Uwe Ricken has been working with IT systems since the early 1990s, with a deep focus on Microsoft SQL Server starting from his work on Membership Software for the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany - later rolled out across five European countries. His passion for SQL Server took off in 2007 when he joined Deutsche Bank AG as a database administrator, gaining hands-on experience in high-performance, enterprise-scale environments.

With over three decades of experience in database development and operations, Uwe earned the prestigious "Microsoft Certified Master – SQL Server 2008", the highest technical certification at the time. In 2013, he was honored with his first "Microsoft MVP Award" for his contributions to the SQL Server community across Germany and Europe.

Since 2010, Uwe has been sharing his expertise through his blog https://sqlmaster.de, offering deep dives into SQL Server internals, performance tuning, and real-world troubleshooting.

A regular speaker at international conferences and user groups, Uwe’s sessions focus on Database Internals, Indexing Strategies and Advanced SQL Development - always with a practical, performance-driven mindset.

Uwe Ricken has been working with IT systems since the early 1990s, with a deep focus on Microsoft SQL Server starting from his work on Membership Software for the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany - later rolled out across five European countri... Show more

Hi there. I am Valerie Junk.
I am passionate about creating insights from data and designing dashboards using Power BI. With my expertise in data analytics and visualization, I support companies in developing effective data-driven strategies that yield results and take the business to the next level.
Microsoft Data Platform MVP

Hi there. I am Valerie Junk. I am passionate about creating insights from data and designing dashboards using Power BI. With my expertise in data analytics and visualization, I support companies in developing effective data-driven strategies that y... Show more

Software Architect @Particular Software, Microsoft MVP for Developer Technologies, Microsoft Certified Trainer, always in a quest for the latest trends and best practices in architecture, .NET, and the world around it.

Irina has more than 1000 hours of delivered training, workshops, and presentations, is passionate about .NET and the world around it.

She is the founder of DotNet Iasi User Group where she tries to gather people who are willing to share their knowledge with others, and from time to time publishes articles on her blog: http://irina.codes

Software Architect @Particular Software, Microsoft MVP for Developer Technologies, Microsoft Certified Trainer, always in a quest for the latest trends and best practices in architecture, .NET, and the world around it. Irina has more than 1000 hou... Show more

Kevin Griffin has been running production .NET applications and teaching developers for over two decades. A Microsoft MVP specializing in .NET and Microsoft Azure, Kevin brings real-world experience from consulting and his own SaaS products. He's hosted the Hampton Roads .NET User Group since 2009 and founded RevolutionVA, a nonprofit supporting software development education in southeast Virginia. Kevin's talks blend hard-won lessons from production systems with practical advice you can use Monday morning.

Kevin Griffin has been running production .NET applications and teaching developers for over two decades. A Microsoft MVP specializing in .NET and Microsoft Azure, Kevin brings real-world experience from consulting and his own SaaS products. He's hos... Show more

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in Data Platform for the last 9 years and MVP in AI.

Over 20 years of experience in business and technology working with organizations at various stages of digital transformations. Over the years, worked with several industry sectors including Retail, Banking, Minery, Oil & Gas, and Media/Entertainment. Also led several products and applications that have been in the cusp of data, strategy, technology, and business transformation. Passion for data , emerging technologies and new offerings enables clients to make fact-based decisions and drive actions in the market together.​

Provided recommendations and guidance on revamping Analytics and Reporting enterprise architecture for different companies in helping drive a Customer Data Exchange working closely with the C-Suite to help them design their New Data Services Organization with Data Products. Stood up new capabilities required to effectively operate and move toward Data Monetization using advanced Data consolidation and Data Sharing capabilities focusing on Privacy/Compliance and Data Governance

YouTube channel Power Mates: https://www.youtube.com/@PowerMatesMS

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in Data Platform for the last 9 years and MVP in AI. Over 20 years of experience in business and technology working with organizations at various stages of digital transformations. Over the years, worked ... Show more

Tiago Costa is a Senior AI & Cloud Architect and Advisor, focusing on AI & Microsoft Azure, a Public Speaker, Trainer, and Author. For the past +20 years has been architecting and developing solutions using Microsoft technologies. In recent years, Tiago has been helping companies migrate and build AI & cloud-native workloads on Microsoft Azure. Tiago has been working at the Senior Architect level, but he always likes to take on some hands-on tasks on the Azure Administration and Development side. You can also find him in the classroom or online teaching AI & Microsoft Azure. All this real-world experience enables him to deliver outstanding training in AI & Microsoft Azure.

Tiago has several Microsoft Certifications and awards:
- Microsoft Azure MVP (2016 – …)
- MCT – Microsoft Certified Trainer (2006 – …)
- MCT Community Lead (2013 – …)

He loves diving into new technologies and sharing his experience at conferences and training classes. What excites him about his work is helping others explore new frontiers in technology and becoming better professionals. His free time is spent with his family in the sunny surroundings of Lisbon, Portugal, and building cool geek projects.

Tiago Costa is a Senior AI & Cloud Architect and Advisor, focusing on AI & Microsoft Azure, a Public Speaker, Trainer, and Author. For the past +20 years has been architecting and developing solutions using Microsoft technologies. In recent years, Ti... Show more

Wolfgang Strasser, an experienced data consultant at ACP CUBIDO in Austria, specializes in leveraging the Microsoft Data Platform to drive analytics and data strategy transformations. With extensive experience in SQL Server, Azure Data Services, Power BI, and Microsoft Fabric, Wolfgang has established himself as a key resource for businesses aiming to optimize their data processes.

As a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Wolfgang has a proven track record of excellence in data architecture, analytics, and data governance. He first was awarded in 2015 and since then rewarded every year.

Wolfgang's commitment to the data community is evident through his active participation in national and international conferences, workshops, and online platforms, where he shares insights, best practices, and technical knowledge. He is one of the organizers of Data Community Austria Day (Data Saturday Vienna).

Wolfgang Strasser, an experienced data consultant at ACP CUBIDO in Austria, specializes in leveraging the Microsoft Data Platform to drive analytics and data strategy transformations. With extensive experience in SQL Server, Azure Data Services, Powe... 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 the ADAConf (https://adaconf.org) conference.

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

Anja Schröder is a Microsoft MVP and Modern Workplace Architect at Skaylink. She designs and builds Microsoft 365 architectures and leads their technical implementation from initial concept to rollout. Her approach ensures that solutions are not only secure and reliable but also improve the day-to-day work experience. Her expertise lies in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Copilot. In her sessions, she combines deep technical knowledge with practical examples to show how organizations can unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365.

Anja Schröder is a Microsoft MVP and Modern Workplace Architect at Skaylink. She designs and builds Microsoft 365 architectures and leads their technical implementation from initial concept to rollout. Her approach ensures that solutions are not only... Show more

I’m a Software Engineer and a Developer Advocate at Google in London. I build tools, demos, tutorials, and give talks to educate and help developers to be successful on Google Cloud.

I’m a Software Engineer and a Developer Advocate at Google in London. I build tools, demos, tutorials, and give talks to educate and help developers to be successful on Google Cloud. Show more

George is a distributed systems expert and a hands-on engineering leader. He is a Director of Engineering at MongoDB, focusing on implementing cloud native technologies at enterprise scale. He is an Ambassador of the Data on Kubernetes community and the author of The Platform Engineering Playbook, by Packt. Most recently, he has been a speaker at global events like Kubecon, OpenSource Summit, Hashiconf, LeadDev, SaaStr, and more.

George is a distributed systems expert and a hands-on engineering leader. He is a Director of Engineering at MongoDB, focusing on implementing cloud native technologies at enterprise scale. He is an Ambassador of the Data on Kubernetes community and ... Show more

I'm the founder organizer of Experts Live India, organizing physical and online conferences. I also host a tech/semi tech podcast, Experts Live India podcast.

I'm a 3x Microsoft MVP and been awarded Azure content hero and Azure community hero badgers by Microsoft.

I'm active in the Copilot, Power Platform and Governance space.

I'm the founder organizer of Experts Live India, organizing physical and online conferences. I also host a tech/semi tech podcast, Experts Live India podcast. I'm a 3x Microsoft MVP and been awarded Azure content hero and Azure community hero badg... Show more

Brandon Minnick is a Microsoft MVP, independent .NET consultant, and developer advocate based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He created and maintains CommunityToolkit.Maui (10 million+ NuGet downloads) and AsyncAwaitBestPractices (7.9 million+), teaches the workshop Become an Expert with Async/Await in C# (NDC London and NDC Oslo, 2026), and has spoken at more than 100 conferences, meetups, and livestreams since 2018. He offers .NET consulting, DevRel consulting, workshops, and video courses at codetraveler.io.

Brandon Minnick is a Microsoft MVP, independent .NET consultant, and developer advocate based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He created and maintains CommunityToolkit.Maui (10 million+ NuGet downloads) and AsyncAwaitBestPractices (7.9 million+), teac... Show more

Erland Sommarskog is an independent consultant based in Stockholm. He has worked with SQL Server since 1991. He was first awarded SQL Server MVP in 2001, and he has been re-awarded every year since. His focus is on systems development with the SQL Server Database Engine and his passion is to help people to write better SQL Server applications.

Erland Sommarskog is an independent consultant based in Stockholm. He has worked with SQL Server since 1991. He was first awarded SQL Server MVP in 2001, and he has been re-awarded every year since. His focus is on systems development with the SQL Se... Show more

Sagar is a Staff Android Engineer who has been building apps for 11 years now. He is also a Google developer expert in Android and a co-organizer for Google Developer Groups at Boston and enjoys educating for the mobile dev community.

Sagar is a Staff Android Engineer who has been building apps for 11 years now. He is also a Google developer expert in Android and a co-organizer for Google Developer Groups at Boston and enjoys educating for the mobile dev community. Show more

Anders Norås started out in arts and design, but for the last 25 years he has been creating magic with code instead of paint. Blending creativity with technical skill, he brings a perspective on technology that is as much about people as it is about software.

He has given more than 100 talks at conferences around the world. His presentations are not just lectures, they are experiences. With a sharp delivery and high energy, Anders turns even dry technical material into something lively, memorable and often funny.

Whether you are into computer science, design, media or anything else, Anders offers insights that will make you think and probably make you laugh. He does not just talk about technology. He brings it to life.

Anders Norås started out in arts and design, but for the last 25 years he has been creating magic with code instead of paint. Blending creativity with technical skill, he brings a perspective on technology that is as much about people as it is about ... Show more

Co-Author of 'Signals & Levers (ITRevolution, September 2026)', '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 systems thinking, 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 'Signals & Levers (ITRevolution, September 2026)', '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... Show more

Jeremy helps developers by sharing his own struggles, mostly in technology, but also with being more social as an introvert, understanding potential for learning, and playing banjo. He has worked as a corporate developer, as a Chief Improvement Officer at a startup, and as a contract developer. Currently, he teaches developers through online courses, workshops, tech articles, and conference talks. He spends most of his time in C# and has recently ventured into Go (golang) and Rust (rust-lang) to explore some of his favorite topics: interfaces, delegates, concurrency, and parallel programming.

Jeremy helps developers by sharing his own struggles, mostly in technology, but also with being more social as an introvert, understanding potential for learning, and playing banjo. He has worked as a corporate developer, as a Chief Improvement Offic... Show more

Owner of a 2022 Workplace Wellness "Hot List" company, one of the top 10 Organizational Change Management Companies of 2022, named a top 100 HR Professional of 2020, and recently elected as the global psychological health and safety liaison for ISO, Dr. Allessandria Polizzi has 20 years of experience leading teams across multiple industries to unlock the potential in people and help organizations thrive. Following her own burnout in 2021, Dr. Al found the marketplace for practical solutions for leaders in crisis to be insufficient for her needs. She decided to reboot her consulting practice, Verdant Consulting, with a renewed focus on solving this issue in the hopes that future leaders would have better options. In addition, she has co-founded HR Wellbeing Week and Kite HR, which provide targeted programs that address the specific needs of HR teams. She also hosts the Be Verdant podcast, which shares the latest in resiliency and psychological safety from around the globe.

Owner of a 2022 Workplace Wellness "Hot List" company, one of the top 10 Organizational Change Management Companies of 2022, named a top 100 HR Professional of 2020, and recently elected as the global psychological health and safety liaison for ISO, ... Show more

Ixchel Ruiz has been developing software applications and tools since 2000. Her research interests include Java, dynamic languages, client-side technologies, and testing. As a member of the JCP Executive Committee, Java Champion, Oracle ACE Pro, Testcontainers Community Champion, CDF Ambassador, Hackergarten enthusiast, Open Source advocate, public speaker, and mentor, Ixchel is deeply committed to fostering inclusive and collaborative tech communities. She actively mentors aspiring developers and champions initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and accessibility in the technology sector.

Ixchel’s work is characterised by a relentless pursuit of innovation, a deep understanding of user needs, and an unwavering commitment to ethical technology development.

Ixchel Ruiz has been developing software applications and tools since 2000. Her research interests include Java, dynamic languages, client-side technologies, and testing. As a member of the JCP Executive Committee, Java Champion, Oracle ACE Pro, Test... Show more

Renuka Kelkar is a trailblazing figure in the tech industry, known for her multifaceted roles as Co-Founder of ARNA Genext Solutions, Google Developer Expert for Flutter and Dart, and Founder of the TechPowerGirls Community. With a passion for fostering diversity and inclusion, she serves as an organizer for GDG London and a WomenTechmaker ambassador. Renuka's impactful contributions were recognized with the prestigious Diversity and Inclusion Award from Google in 2023. Her dynamic speaking prowess has earned her the prestigious title of Most Active Speaker for the past two years consecutively on Sessionize, cementing her reputation as a driving force in the tech community.

Renuka Kelkar is a trailblazing figure in the tech industry, known for her multifaceted roles as Co-Founder of ARNA Genext Solutions, Google Developer Expert for Flutter and Dart, and Founder of the TechPowerGirls Community. With a passion for fost... Show more

Barkha Herman is a technologist, experienced developer advocate, and the founder of WiTVoices and South Florida Women in Tech. With a deep understanding of technology and a love for fostering inclusive and diverse tech communities, Barkha is dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

In addition to her work at WiTVoices, she takes great pride in leading South Florida Women in Tech. These organizations are committed to empowering women in technology and creating a supportive environment for their professional growth. Through mentorship programs, networking events, and educational initiatives, they strive to break barriers and foster inclusivity in the tech industry.

Barkha Herman is a technologist, experienced developer advocate, and the founder of WiTVoices and South Florida Women in Tech. With a deep understanding of technology and a love for fostering inclusive and diverse tech communities, Barkha is dedicate... Show more

Lizzie serves developers in the Bay Area and beyond on Entire's developer relations team and holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Bryn Mawr. She likes JavaScript, Python, and working with AI. When not organizing or attending hackathons and meetups, she enjoys tennis, ping pong, and all things Disney.

Lizzie serves developers in the Bay Area and beyond on Entire's developer relations team and holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Bryn Mawr. She likes JavaScript, Python, and working with AI. When not organizing or attending hackathons ... Show more

Julia helps teams improve system reliability, observability, and scalability by guiding the adoption of modern infrastructure and operational practices.
Beyond her work, Julia is a a Community Manager to the OpenTelemetry project, CNCF Ambassador, AWS Container Hero, Docker Captain, Google Women Techmakers Ambassador, and Girl Code Ambassador. She’s an active community leader who helps organize KCD NY, AWS Community Day NY, and the Cloud Native Meetup NYC.

Julia helps teams improve system reliability, observability, and scalability by guiding the adoption of modern infrastructure and operational practices. Beyond her work, Julia is a a Community Manager to the OpenTelemetry project, CNCF Ambassador, A... Show more

Filip Popović is a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft and part of the Fabric Product Group, focusing on SQL performance. Before joining Microsoft in 2019, he spent over ten years in the software and financial services industry, delivering business analytics solutions using the Microsoft technology stack.

Filip Popović is a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft and part of the Fabric Product Group, focusing on SQL performance. Before joining Microsoft in 2019, he spent over ten years in the software and financial services industry, delivering business a... Show more

Meet Sally! Sally serves as a Data Engineer with an expertise in Azure Cloud Analytics Services, with years of experience under her belt.
Since earning her M.Sc. degree in Software Engineering, Sally has become a significant voice in Azure Cloud Analytics Services, publishing over ten blogs on Microsoft's Tech Community blog. What excites Sally most about her work is the opportunity to build Proof of Concepts (POCs) that help Microsoft customers unlock their business potential – by doing so, she remains true to her ultimate mission: to empower innovation through Azure's boundless possibilities. Away from her professional endeavors, Sally finds joy in baking pastries, a hobby she shares with her followers on Instagram for inspiration.

Meet Sally! Sally serves as a Data Engineer with an expertise in Azure Cloud Analytics Services, with years of experience under her belt. Since earning her M.Sc. degree in Software Engineering, Sally has become a significant voice in Azure Cloud An... Show more

Michael is a developer keen on the people side of things. He loves pairing, and in particular with people new to writing software. He especially likes driving software out with tests and directing the evolution of the design. In his spare time he does a bit of running, camping and watching any one of his 4 kids excel above anything he ever managed to achieve.

Michael is a developer keen on the people side of things. He loves pairing, and in particular with people new to writing software. He especially likes driving software out with tests and directing the evolution of the design. In his spare time he doe... Show more

Ingeniero Técnico Informático de Sistemas por la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Solutions Cloud Architect en Encamina, he sido MVP de Microsoft durante 4 años en la categoría de Visual Studio and Development Technologies y actualmente en la categoría de Microsoft Azure. Poseo varias certificaciones de Microsoft y me mola mucho Azure. Llevo más de 20 años utilizando y desarrollando con productos de Microsoft. Me encanta participar en proyectos que tengan que ver con la nube porque para mí no es el futuro, es el presente de la tecnología. Soy fan de las Apis, de los servicios WCF y de todo lo que huela a backend

Ingeniero Técnico Informático de Sistemas por la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Solutions Cloud Architect en Encamina, he sido MVP de Microsoft durante 4 años en la categoría de Visual Studio and Development Technologies y actualmente en la cat... Show more

Olivier Van Steenlandt is a Business Intelligence Professional who spent most of his early career assisting retail companies to get more value of their data using the Microsoft BI Stack (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, Power BI).

As his first experience in the field (in Business Intelligence), Olivier worked as a Big Data Analyst using tools such as Hadoop and Spark.

In 2015 the focus changed to traditional data warehousing & reporting using SSIS, SSRS & MicroStrategy. A bit later, around June 2019, the opportunity arose to fill the position of BI Teamlead. In this function he was able to set up a hybrid BI Team (team members in Belgium and Belarus).

Early 2020, Olivier joined the dataMinds crew as a core member, assisting to organise several events.

Around April 2021, Olivier started a new position as BI Teamlead in another Retail Company to support business growth. Besides the challenge to help the BI Team grow and deliver projects on time, he started to use SSAS & Power BI.

In April 2025, Olivier stepped away from internal positions and became an independent consultant.

When Olivier is not working there is a high chance that you find him on a football field, studying (BI Related), playing music (Saxophone / Piano) or cooking.

Olivier Van Steenlandt is a Business Intelligence Professional who spent most of his early career assisting retail companies to get more value of their data using the Microsoft BI Stack (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, Power BI). As his first experience in the ... Show more

John Morehouse is a Principal Consultant with Denny Cherry & Associates Consulting living in Chesapeake, Virginia. Honored to be a Microsoft Data Platform MVP & former VMWare vExpert, having over 2 decades of technical experience, John now focuses on solving crucial business problems with Microsoft SQL Server oriented solutions. John has a passion around speaking, teaching technical topics and giving back to his community whenever possible. He is a blogger, avid tweeter, and a frequent speaker at conferences and user groups whenever possible. If you want to find John, you can find him on Twitter (@sqlrus) or on his blog, http://sqlrus.com.

John Morehouse is a Principal Consultant with Denny Cherry & Associates Consulting living in Chesapeake, Virginia. Honored to be a Microsoft Data Platform MVP & former VMWare vExpert, having over 2 decades of technical experience, John now focuses on... Show more