Ed Pollack is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with a passion for learning how Data Platforms work and sharing that knowledge with the community. His experiences in data architecture, database design, performance optimization, and security are motivation for public speaking, writing, coding, and other community activities.

Ed has spoken at Day of Data events, SQL Bits, PASS Summit, EightKB, and many other regional and international events. Ed is the organizer of the Capital Area SQL Server Group and Day of Data Albany, as well as a co-organizer of SQL Saturday New York City. He has published a number of books, including "Dynamic SQL: Applications, Performance, and Security in Microsoft SQL Server", "Expert Performance Indexing in Azure SQL and SQL Server 2022", and "Analytics Optimization with Columnstore Indexes in Microsoft SQL Server: Optimizing OLAP Workloads". Ed is also an active contributor of content to SimpleTalk.

In his free time, Ed enjoys video games, traveling, cooking exceptionally spicy foods, and hanging out with his amazing wife and sons.

Ed Pollack is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with a passion for learning how Data Platforms work and sharing that knowledge with the community. His experiences in data architecture, database design, performance optimization, and security are motivati... Show more

Data Platform MVP, Microsoft Fabric advocate, public speaker, and passionate about everything that transforms data into action.

Currently working at Macaw as Architect & Technical Advocate – Microsoft Fabric, where I help organizations design modern Data & AI solutions on Microsoft technologies, with a strong focus on Microsoft Fabric. Over the years, my role has evolved from technical evangelism into a stronger advisory and architecture-focused position. Today, I combine strategic advisory, pre-sales, and solution architecture to help customers make realistic technology decisions and build scalable, future-proof platforms.

What I enjoy most? Sharing knowledge, experiences, best practices, and enthusiasm around the Microsoft data & AI space. I actively contribute to the community through conferences, user groups, customer presentations, technical sessions, end-user training, and community initiatives focused on Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and AI.

Besides public speaking and community work, I also share insights and experiences on my personal blog: data-marc.com

Data Platform MVP, Microsoft Fabric advocate, public speaker, and passionate about everything that transforms data into action. Currently working at Macaw as Architect & Technical Advocate – Microsoft Fabric, where I help organizations design mode... Show more

Hasan is a recognized Microsoft Data Platform MVP and an expert in Azure data products, bringing over 20 years of experience in software development, architecture, and management. As the owner of SavranWeb Consulting and the Senior Business Intelligence Manager at Progressive Insurance, he specializes in designing innovative business solutions leveraging the latest web and database technologies. A passionate global conference speaker, Hasan enjoys sharing his insights through blogging about Azure Data services, C#, and front-end development.

Hasan is a recognized Microsoft Data Platform MVP and an expert in Azure data products, bringing over 20 years of experience in software development, architecture, and management. As the owner of SavranWeb Consulting and the Senior Business Intellige... Show more

With more than 2 decades of customer experience, a long history in Microsoft products, Michael is a Cloud Architect who enjoys sharing his experience with the community and help the community grow.
During the last years, Michael was working with customers in Microsoft Teams topics, Microsoft 365 implementations overall and since 2022 he's also working with his customers in different Microsoft Viva projects.
Since more than seven years Michael has its own company, working with the focus on Microsoft topics, Change-Management and Project-Management. He's also a Microsoft MVP for Microsoft 365 Apps and Services since 2021.

With more than 2 decades of customer experience, a long history in Microsoft products, Michael is a Cloud Architect who enjoys sharing his experience with the community and help the community grow. During the last years, Michael was working with cus... Show more

Data Platform Microsoft MVP
Business solutions should solve business problems and the business should own the problem and the solution. I've spent my whole career empowering businesses to do that.

Data Platform Microsoft MVP Business solutions should solve business problems and the business should own the problem and the solution. I've spent my whole career empowering businesses to do that. Show more

A developer, business owner, consultant, cloud architect, Microsoft Azure MVP and an online instructor, Mike Benkovich is an alumni of Microsoft from 2004 to 2012 where he helped build developer communities across the US, thru work on Microsoft Across America, MSDN Events, MSDN Webcasts, DPE and Channel 9. He's helped to create and grow developer conferences and user groups in various cities across the US. While at Microsoft he helped create the Azure Boot Camp events that were run in cities across the US and at PDC and TechEd before it was transferred to the community. In 2009 he started a Toastmaster club for Geeks called TechMasters in Minneapolis where we still grow speakers for Conferences. He's a LinkedIn Learning Instructor for Azure, have developed many online courses. Mike actively works in Azure Cloud Governance, Infrastructure as Code, DevOps, Application Architecture and Software Delivery consulting.

A developer, business owner, consultant, cloud architect, Microsoft Azure MVP and an online instructor, Mike Benkovich is an alumni of Microsoft from 2004 to 2012 where he helped build developer communities across the US, thru work on Microsoft Acros... Show more

Strategic, delivery-focused technical project program leader with years of experience directing complex, enterprise-scale programs across cross-functional technical teams, transformations, innovations, data and AI readiness.

Lucrecia Krause, has worked for HPE UCF VISA holds a growth trajectory from programmer, business analyst, technical project program manager, mgr at PMOs to technical strategy consulting, change manager leader and Sr. Solutions architect.

Lucrecia is speaker /mentor SQLbits, DataPass, Grace Hopper Celebration, SQL Saturdays, PBI Summit, Datatobogan, Dataweekender W4TT, TBC Connect, Microsoft Connect, FL Tech and Microsoft Reactor series Lucrecia is Microsoft MVP in Data Platform Business Intelligence Power BI and Fabric, serves as volunteer co-leader to different user groups Power BI Women, Florida Tech, Data & AI, Orlando Power BI, LIT.
Lucrecia has studies in CS and database mgt, MBA, Master Big Data & BI, is PMP and LSSBB.

Strategic, delivery-focused technical project program leader with years of experience directing complex, enterprise-scale programs across cross-functional technical teams, transformations, innovations, data and AI readiness. Lucrecia Krause, has w... Show more

Ben Dechrai is a technologist with a strong focus on security and privacy, recognised as an MVP for his exceptional contributions to the community. Known for his ability to distil complex technical concepts into engaging, digestible portions, Ben empowers developers through a deep understanding of design principles, security considerations, and coding practices. With over two decades of experience in software engineering, security, and architecture, Ben is a published author and has consulted for companies and investors across numerous industries. He is deeply involved in the tech community, running technology conferences and workshops to share his expertise.

Ben Dechrai is a technologist with a strong focus on security and privacy, recognised as an MVP for his exceptional contributions to the community. Known for his ability to distil complex technical concepts into engaging, digestible portions, Ben emp... Show more

Michael is a Microsoft Azure MVP with over 20 years experience in both On-premises , Hybrid and Cloud environments with a particular focus on giving customers trusted advice in their Cloud Migration strategy.

Michael has spoken at both user groups and in-person conferences covering topics across the entire Azure platform from Azure Core Compute to Azure PaaS services. He has published LinkedIn Learning courses on the AZ-801 exam objectives, and regularly blogs at michaeldurkan.com. He contributes regularly to the Microsoft Q&A platform as an Azure Community Champion.

He works for Accenture as their Lead Azure Architect, where he designs and leads the delivery of complex Azure solutions for enterprise customers in Ireland and the UK .

Michael is a Microsoft Azure MVP with over 20 years experience in both On-premises , Hybrid and Cloud environments with a particular focus on giving customers trusted advice in their Cloud Migration strategy. Michael has spoken at both user grou... Show more

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

Onyinye is an IT professional with substantial work experience in the Information Technology industry. Her expertise lies in digitally transforming organizations via modernized communications, advising intelligent strategies to adopt hybrid workplaces, and promoting creative solutions to collaborate effectively. She has successfully led multiple projects across the Modern Workplace technology across various sectors.
She is passionate about innovations in Information Technology, technical research, and investigative studies which has led to her collaboration in publishing journal and conference papers on IEEE.

Onyinye is an IT professional with substantial work experience in the Information Technology industry. Her expertise lies in digitally transforming organizations via modernized communications, advising intelligent strategies to adopt hybrid workplace... Show more

Guy has a single mission in life: learn how everything works and share it. He's spent a lot of time learning how technology works—analog and digital, hardware and software—but Guy explores all sorts of interesting topics and he spread the knowledge he gains with communities worldwide.

Teaching and community have long been a focus for Guy. He is president of his amateur radio club. He ran a local JavaScript meetup in Ohio for more than a decade. He has served on the selection committees of numerous conferences. He has even helped teach programming at a prison in Central Ohio.

In his personal life, Guy is a hard-boiled geek interested in role-playing games, science fiction, and technology. He has a slightly less geeky interest in history, linguistics, and geopolitics but these are really just more ways to understand how things work. He has an entire wall of role-playing games and science fiction books, speaks Spanish like a two-year old, and is a ham radio operator—callsign W8GUY.

Guy lives in Ohio with his wife. His three sons are adults now and are all moved out. He is immensely proud of the men they have become.

Guy has a single mission in life: learn how everything works and share it. He's spent a lot of time learning how technology works—analog and digital, hardware and software—but Guy explores all sorts of interesting topics and he spread the knowledge h... Show more

Responsable Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement & Power Platform chez Infoteam Business Solutions. Ma mission est d’accompagner les entreprises dans leurs projets de digitalisation des processus métiers.
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Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement & Power Platform Manager at Infoteam Business Solutions. My mission is to help companies with their business process digitalization projects.

Responsable Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement & Power Platform chez Infoteam Business Solutions. Ma mission est d’accompagner les entreprises dans leurs projets de digitalisation des processus métiers. -----------------------------------------------... Show more

Bob Walker is a Field CTO Octopus Deploy. Bob started as a developer in the early days of .NET when web forms were the hottest new thing, and manual deployments were the norm. After one too many five-hour 2 AM Saturday deployments, he searched for any automation to stop that pain. His original focus was on automating database deployments. Since then, his passion remains writing code but has expanded to creating full CI/CD pipelines, Continuous Delivery, DevOps, and Platform Engineering.

Bob Walker is a Field CTO Octopus Deploy. Bob started as a developer in the early days of .NET when web forms were the hottest new thing, and manual deployments were the norm. After one too many five-hour 2 AM Saturday deployments, he searched for ... Show more

Staff Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience, currently working at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Interested in Domain-Driven Design and System Architectures. Passionate about leveraging AI to drive innovative solutions. Actively involved in the software engineering community, conducting workshops, talks, and lectures on topics such as GitHub Copilot and other topics from software engineering area.

Staff Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience, currently working at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Interested in Domain-Driven Design and System Architectures. Passionate about leveraging AI to drive innovative solutions. Actively involved in the s... Show more

Sander ten Brinke is a Microsoft MVP (DevTech) and Senior Software Engineer at Arcady, a Dutch IT consultancy firm based in Zwolle. He loves working with .NET, Azure, DevOps and a whole lot more. He always stays up to date with all new technology and loves sharing his knowledge with everyone by speaking, blogging, podcasting and more!

Sander is an accomplished speaker, he has spoken at 40+ events, including meetups and big conferences like WeAreDevelopers World Congress 2024 and 2025 (15k attendees), NDC Oslo 2025,
Swetugg 2026, NDC Copenhagen 2026, FutureTech and more! He was in the top 3% of the most active speakers on the Sessionize Platform in 2024 and 2025!

Sander ten Brinke is a Microsoft MVP (DevTech) and Senior Software Engineer at Arcady, a Dutch IT consultancy firm based in Zwolle. He loves working with .NET, Azure, DevOps and a whole lot more. He always stays up to date with all new technology and... Show more

I help organizations design, build, and optimize secure, scalable Microsoft Azure platforms that deliver measurable business results.
For over 20 years, I’ve guided enterprise leaders and product teams through high-stakes cloud adoption, complex migrations, and performance optimization, combining deep technical expertise with a calm, collaborative style that keeps teams focused and projects on track.

My work includes:

- (Enterprise) cloud adoption & migration – ensuring smooth transitions with minimal risk
- Cost optimization & performance tuning – making Azure investments more efficient
- Security & compliance – protecting business-critical systems and data
- Platform engineering & landing zones – building robust foundations for innovation

I’ve been honored with nine consecutive Microsoft MVP awards for my contributions to the global Azure and .NET community. Outside client projects, I speak at international conferences and run workshops that turn complex cloud concepts into actionable insights.
Recent events include VS Live, NDC, Techorama Netherlands & Belgium; DevSum Sweden, Future Tech and Update Conf

Now, as founder of LoekD Consultancy BV, I partner with organizations ready to accelerate their Azure or software journey, whether that means starting fresh or unlocking more value from what you already have, accelerated with the power of AI.

Contact me for full projects, workshops or sparring sessions.

Let’s connect:
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/loekd
- GitHub: github.com/loekd
- BlueSky: bsky.app/profile/loekd.com

I help organizations design, build, and optimize secure, scalable Microsoft Azure platforms that deliver measurable business results. For over 20 years, I’ve guided enterprise leaders and product teams through high-stakes cloud adoption, complex mig... Show more

Business Applications MVP - I breathe, innovate, design and develop as a way of survival. If curiosity killed the cat, I think I have no more lives left.
With a developer background, working with .NET and C#, I got my first consultancy job developing for SharePoint 2010 and Microsoft Project. With experience in several projects worldwide, all kind of organisation sizes and industries, I have focused my expertise deploying Dynamics 365 modules and Power Platform solutions. I am leading multiple CoE implementation for Power Platform, adoption models for Low code in multi-size orgs, and designing a long list of Power Platform solutions combining Azure assets and 3rd party integrations.
My motivation is to keep sharing my knowledge, the outcome of my daily projects and experiences with those who might find it useful, helpful and even interesting.
In addition to my speaker profile I co-organise the Bizz Summit ES conference.

Business Applications MVP - I breathe, innovate, design and develop as a way of survival. If curiosity killed the cat, I think I have no more lives left. With a developer background, working with .NET and C#, I got my first consultancy job developin... Show more

Vivian Voss is a Microsoft Business Applications and M365 MVP who loves to help organizations transform their processes with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. Vivian has around 10 years of experience in creating solutions within the Dynamics 365 suite and extending it with the tools from the Power Platform. She is also a co-organizer of various user groups and a frequent speaker at community events.

Vivian Voss is a Microsoft Business Applications and M365 MVP who loves to help organizations transform their processes with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. Vivian has around 10 years of experience in creating solutions within the Dynamics 365 suite... Show more

Aditya Soni is a DevOps/SRE tech professional He worked with Product and Service based companies including Red Hat, Forrester Research, Searce, and is currently positioned at SailPoint as a Senior DevOps Engineer. He holds AWS, GCP, Azure, RedHat, and Kubernetes Certifications.He is a CNCF Ambassador, and AWS Community Builder for 4 years He leads AWS, CNCF, and HashiCorp user groups for Rajasthan State in India. He has spoken at many conferences, both in-person and virtually.

Aditya Soni is a DevOps/SRE tech professional He worked with Product and Service based companies including Red Hat, Forrester Research, Searce, and is currently positioned at SailPoint as a Senior DevOps Engineer. He holds AWS, GCP, Azure, RedHat, an... Show more

Systems/devops/platform engineer turned cloud architect, with a soft spot for data platforms and security. Passionate about finding elegant solutions to complex problems, using the most suitable tech. GDE (Google Dev Expert) in Cloud.

Systems/devops/platform engineer turned cloud architect, with a soft spot for data platforms and security. Passionate about finding elegant solutions to complex problems, using the most suitable tech. GDE (Google Dev Expert) in Cloud. Show more

Roberth is a self-proclaimed "cloud automator" and "platform creator". He primarily works on building cloud native platforms, while being an advocate for Platform Engineering and DevOps. He has been awarded the title Microsoft Azure MVP and CNCF Ambassador, and previously HashiCorp Ambassador. As an active speaker for several years, he has been on stage everywhere from small local meetups to KubeCon.

Furthermore, he initiated Cloud Native Norway, which hosts events and supports the cloud native community in Norway. Additionally, he is active in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation as maintainer of the OpenGitOps project, previously a co-chair of TAG App Delivery, and founded and lead the Platforms Working Group for several years.

Roberth is a self-proclaimed "cloud automator" and "platform creator". He primarily works on building cloud native platforms, while being an advocate for Platform Engineering and DevOps. He has been awarded the title Microsoft Azure MVP and CNCF Amba... Show more

Steve Gordon is a Pluralsight author, 7x Microsoft MVP, and a Principal .NET engineer at Elastic. He is based in the UK. Steve is passionate about community and all things .NET related, having worked with .NET for over 20 years. Steve enjoys sharing his knowledge through his blog, in videos and by presenting talks at user groups and conferences. Steve is excited to participate in the active .NET community and founded .NET South East, a .NET Meetup group based in Brighton. He enjoys contributing to and maintaining OSS projects. You can find Steve online at his blog, www.stevejgordon.co.uk, and on most social media platforms as @stevejgordon.

Steve Gordon is a Pluralsight author, 7x Microsoft MVP, and a Principal .NET engineer at Elastic. He is based in the UK. Steve is passionate about community and all things .NET related, having worked with .NET for over 20 years. Steve enjoys sharing ... 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

Steve co-owns Analytic Endeavors, a boutique data consultancy helping organizations build Master Data - centralized data that is trusted, validated, and AI-ready. We design and deliver well-architected data platforms with strong data foundations, embedded data quality, and master data management, supported by our proprietary Nexus platform.

I’m also the founder of Sunny BI, where we run Build Camps, a delivery-led model with a unique blend of training and consulting, where your team learns by doing. They build a real solution to a real business problems, using your own data and platforms, and leave with a working POC and the skills to take it forward.

Outside of this, I’m a Microsoft MVP and an active community contributor. I speak globally at major data and Microsoft conferences and share practical Power BI guidance through my website and social channels

Steve co-owns Analytic Endeavors, a boutique data consultancy helping organizations build Master Data - centralized data that is trusted, validated, and AI-ready. We design and deliver well-architected data platforms with strong data foundations, emb... Show more

Deborah Melkin has been working as a database professional with SQL Server for over 25 years. She spends her days helping programmers with all aspects of database design, queries, performance, and deployment. In 2016, she began her blog, Deb the DBA. Soon after that, she began speaking at SQL Saturdays and user groups.

Deborah was an IDERA ACE Class of 2020, "One To Watch" as part of a #Redgate100 in 2022, and as well as the winner of Speaker Idol at PASS Summit in 2019. She is a former board member of the New England SQL Server User group (NESQL) and a former member of the Azure Data Community Advisory Council.

Deborah is a co-founder of WITspiration and a co-leader of the Data Platform WIT (Women in Tech) user group. She is also a Redgate Community Ambassador and she has been a Microsoft MVP for the Data Platform since November 2020.

In her spare time, Deborah can usually be found doing something musical or something geeky with her husband, Andy, and their dog, Sebastian.

Deborah Melkin has been working as a database professional with SQL Server for over 25 years. She spends her days helping programmers with all aspects of database design, queries, performance, and deployment. In 2016, she began her blog, Deb the DBA.... Show more

I have been working in the IT industry for over 15 years. I currently hold the role of Senior Enterprise Architect in adesso.it. I am a Google Developer Expert on GCP and a Google Cloud Innovator Champion on the topic of modern architecture. I manage GDG Pescara together with other developers, I love sharing my knowledge and trying to do it in a fun way.

I have been working in the IT industry for over 15 years. I currently hold the role of Senior Enterprise Architect in adesso.it. I am a Google Developer Expert on GCP and a Google Cloud Innovator Champion on the topic of modern architecture. I manage... Show more

As Developer Advocate, Ram prioritizes empowering and educating developers on how to use technology to create innovative products, features, and services. Ram can typically be found conversing with the VAST developer community in order to better understand their needs and facilitate product development that helps to maximize their value. Prior to VAST, Ram was a senior developer advocate at Nylas, senior software engineer at Drop and Rangle.io. He holds a degree in engineering.

As Developer Advocate, Ram prioritizes empowering and educating developers on how to use technology to create innovative products, features, and services. Ram can typically be found conversing with the VAST developer community in order to better unde... Show more

Whitney Lee is a creator and systems thinker who explores how observability, AI, and platform engineering connect across the cloud native ecosystem. She brings humor, depth, and clarity to complex technologies while building original frameworks that help others understand how systems fit together. She runs a vibrant YouTube channel, hosts Datadog Illuminated and Software Defined Interviews, has delivered two KubeCon keynotes and countless breakout talks, and combines storytelling and technical rigor to illuminate the human side of cloud native engineering.

Whitney Lee is a creator and systems thinker who explores how observability, AI, and platform engineering connect across the cloud native ecosystem. She brings humor, depth, and clarity to complex technologies while building original frameworks that ... Show more

Ginger Grant is a distinguished Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), renowned for her deep expertise in advanced analytics, machine learning, AI, data warehousing, and the evolving landscape of Microsoft Fabric. As a sought-after consultant, Ginger empowers organizations to harness the full potential of their data ecosystems.

Beyond consulting, Ginger is a prolific thought leader and speaker for both keynotes and technical training. She contributes regularly as a columnist for Code Magazine, authors insightful books, and shares practical knowledge on her blog, DesertIsleSQL.com. Her educational impact spans a wide range of technologies, including Azure Synapse Analytics, Python, and Azure Machine Learning, making her a trusted voice in the data community.

Whether on stage, in print, or in the classroom, Ginger’s passion for data and commitment to knowledge-sharing make her a standout figure in the world of data and AI.

Ginger Grant is a distinguished Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), renowned for her deep expertise in advanced analytics, machine learning, AI, data warehousing, and the evolving landscape of Microsoft Fabric. As a sou... Show more