Manpreet leads the Modern Workplace AI Solutions Team at Cognizant, where he designs and scales transformative Microsoft-based solutions for global enterprises. Partnering with leadership across diverse verticals—from Media and Entertainment to Financial Services and Healthcare—Manpreet orchestrates Agentic AI strategies that move beyond simple automation to create truly autonomous, intelligent ecosystems. His mission is to redefine the "Agentic Experience," ensuring that AI doesn't just respond to prompts but proactively solves business friction for global customers. As a Microsoft MVP in M365 and AI, he bridges the gap between complex architectural innovation and real-world business impact.

Beyond his leadership at Cognizant, Manpreet is a titan in the technical community. A revered MVP, his insights have reached a staggering 10 million+ readers through his extensive library of articles and blogs. He is the driving force behind numerous annual boot camps, hackathons, and fundraisers, all aimed at nurturing the next generation of tech talent. Whether he is architecting a unified AI Command Center for a Fortune 500 firm or mentoring the next generation of developers, Manpreet is driven by a relentless "human-first" philosophy. Amidst the rapid evolution of the AI landscape, he remains easily recognizable by his warm smile—a reflection of his genuine passion for empowering organizations to achieve more through the power of Agentic AI.

Manpreet leads the Modern Workplace AI Solutions Team at Cognizant, where he designs and scales transformative Microsoft-based solutions for global enterprises. Partnering with leadership across diverse verticals—from Media and Entertainment to Finan... Show more

Three decades of shipping software across industries gives Stacy stories worth hearing.

She takes the stage to share what actually works — live code, hard-won lessons, and a genuine passion for helping teams build better.

Recognised with a Microsoft MVP Award for Developer Technologies since 2020, she is also the author of Beginning Azure Static Web Apps, helping developers build dynamic applications using C#, Azure Functions, and Azure Static Web Apps.

Three decades of shipping software across industries gives Stacy stories worth hearing. She takes the stage to share what actually works — live code, hard-won lessons, and a genuine passion for helping teams build better. Recognised with a Micr... Show more

Michelle Sandford is a Developer Engagement Leader who writes code, builds with GitHub and Azure AI, and learns out loud. She likes sharing what’s useful (and what isn’t), and believes shipping is better than talking about it:

- A community builder, connecting MVPs, user groups, universities, and developer communities into thriving ecosystems that learn together and lift each other higher.
- A technical storyteller, Michelle shapes how the world talks about AI‑powered engineering and Azure innovation bringing clarity, curiosity, and creativity to every conversation.
- A program strategist, designing scalable, repeatable motions that help developers grow their capability and confidence at pace with a rapidly evolving industry.
- A bridge between engineering and the field making sure developers feel heard, supported, and empowered, from the first line of code to the final production push.

Michelle Sandford is a Developer Engagement Leader who writes code, builds with GitHub and Azure AI, and learns out loud. She likes sharing what’s useful (and what isn’t), and believes shipping is better than talking about it: - A community builde... Show more

Reitse began his computer days with GW Basic and quickly followed with Windows 3.11. After that, many computers followed, and, interrupted by human resource and psychology studies, he got into the IT work field around 2007. There, he encountered Oracle 9, which had a command line from 1980. At his current job, he met SQL Server. And loved it. Now he’s working with SQL 2008 to SQL 2019 on-premises and several Azure SQL Databases, supporting customers and tuning databases. New projects focus more on the Azure data platform as an architect, security advisor and data engineer. They include Fabric (Lakehouse and Realtime solutions), Data Factory and Synapse Analytics.

Reitse began his computer days with GW Basic and quickly followed with Windows 3.11. After that, many computers followed, and, interrupted by human resource and psychology studies, he got into the IT work field around 2007. There, he encountered Orac... Show more

Wim is an Azure Technical Advisor and Trainer with over fifteen years of Microsoft technology expertise who specializes in helping companies transition to the Cloud.

Wim is also a Microsoft MVP in the Azure category, a founding board member of the MC2MC user group, and an active community contributor, sharing his experiences through blogs and speaking engagements.

Wim is an Azure Technical Advisor and Trainer with over fifteen years of Microsoft technology expertise who specializes in helping companies transition to the Cloud. Wim is also a Microsoft MVP in the Azure category, a founding board member of the... Show more

Chris DeMars is a Senior Developer Advocate with over 20 years of technical experience. He speaks all over the world on web accessibility, feature flags, A/B testing, and CSS. For his community contributions, he holds awards as a Progress Champion and former Microsoft MVP, Google Developer Expert, Cloudinary Media Developer Expert, and Auth0 Ambassador. When he is not working on making the web great and accessible you can find him fishing, on the paintball field, rating Detroit Style pizza, and looking for UFO's.

Chris DeMars is a Senior Developer Advocate with over 20 years of technical experience. He speaks all over the world on web accessibility, feature flags, A/B testing, and CSS. For his community contributions, he holds awards as a Progress Champion an... Show more

Patty is a Venezuelan living in Scotland. She has +25 years of experience in the tech industry and a background education in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. She is a Technical Director and Head of AI (Architecture and Engineering Group) at Charles River Laboratories.

Patty is a member of the Google Developer Advisory Board, an organiser at Google Developers Group Glasgow, serves as an Ambassador for Google's Women Techmakers, and is recognised as a Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Artificial Intelligence.

Patty is a Venezuelan living in Scotland. She has +25 years of experience in the tech industry and a background education in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. She is a Technical Director and Head of AI (Architecture and Engineering Group)... Show more

I'm a Cloud Solution Architect Modern Work and deals mainly (but not only ...) with SharePoint, a product that has been with him for 15 years and has experienced the birth and growth of all the latest versions. However, collaboration is not just SharePoint, but all Microsoft 365 applications that are helping to revolutionize the way we work. Today in my work I support customers to identify the better strategy for adopt new products and technologies. In the last period I'm focusing on Copilot, AI, Power Platform and SharePoint. As a speaker I have participated in several conferences as a speaker among which WPC Milan, Scottish Summit, CollabDays, European Collaboration Summit, European Power Platform Conference, Thrive and more.

I'm a Cloud Solution Architect Modern Work and deals mainly (but not only ...) with SharePoint, a product that has been with him for 15 years and has experienced the birth and growth of all the latest versions. However, collaboration is not just Shar... Show more

Layla is a Microsoft MVP, Progress Champion, 3 times GitHub Star, and former director on the board at the .NET Foundation.
She is the co-founder of November North, a micro-game studio, developing and producing a first-person stealth game titled "The Third Tourist" - go and wishlist it on Steam!

Layla lives in the UK with her husband Jim and dogs, Cookie and Summer.

Layla is a Microsoft MVP, Progress Champion, 3 times GitHub Star, and former director on the board at the .NET Foundation. She is the co-founder of November North, a micro-game studio, developing and producing a first-person stealth game titled "The... Show more

Thomas Naunheim is a Cyber Security Architect at glueckkanja AG and a Microsoft MVP from Koblenz, Germany, specializing in cloud-native identity and security solutions in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Entra. With a deep focus on privileged identity management, identity security, and Zero Trust architecture, he designs and implements security solutions for real-world enterprise environments.

Thomas actively gives back to the community as a blogger at cloud-architekt.net, where he publishes in-depth research and practical insights on Microsoft Security. He is a speaker at international conferences and meetups, co-author of the open-source Entra ID Attack & Defense Playbook, and the creator of EntraOps - a community tool for privilege classification based on the Enterprise Access Model.

Beyond content creation, Thomas co-hosts the podcast Cloud Inspires and is actively involved in community organization as a member of the Azure Meetup Bonn and Cloud Identity Summit organizing teams. His long-standing contributions across blogging, speaking, and open-source development earned him the Microsoft MVP award in the Identity & Access and Cloud Security category.

Thomas Naunheim is a Cyber Security Architect at glueckkanja AG and a Microsoft MVP from Koblenz, Germany, specializing in cloud-native identity and security solutions in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Entra. With a deep focus on privileged identity m... Show more

Taiob Ali is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with 20+ years of experience with SQL Server and Azure data services. While SQL Server remains his primary focus, he is currently learning, using, and teaching PostgreSQL, often describing himself as an accidental PostgreSQL DBA.
He is also exploring practical applications of AI in data platforms, including GitHub Copilot, Copilot agent development, and built‑in AI capabilities in SQL Server. Taiob is a frequent international speaker and an active community organizer.

Taiob Ali is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with 20+ years of experience with SQL Server and Azure data services. While SQL Server remains his primary focus, he is currently learning, using, and teaching PostgreSQL, often describing himself as an acci... Show more

Thorsten Pickhan works at Microsoft and has been focused on Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Teams Phone, and Copilot for many years. As a speaker, blogger, YouTuber, and community advocate, he regularly shares his knowledge at conferences, user groups, and through his blog and YouTube channel.

From 2021 to 2025, he was honored as a Microsoft MVP in recognition of his contributions to the Microsoft community, particularly in the areas of Microsoft Teams and Copilot. After joining Microsoft, he retired the MVP title in accordance with the program requirements.

His areas of expertise include modern collaboration, communication solutions, and the productive use of AI within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Thorsten Pickhan works at Microsoft and has been focused on Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Teams Phone, and Copilot for many years. As a speaker, blogger, YouTuber, and community advocate, he regularly shares his knowledge at conferences, user group... Show more

Microsoft Business Applications & M365 MVP and a loud 😜 advocate for Accessibility, Neurodiversity, Mental Health and Inclusion.

Passionate about technology and delivering amazing and innovative solutions, but also ensuring that all users can use and enjoy - no matter the disability, neurodiversity, or technical expertise.

Very open and vocal about my many years (too many!) of working in the industry, and not hiding my own challenges and battles with Mental Health, Neurodiversity, and Disability.

Outside of tech you will find a proud Nerd & Geek who loves Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Technology and more. A family man and a massive petrol head and sports fan (F1, MotoGP, WEC, Rugby, Cricket... to name just a few) - oh, and a massive collector of Funko Pops and Lego!

Microsoft Business Applications & M365 MVP and a loud 😜 advocate for Accessibility, Neurodiversity, Mental Health and Inclusion. Passionate about technology and delivering amazing and innovative solutions, but also ensuring that all users can use... Show more

Johan Ludvig Brattås leads Data & AI Solutions at Tower NewCo, 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 Fabric.

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.

Johan Ludvig Brattås leads Data & AI Solutions at Tower NewCo, 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 ... Show more

Gregor Reimling is a Microsoft MVP in Azure and Security, and Chief Azure Technologist at adesso SE. He leads technical strategy and implementation for Azure, focusing on enterprise-scale architectures, cloud security, governance, hybrid environments, and migration.
Gregor is a passionate community advocate, regularly speaking at international Microsoft and community conferences. He runs a popular Azure blog and co-hosts the Cloud Inspires podcast. He is the founder of the Azure Bonn Meetup, a thriving user group with over 1,000 members, and co-founder of the Cloud Identity Summit, an annual event focused on identity and security.
As a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Gregor empowers professionals through hands-on training and mentorship, helping organisations maximise their cloud potential.

Gregor Reimling is a Microsoft MVP in Azure and Security, and Chief Azure Technologist at adesso SE. He leads technical strategy and implementation for Azure, focusing on enterprise-scale architectures, cloud security, governance, hybrid environments... Show more

Mary is a Technical Solutions Architect and Advocate in the Emerging Technology area. She started as an engineer in Unix/C, then transitioned to Java around 2000 and has never looked back since then. After 20+ years of being a software engineer and technical architect, she discovered her true passion in developer and customer advocacy. Most recently she has serviced companies of various sizes such as IBM, US Cellular, Bank of America, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, in topic areas that included Java, GenAI, Streaming systems, Open source, Cloud and Distributed messaging systems. She is also a very active tech community leader outside of her day job. She is the President of the Chicago Java Users Group (CJUG), and the Chicago Organizer of the AI Collective Chicago Chapter.

Mary is a Technical Solutions Architect and Advocate in the Emerging Technology area. She started as an engineer in Unix/C, then transitioned to Java around 2000 and has never looked back since then. After 20+ years of being a software engineer and... Show more

Joseph Guadagno is a Senior Vice President of IT, Microsoft Developer Services MVP, and international speaker with more than 25 years of experience leading high‑performing engineering organizations. He specializes in modernizing software delivery, scaling engineering culture, and helping teams adopt AI‑assisted development practices that accelerate innovation.

Joseph has delivered hundreds of sessions across the United States and internationally on .NET, Azure, cloud architecture, engineering leadership, and developer productivity. He is a long‑time community builder—former President and Vice President of the .NET Foundation, founder of the Southeast Valley .NET User Group, and organizer of Desert Code Camp.

He also created MoreSpeakers.com, a mentorship platform that connects new speakers with experienced presenters to grow the next generation of technical storytellers.

Joseph brings a rare blend of executive leadership, hands‑on technical expertise, and community passion to every stage.

Joseph Guadagno is a Senior Vice President of IT, Microsoft Developer Services MVP, and international speaker with more than 25 years of experience leading high‑performing engineering organizations. He specializes in modernizing software delivery, sc... Show more

Climbing the technology mountain and halfway up the side. Experience in .Net, Auth, and API development. Dabbles in iOT & databases. Focusing on coding for humans and choosing the right tool for the job.

Heather is a passionate coder and entrepreneur. She has experience working with Fortune 500 companies building enterprise level mobile and .Net applications. She spends her spare time at tech conferences supporting the growth of new developers of all genders, ages and backgrounds. When not coding, Heather spends her time as a competitive equestrian and learning the art of mounted archery.

Climbing the technology mountain and halfway up the side. Experience in .Net, Auth, and API development. Dabbles in iOT & databases. Focusing on coding for humans and choosing the right tool for the job. Heather is a passionate coder and entrepren... Show more

Scott is the Director of Engineering at Lean TECHniques Inc. Besides advising clients and delivering solutions for them, he enjoys helping teams realize their potential through technical practices (such as CI/CD, TDD, IAC, etc.) and working more effectively (such as limiting WIP, visualizing work, etc).

He’s a Microsoft MVP, Redgate Community Ambassador, international speaker, Dometrain author, and co-organizes the Iowa .NET User Group. You can find Scott on Twitter @scottsauber, on Bluesky @scottsauber.com, or on his blog at scottsauber.com.

Scott is the Director of Engineering at Lean TECHniques Inc. Besides advising clients and delivering solutions for them, he enjoys helping teams realize their potential through technical practices (such as CI/CD, TDD, IAC, etc.) and working more effe... Show more

Derek Smith works as the Chief Architect of Cloud and Infrastructure at Apex Systems. As part of the Service Delivery Organization, he engages with clients to provide insights into the technology landscape, guidance on digital transformations and strategy for cloud and infrastructure. Additionally, Derek also regularly serves within the Azure Community as a Mentor, Public Speaker, Content Creator, and Enthusiast for all things Microsoft Cloud.

Derek Smith works as the Chief Architect of Cloud and Infrastructure at Apex Systems. As part of the Service Delivery Organization, he engages with clients to provide insights into the technology landscape, guidance on digital transformations and str... Show more

Richard Campbell wrote his first line of code in 1977. His career has spanned the computing industry, both on the hardware and software sides, development, and operations. He was a co-founder of Strangeloop Networks, acquired by Radware in 2013, and was on the board of directors of Telerik, which was acquired by Progress Software in 2014. Today, he is a consultant and advisor to several successful technology firms and hosts three podcasts: .NET Rocks! (www.dotnetrocks.com) for .NET developers, RunAs Radio (www.runasradio.com) for IT Professionals, and Windows Weekly (https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly).

Richard Campbell wrote his first line of code in 1977. His career has spanned the computing industry, both on the hardware and software sides, development, and operations. He was a co-founder of Strangeloop Networks, acquired by Radware in 2013, and ... Show more

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 and a half of experience in developing data warehouses, models and reports using the Microsoft data platform. Koen was a Microsoft Data Platform MVP for 8 consecutive years, and 1 year Microsoft Fabric MVP. He has a blog at http://www.sqlkover.com, writes articles for MSSQLTips.com and is a frequent speaker at Microsoft Data Platform events.

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 and a half of experience in developing data warehouses, models and reports using ... Show more

I'm making music from the data! Power BI and Microsoft Fabric addict, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Pluralsight Author, O'Reilly Instructor, blogger, speaker...Interested in everything related to data - always eager to extract valuable info from raw data in the most effective way. Multi-year experience working with (predominantly) Microsoft Data Platform (SQL Server, SSAS, SSIS, SSRS, and Power BI). Father of 2 and true football (and Barca) fan!

I'm making music from the data! Power BI and Microsoft Fabric addict, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Pluralsight Author, O'Reilly Instructor, blogger, speaker...Interested in everything related to data - always eager to extract valuable info from raw d... Show more

Chris Klug has been building software professionally since sometime around 2000, back when .NET was new, CSS was a suggestion, and Roy Fielding’s REST paper had just been published. Since then he has written code for everything from model agencies to online sports betting to professional sail racing, because staying in one industry sounded far too boring.

He has been a Microsoft MVP for something like 15 years (depending on when he last updated this abstract), which either means he knows a thing or two or that he just talks a lot. Possibly both, but we all know the latter is a given. These days he works at Active Solution in Stockholm, helping clients solve problems and build better systems.

When he is not writing code, Chris is usually geeking out on some form of extreme sport like skydiving, kitesurfing, snowboarding, mountain biking, or wing foiling. He loves learning new things and spends way too much time thinking about weird stuff most people never even notice.

Chris Klug has been building software professionally since sometime around 2000, back when .NET was new, CSS was a suggestion, and Roy Fielding’s REST paper had just been published. Since then he has written code for everything from model agencies to... Show more

Ana María is a data professional with over 35 years of experience in the software industry and extensive experience, both in training and in projects, in data modeling and analysis with Microsoft technology like SQL, Power BI, and Fabric for advanced analytics.
She shares knowledge and experiences and promotes the visibility of female talent in technology.
You can find her in forums and international events and congresses in Spain, many European countries, LATAM, and the United States, as a speaker, organizer, or attendee, and also online on her Twitter account (ambynet), on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambynet/) or her technical blog at AMBY.NET (https://amby.net/) which he has maintained for almost 20 years. She is a Power Platform Madrid community co-leader and leads projects and initiatives in Power Platform Spain.

Ana María is a data professional with over 35 years of experience in the software industry and extensive experience, both in training and in projects, in data modeling and analysis with Microsoft technology like SQL, Power BI, and Fabric for advanced... Show more

Amarender Peddamalku is a Microsoft MVP in Business Applications. As a Digital Transformation Leader and Microsoft Modern Work Practice Lead at Perficient, my focus is on Employee Experience and Power Platform. Has over 15 years of experience with Microsoft Technologies and worked with every single version of SharePoint since its inception.

Amarender Peddamalku is a Microsoft MVP in Business Applications. As a Digital Transformation Leader and Microsoft Modern Work Practice Lead at Perficient, my focus is on Employee Experience and Power Platform. Has over 15 years of experience with Mi... Show more

Jon Jarvis is a Microsoft MVP and Endpoint Management Specialist at Advania UK, specialising in Microsoft Intune and Windows 365. His work centres on the security side of modern endpoint management, with a particular focus on Microsoft Defender and Intune integration, Intune Premium features, and the design and operation of Cloud PCs.

An active member of the global Microsoft community, Jon is a regular speaker at events across the UK, Europe, and the US, including Workplace Ninjas, Experts Live, MEM Summit, and M365Conf. He shares practical, real-world guidance through his community presence at CloudEndpoint.ai, where he writes about getting the most out of Intune, Windows 365, and Defender in production environments.

Jon is passionate about cutting through the noise and giving IT professionals content they can actually use. When he's not working with endpoints, he coaches youth football, runs a Brazilian jiu-jitsu club in Kent, and follows Arsenal.

Jon Jarvis is a Microsoft MVP and Endpoint Management Specialist at Advania UK, specialising in Microsoft Intune and Windows 365. His work centres on the security side of modern endpoint management, with a particular focus on Microsoft Defender and I... Show more

Thomas holds a degree in Business Economics, but has been a data explorer and a developer at heart ever since the days of dBase and Turbo Pascal. He touched his first SQL Server at V6.5, used covering indexes before they became a feature and joined the PASS community in 2006.

Thomas has been developing in Navision/Dynamics/Business Central systems for quite some time (since 2001, one year before MS acquired Navision), got his hands on R in 2014 (the year before MS bought Revolution Analytics), on the Power Platform from 2020 and the Arduino world from 2024 on. He has worked for ISVs as well as end-user companies, as a developer, consultant, accidental data engineer and he enjoys travelling around Europe speaking at data/dev events.

Thomas holds a degree in Business Economics, but has been a data explorer and a developer at heart ever since the days of dBase and Turbo Pascal. He touched his first SQL Server at V6.5, used covering indexes before they became a feature and joined t... Show more

Henk is a Cloud Advocate specializing in Artificial intelligence and Azure with a background in application development. He is currently part of the AI cloud advocate team and based in the Netherlands. Before joining Microsoft, he was a Microsoft AI MVP and worked as a software developer and architect building lots of AI powered platforms on Azure.

Henk is a Cloud Advocate specializing in Artificial intelligence and Azure with a background in application development. He is currently part of the AI cloud advocate team and based in the Netherlands. Before joining Microsoft, he was a Microsoft AI ... Show more

Massimo Bonanni is a Senior Technical Trainer, international speaker, and community leader passionate about Azure and developer technologies. A six-time Microsoft MVP in Windows and Developer Tools, as well as an Intel Black Belt and Software Innovator, he has delivered more than 200 technical sessions over the last decade. He loves turning complex topics into clear, practical, and engaging learning experiences — ideally with demos, real-world examples, and at least one nerdy joke. When he is off stage, you will likely find him reading or building LEGO sets.

Massimo Bonanni is a Senior Technical Trainer, international speaker, and community leader passionate about Azure and developer technologies. A six-time Microsoft MVP in Windows and Developer Tools, as well as an Intel Black Belt and Software Innovat... Show more