examine how organizations can move beyond hiring transactions and create intentional talent ecosystems. Panelists will share real-world examples of workforce development, mentorship, skills-based hiring, community engagement, leadership accountability, and culture initiatives that are helping partners build resilient teams for the future.
Attendees will gain practical strategies to address talent shortages, strengthen succession planning, create growth opportunities, and position their organizations for long-term success in an increasingly competitive Microsoft marketplace.
Key Takeaways:
Understand the biggest talent challenges facing Microsoft partners today.
Learn how AI and emerging technologies are changing workforce requirements.
Discover strategies for attracting new and diverse talent into the ecosystem.
Explore effective approaches to retention, career development, and employee engagement.
Identify actionable steps to build a sustainable talent pipeline that supports business growth.
My panelists are TBD. I will select 2-3 High Level Hiring Managers in the Ecosystem to join me - likely a mid-to-large Firm and a boutique firm to ensure diverse perspective.
Executive Roundtable: Educating and Mentoring the Modern Microsoft Consultant
This executive roundtable is for Microsoft partner firms as a peer‑driven discussion on how TechFluent can best support the industry in developing consulting talent. The session focuses on closing the gap between technical training and real‑world consulting readiness through scalable education and mentorship models.
Discussion will center on three questions:
Where do current Microsoft training models fall short for consultant readiness?
How can mentorship be scaled without impacting utilization or overloading senior staff?
What outcomes would signal real success from an enablement partner like TechFluent?
Equipping Consultants for the Modern Microsoft Ecosystem
Interactive roundtable discussion featuring nonprofit educators, hiring managers, tech mentors, and recent program graduates. As Microsoft’s ecosystem evolves—from Dynamics 365 and Power Platform to AI-driven analytics and cloud-first strategies—consultants must adapt to deliver value in a rapidly shifting landscape. In this Roundtable Discussion, TechFluent leaders want to discuss how we can help the Ecosystem equip new and seasoned consultants with the insights, tools, and frameworks needed to thrive in the modern Microsoft environment.
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