Although living on a tropical island, Jochen Kirstätter is a business owner and entrepreneur in different industry sectors. Mainly operating in the development of tailor-made software solutions since more than 20 years, he is also venturing into the world of cloud computing. You can either meet him at the regular meetups of the Mauritius Software Craftsmanship Community or reach him on X and Mastodon: @JKirstaetter.

Jochen is a Google Developer Expert (GDE) for Google Cloud and a Microsoft Most Valuable Programmer (MVP) for Developer Technologies for several years. He founded the now largest IT community in Mauritius, and organises the annual Developers Conference. Following his interest in cross-platform technologies he is also an organiser of the Google Developer Group (GDG) Mauritius.

Although living on a tropical island, Jochen Kirstätter is a business owner and entrepreneur in different industry sectors. Mainly operating in the development of tailor-made software solutions since more than 20 years, he is also venturing into the ... Show more

Microsoft MVP in AI | Microsoft Regional Director | Board Member at Pioneer Center for AI, Danish Data Science Community & BLG

Emilie Lundblad stands at the forefront of Data & AI, holding prestigious roles such as Microsoft 3xMVP in AI and 2x Microsoft Regional Director. Her profound expertise spans across leveraging AI securely in multi-agent systems. As an esteemed board member at the Pioneer Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Danish Data Science Community, she actively contributes to shaping the future of AI and data sciences.

Educationally, Emilie is well-rounded with a Master's in Quantitative Finance from the University of Southern Denmark and a minor in Machine Learning & AI from MIT. She is completing her Executive Master’s in IT Management at the IT University of Copenhagen, further enriching her vast knowledge by guest lecturing.

With over 15 years of professional experience, Emilie’s career highlights include roles as Head of AI CoE at Ambu, Director of AI & Automation at Hempel, MD at Amesto, Head of Data at GroupM, and EMEA Innovation Lead at WPP. A recognized thought leader, she has delivered impactful keynotes at venues like Experts live NL, IDA, Danish IT, the Danish Government IT Conference, and Microsoft events.

Emilie's collaborative projects with institutions like MIT and the Technical University of Denmark focus on applying machine learning to challenges such as dynamic pricing and sustainable solutions, underpinning her commitment to enhancing business efficacy and sustainability.

Her accolades include nominations for DAIR awards Responsible AI 2024, Hyperight’s Top 100 Nordic Data & AI Influencers 2023, Berlingske Talent 100, and the Nordic Women in Tech Award for Diversity Leader of the Year, showcasing her as a beacon of innovation and leadership in the Data & AI sector.

Microsoft MVP in AI | Microsoft Regional Director | Board Member at Pioneer Center for AI, Danish Data Science Community & BLG Emilie Lundblad stands at the forefront of Data & AI, holding prestigious roles such as Microsoft 3xMVP in AI and 2x Mic... Show more

James works at Microsoft as a big data and data warehousing solution architect where he has been for most of the last ten years. He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics, including data architectures such as the modern data warehouse, data lakehouse, data fabric, and data mesh. Previously he was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. He is a prior SQL Server MVP with nearly 40 years of IT experience. He is a popular blogger (JamesSerra.com) and speaker, having presented at dozens of major events including PASS Summit, SQLBits, Data Summit, SQLDay, Enterprise Data World conference, Big Data Conference Europe, SQL Saturdays, and Informatica World. He is the author of the book “Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh”.

James works at Microsoft as a big data and data warehousing solution architect where he has been for most of the last ten years. He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics, including data architectures such ... Show more

Dwayne has been working as a Developer Relations professional since 2015 and has been involved in tech communities since 2005. He loves sharing his knowledge, and he has done so by giving talks at over a hundred events worldwide. Dwayne currently lives in Chicago. Outside of tech, he loves karaoke, live music, and performing improv.

Dwayne has been working as a Developer Relations professional since 2015 and has been involved in tech communities since 2005. He loves sharing his knowledge, and he has done so by giving talks at over a hundred events worldwide. Dwayne currently liv... Show more

I am a Senior Platform Engineer and Keynote Speaker with expertise in Kubernetes, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code.
I build internal platforms that developers love.
Beyond engineering, I’m a keynote and public speaker at global conferences including Devoxx London, KubeCon North America, and DevOpsDays NYC - speaking about developer experience and scaling infrastructure.
May the force be with you.

I am a Senior Platform Engineer and Keynote Speaker with expertise in Kubernetes, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code. I build internal platforms that developers love. Beyond engineering, I’m a keynote and public speaker at global conferences includi... Show more

Chris is a technology coach and advisor helping technology teams drive business success. His focus is on helping startups realise their vision and new CTOs flourish in their roles. He also supports executives & boards with strategic technology advice, and engineering teams with training, mentoring and consulting in architecture, quality, domain-driven design and test driven development.

He is a regular meetup & conference speaker (https://chrissimon.au/speaking/) and to support teams using Domain-Driven Design, he recently launched https://contextive.tech & co-founded the DDD Australia meetup and ADAConf (https://adaconf.org) conferences.

He is the technical co-founder of https://www.inloop.com.au, home of Australian Fintech success stories https://www.flexischools.com.au and https://www.lanternpay.com (recently acquired by NAB).

Chris is a technology coach and advisor helping technology teams drive business success. His focus is on helping startups realise their vision and new CTOs flourish in their roles. He also supports executives & boards with strategic technology advice... Show more

Co-Author of 'Coaching for Learning; the Art and Practice' and 'Create Your Dojo; Upskilling Your Organization for Digital Evolution,' Joel helps organizations evolve through learning. This combines a blend of XP, agile, lean, devops and product thinking practices all to embrace learning in the context of work.
With deep experience in architecture modernization, blending product discovery with delivery and architecture, and systems thinking, Joel helps organizations make it easier for their teams to do great work.

Co-Author of 'Coaching for Learning; the Art and Practice' and 'Create Your Dojo; Upskilling Your Organization for Digital Evolution,' Joel helps organizations evolve through learning. This combines a blend of XP, agile, lean, devops and product thi... Show more

Grishma Jena is a Data Scientist with the Product Excellence Office at IBM in San Francisco. As the only Data Scientist in the org, she supports 100+ user researchers and designers and uses data to understand user struggles and opportunities to enhance product experiences. She has received the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award (Major), one of the most prestigious company-wide awards, as recognition of her work.

She earned her Masters in Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests are in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. She has delivered 50+ talks and workshops across 10 countries including at PyCon US (largest Python conference in the world), QCon and LeadDev. She has also taught Python at the San Francisco Public Library and frequently guides school and university students.

Grishma is extremely passionate about encouraging, mentoring, and empowering people, especially women and students, in the world of technology. She has been recognized by the Python Software Foundation as a Fellow for her extraordinary efforts and impact upon Python, the community, and the broader Python ecosystem. She won the Silver Stevie Award for Changemaker of the Year (Gender) and was selected as one of Women Impact Tech honorees. She serves on the AI/ML Advisory Board for DevNetwork. She is also an ambassador for the Women in Data Science initiative, as well as a part of the leadership team for Society of Women Engineers - Golden Gate Section. In 2023, she was recognized by Women Who Code as one of 100 Technologists To Watch for her excellence, innovation, and leadership, and was also a finalist for Venture Beat's Women in AI mentorship award.

In her free time, she likes to write, cook, and explore new places.

Grishma Jena is a Data Scientist with the Product Excellence Office at IBM in San Francisco. As the only Data Scientist in the org, she supports 100+ user researchers and designers and uses data to understand user struggles and opportunities to enhan... Show more

Danica began her career as a software engineer in data visualization and warehousing with a business intelligence team where she served as a point-person for standards and best practices in data visualization across her company. In 2018, Danica moved to San Francisco and pivoted to backend engineering with a derivatives data team which was responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure that processes millions of financial market data per second in near real-time. Her first project on this team involved Kafka Streams and Kafka Connect. From there, she immersed herself in the world of data streaming and found herself quite at home in the Apache Kafka and Apache Flink communities. She now leads the open source advocacy efforts at Snowflake, supporting Apache Iceberg and Apache Polaris (incubating).

Outside of work, Danica is passionate about sustainability, increasing diversity in the technical community, and keeping her many houseplants alive. She can be found on X (Bluesky and Mastodon), talking about tech, plants, and baking @TheDanicaFine.

Danica began her career as a software engineer in data visualization and warehousing with a business intelligence team where she served as a point-person for standards and best practices in data visualization across her company. In 2018, Danica moved... Show more

I'm Ivan Pesenti. A passionate gopher who has been working in the software industry since 2014.

I'm a software engineer focused on server-side programming. Throughout my career, I've always been accompanied by two obsessions: testing and writing secure code. I consider myself a detail-oriented person.

My career took a turning point in 2021 when the Go programming language crossed my path. Since then, I've fallen in love with it.

I believe in empathy, kindness, mutual help, growth, determination, and trust. These values have led me to give back to the community through speaking, coaching, writing, and more. Helping others is one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had.

During my free time, I train my body, play football, watch anime, and hang out with family and friends.

One of my favorite quotes is: "Hard work beats talent."

I'm Ivan Pesenti. A passionate gopher who has been working in the software industry since 2014. I'm a software engineer focused on server-side programming. Throughout my career, I've always been accompanied by two obsessions: testing and writing s... Show more

Enterprise Architect with 25+ years of experience delivering data-centric solutions, including big data, cloud, analytics, and data engineering strategies in both enterprise and consulting capacities. Proven expertise in AWS, Azure Cloud, Databricks, MLFlow, and Spark, driving scalable and efficient data solutions. A trusted advisor in enterprise data architecture for both existing and new platforms; Databricks Champion for CGI. Passionate about machine learning and leveraging advanced analytics to drive business value.

Enterprise Architect with 25+ years of experience delivering data-centric solutions, including big data, cloud, analytics, and data engineering strategies in both enterprise and consulting capacities. Proven expertise in AWS, Azure Cloud, Databricks,... Show more

Alex is an application development enthusiast since the late nineties and works as an architect, lead developer and mentor at large enterprises and small companies. He spends his time teaching other developers the details of the Microsoft development platform and frameworks, and coaches architects to design and build modern distributed applications at cloud scale. He has received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award for Visual Studio and Development Technologies since 2007. In his spare time Alex likes to participate in all kinds of sport, and loves playing and programming new and retro video games.

Alex is an application development enthusiast since the late nineties and works as an architect, lead developer and mentor at large enterprises and small companies. He spends his time teaching other developers the details of the Microsoft development... Show more

Federico is a Microsoft MVP in the M365 category, a SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Technical Architect, and a Microsoft 365 certified professional. He works at Avanade Italy as a Modern Workplace Solution Architect, specializing in enterprise solutions with extensive experience in Microsoft and Open Source technologies.

He is also the host of Copilot Espresso Podcast, an Italian podcast about Copilot for Microsoft 365 and beyond.

A passionate blogger, coffee taster, and trekking lover, Federico serves as a Career Advisor for his team in the Modern Workplace area. Additionally, he is an active contributor to the Microsoft 365 Patterns and Practices (PnP) community.

Federico is a Microsoft MVP in the M365 category, a SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Technical Architect, and a Microsoft 365 certified professional. He works at Avanade Italy as a Modern Workplace Solution Architect, specializing in enterprise solutions... Show more

Ferdi Lethen-Oellers is a senior consultant in the area of Microsoft 365 and helps companies increase productivity in their everyday work. He likes to focus on the most important component in the process: people. Since the pandemic, Ferdi has been an avid jogger and regularly goes to soccer. Besides sports, his family is the most important thing to him. Ferdi is an expert on the topic of Microsoft 365 and is available for questions as well as consultations. Inquiries via mail to ferdi.lethen@outlook.de.

Ferdi Lethen-Oellers is a senior consultant in the area of Microsoft 365 and helps companies increase productivity in their everyday work. He likes to focus on the most important component in the process: people. Since the pandemic, Ferdi has been an... Show more

Consultant focused on industrial and embedded solutions using .NET and other native SDKs with over 35 years of experience, XeDotNet community co-founder, speaker and Microsoft MVP since 2012. Passionate and curious about everything that revolves around the IoT world.

Consultant focused on industrial and embedded solutions using .NET and other native SDKs with over 35 years of experience, XeDotNet community co-founder, speaker and Microsoft MVP since 2012. Passionate and curious about everything that revolves arou... Show more

Jorgen is working as a principal consultant at Onevinn in Sweden. He has been working as a consultant since 1993 with a focus on Enterprise Client Management and System Management. Involved in many projects and also a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Security MVP and deliver training's mostly on Intune and Windows 11. Jörgen is also an appreciated speaker at event like Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft Techdays, Microsoft Management Summit(MMS), TechED, Techorama, TechMentor and Workplace Ninjas.

Jorgen is working as a principal consultant at Onevinn in Sweden. He has been working as a consultant since 1993 with a focus on Enterprise Client Management and System Management. Involved in many projects and also a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Mic... Show more

I am an AI, XR expert and Microsoft MVP. I spoke at TED Conferences, Microsoft Build / Ignite, WeAreDevelopers World Congress, focusing on innovation and solving organizational challenges with advanced technology. My projects, which make complex tech accessible and engaging, span sectors like Cultural Heritage, Healthcare, and Creative Coding. As a multiplier for immersive technologies and AI, I am committed to fostering collaborative growth and learning worldwide

I am an AI, XR expert and Microsoft MVP. I spoke at TED Conferences, Microsoft Build / Ignite, WeAreDevelopers World Congress, focusing on innovation and solving organizational challenges with advanced technology. My projects, which make complex tech... Show more

Chris Klug is a developer badass-as-a-service that either creates or solves problems depending on who you ask. He loves creating and building things. Whether it be a new application, a new kitchen or a new RC helicopter, you will see him building things all the time. Most of the time, that means writing code and solving problems for clients at a company called Active Solution in Stockholm though. Except for the many days he spends at conferences and usergroups, talking about doing things he is passionate about, and for the days he goes mountain biking, IPSC shooting, kiteboarding or RC helicopter flying.
For the last 15-something years, he has been solving problems for customers, and loving it. But if he gets to choose, he'll go to the beach and kitesurf every day!

Chris Klug is a developer badass-as-a-service that either creates or solves problems depending on who you ask. He loves creating and building things. Whether it be a new application, a new kitchen or a new RC helicopter, you will see him building thi... 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

Mihail Mateev is an owner, Solution Architect, Senior Technical Evangelist at SoftProject, responsible for .Net, IoT and cloud solutions. Mihail currently works as a Senior Solution Architect at EPAM Systems. He also worked many years like a Technical evangelist in the Infragistics. Last years Mihail was focused on various areas related to technology Microsoft: Visual Studio , ASP.Net, Windows client apps, MS SQL Server and Microsoft Azure.

Mihail Mateev is an owner, Solution Architect, Senior Technical Evangelist at SoftProject, responsible for .Net, IoT and cloud solutions. Mihail currently works as a Senior Solution Architect at EPAM Systems. He also worked many years like a Techni... Show more

I'm a lifelong learner with a passion for creative problem-solving. I share my expertise and insights with the data community through talks, video content, and bringing people together with the DATA:Scotland event.

I'm a lifelong learner with a passion for creative problem-solving. I share my expertise and insights with the data community through talks, video content, and bringing people together with the DATA:Scotland event. Show more

Javier Villegas is IT Director (DBA & BI Services) at Mediterranean Shipping Company with 30 years of experience working with SQL Server, Including Azure SQL.
His specialization is Administration, Performance Tuning, High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
Javier is a Microsoft MVP Data Platform since 2016 and MCT
He is a frequent speaker in technical conferences and events such as SQL Saturdays, PASS Virtual Groups, PASS Marathons, 24 Hours SQL PASS , vOpen , GroupBy , Data Saturdays and Azure Global Bootcamps.
He is one of the group leaders of SQL Argentina Community and former Microsoft Azure Data Advisory Board Member

Javier Villegas is IT Director (DBA & BI Services) at Mediterranean Shipping Company with 30 years of experience working with SQL Server, Including Azure SQL. His specialization is Administration, Performance Tuning, High Availability and Disaster ... 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

Tiago Costa is a Senior Cloud Architect and Advisor focusing on Microsoft Azure, International Speaker, Trainer and Author. For the past 20 years has been architecting and developing solutions using Microsoft technologies. In the last years Tiago have been helping companies to migrate and build Cloud native workloads in Microsoft Azure. Tiago has been working as at the Senior Architect level, but he always like to do some hands-on tasks on the Azure Administration and Development side of things. You can find him regularly in the classroom or online teaching Microsoft Azure. All this real-world experience allows him to deliver amazing trainings on Microsoft Azure.

Tiago has several Microsoft Certifications and awards:
- Microsoft Azure MVP (2016 – …)
- MCT – Microsoft Certified Trainer (2006 – …)
- MCT Regional Lead (2013 – …)
- Microsoft Certification Council Member (2020 – …)

He loves diving into new technologies and share his experience at conferences and training classes. What excites him about it's work is to help others exploring new frontiers in technology and to become better professionals. He's free time is spent with his family in the surroundings of the sunny Lisbon, Portugal, and building some cool geek projects.

Tiago Costa is a Senior Cloud Architect and Advisor focusing on Microsoft Azure, International Speaker, Trainer and Author. For the past 20 years has been architecting and developing solutions using Microsoft technologies. In the last years Tiago hav... Show more

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.

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 servic... Show more

Blogger, speaker, #sqlfamily member. Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Data passionate, Data Engineer and Architect.
Over 20 years of programming and experience with SQL Server databases (since 2000 version) he confirmed by certificates MCITP, MCP, MCTS, MCSA, MCSE Data Platform & Data management & analytics. He worked both as developer and administrator big databases designing systems from the scratch. Recently focused on Data Platform in Azure as a certified (Azure Dev-Ops Engineer Expert, Azure Developer Associate) Data Engineer and Azure Architect.
Passionate about optimization of database systems, an advocate of code transparency, open-source projects and automation, DevOps and PowerShell fan.

Since 2015 he has been living and working in the UK. Currently professionally associated with Avanade, an international consulting company.

Socially, tied with Data Community Poland (former PLSSUG) for many years, He worked a couple of years as a volunteer and now as a co-organizer and speaker of the biggest SQL Server conference in Poland (SQLDay).
Socially, tied with the Data Community Poland Association (former PLSSUG) and the SQLDay conference for many years; currently as a co-organizer of a five-day Data Relay conference in the UK, a volunteer at SQLBits and a presenter at these and many other conferences.

An originator of the "Ask SQL Family" podcast and founder of SQLPlayer blog.
Privately happy husband and father of two wonderful girls.

Blogger, speaker, #sqlfamily member. Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Data passionate, Data Engineer and Architect. Over 20 years of programming and experience with SQL Server databases (since 2000 version) he confirmed by certificates MCITP, MCP, MCT... Show more

Dave Stokes has worked for organizations ranging alphabetically from the American Heart Association to Xerox in areas ranging from anti-submarine warfare to webmaster. He lives in a small Texas town with the required hound dog and pickup truck. Dave is the Author of MySQL & JSON - A Practical Programming Guide, now in a second edition.

Dave Stokes has worked for organizations ranging alphabetically from the American Heart Association to Xerox in areas ranging from anti-submarine warfare to webmaster. He lives in a small Texas town with the required hound dog and pickup truck. Dave... Show more

Gethyn is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, SQL Server consultant and trainer specialising in the Microsoft Data Platform. Gethyn runs a small consultancy practice in the UK with clients across Europe and North America. The consultancy practice specialises in SQL Server upgrades, migrations to Azure, database security, architecture of highly available data platforms and database performance. Gethyn has published two books relating to SQL Server, one on SQL Server 2014 new features, and another on the Azure IaaS offering. He is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer for a number of years and has delivered approximately 200 training courses. He maintains a data platform themed blog on his website www.gethynellis.com

Gethyn is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, SQL Server consultant and trainer specialising in the Microsoft Data Platform. Gethyn runs a small consultancy practice in the UK with clients across Europe and North America. The consultancy practice speciali... Show more

Hannes is a developer, a coach and a father of 3.

In .NET development, he has always had a passion for performance, databases, distributed systems and large scale applications. But most of all, he likes playing devil’s advocate in technical discussions by drawing the ‘it depends’ card.

As a coach, he is enthousiastic about knowledge sharing, personal growth and building careers. All this while keeping in mind that the pace needs to be sustainable.

In his free time, when he’s not building LEGO® castles with his kids, he likes to spend time building guitars, playing chess or poker, tasting whisky and doing all round geeky stuff.

You can occasionally find him on an afterparty stage at PubConf or with Dylan Beattie & the Linebreakers.

Hannes is a developer, a coach and a father of 3. In .NET development, he has always had a passion for performance, databases, distributed systems and large scale applications. But most of all, he likes playing devil’s advocate in technical discus... Show more

Dylan Beattie is an independent consultant who has been building data-driven web applications since the 1990s. He’s managed teams, taught workshops, and worked on everything from tiny standalone websites to complex distributed systems. He’s a Microsoft MVP, and he regularly speaks at conferences and user groups all over the world.

Dylan is the creator of the Rockstar programming language, and the founder, vocalist and lead guitarist with The Linebreakers, the world's greatest nerd comedy classic rock disco alt punk covers band.

Dylan Beattie is an independent consultant who has been building data-driven web applications since the 1990s. He’s managed teams, taught workshops, and worked on everything from tiny standalone websites to complex distributed systems. He’s a Microso... Show more