Specialist in Data & AI strategy and transformation. Leveraging 20 years of experience in building and managing Data & Analytics teams and leading large-scale projects in customers across a wide range of industries.

Specialist in Data & AI strategy and transformation. Leveraging 20 years of experience in building and managing Data & Analytics teams and leading large-scale projects in customers across a wide range of industries. Show more

Derek is a long time developer with a passion for building software, as a Developer Advocate he enjoys talking and writing about what he used to do for a living... for a living. Derek helps and supports various technical communities across Australia and New Zealand and is excited to see how software development technology and practices are constantly evolving, he is also happy mentoring people who are navigating the ambiguities and complexities of a career in tech.

Derek is a long time developer with a passion for building software, as a Developer Advocate he enjoys talking and writing about what he used to do for a living... for a living. Derek helps and supports various technical communities across Australia ... Show more

Dr. Florian Rappl is Solution Architect for IoT and distributed web applications at smapiot. His main interest lies in the creation of innovative architectures that scale in development and usage. He won several prizes for his work and is a Microsoft MVP in the area of development technologies. He regularly blogs and writes articles for popular magazines and websites in the web development space.

Dr. Florian Rappl is Solution Architect for IoT and distributed web applications at smapiot. His main interest lies in the creation of innovative architectures that scale in development and usage. He won several prizes for his work and is a Microsoft... Show more

Sal is a developer advocate for open source and passionate about helping engineers, ethical hackers and digital enthusiasts understand the complexity of modern software development. With over a decade of experience as building cloud-native machine learning pipelines in the healthcare and tech for good sectors, their work is now focused on filling the cracks in the open source software supply chain to build a better digital future for all of us. By day, you'll find Sal working with site reliability engineers, DevOps and cybersecurity specialists to implement best tools and practices to remove toil from developer workflows. By night, you'll find Sal mentoring the next generation of engineers in cloud computing from around the globe, helping them to make the world a better place through the clever use of math.

Sal is a developer advocate for open source and passionate about helping engineers, ethical hackers and digital enthusiasts understand the complexity of modern software development. With over a decade of experience as building cloud-native machine le... Show more

Rebecca is a seasoned Cloud Engineer with extensive experience in both Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Her strong background in security, networking, and data analytics enables her to design, create, and manage scalable and robust cloud environments with security at the core. Leveraging the capabilities of both GCP and AWS, Rebecca has developed innovative solutions that address complex cloud challenges, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
As a dedicated tech community builder, she is passionate about organizing and speaking at industry events as well as sharing her knowledge through various online platforms.

Rebecca is a seasoned Cloud Engineer with extensive experience in both Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Her strong background in security, networking, and data analytics enables her to design, create, and manage scalable and... Show more

Stacy Deere (MVP) is the Owner of Focal Point Solutions LLC, a Cincinnati, OH based company that provides SharePoint Solutions for the Enterprise in the mid-to-large market. Previously, Stacy led a rapidly growing SharePoint practice where she engaged in a wide range of consulting projects across various industries. With nearly 18 years of experience in the IT Industry, Stacy has mainly focused on Collaboration Solutions such as IBM’s Lotus Notes\Domino and Microsoft’s Messaging and Collaboration Solutions including deployments and SharePoint upgrades.
 
Within the SharePoint community, Stacy is a SharePoint MVP and is actively sharing her real-world expertise through authoring in the blog http://www.spmindmelt.focalpointsolutions.co, ; and speaking at various SharePoint Saturday's, Collab365, ITUnity, SPTechCon, SharePoint Fest, SharePoint Engage, and User Group events. She also co-authored two books called SharePoint 2013 and 2010 Using Managed Metadata.

Stacy Deere (MVP) is the Owner of Focal Point Solutions LLC, a Cincinnati, OH based company that provides SharePoint Solutions for the Enterprise in the mid-to-large market. Previously, Stacy led a rapidly growing SharePoint practice where she engage... Show more

Holly Bielawa is the head of Product Coaching and Consulting for Jeff Patton and Associates, where she and her team help companies put Product Thinking concepts into practice. As an international tech start-up founder, CPO, and transformational strategist, she brings a unique wealth of experience and industry knowledge to technology product development. She and her team work with organizational leaders and teams to help them evolve to a product-oriented culture that empowers the principles, practices and ways of working that are essential to deliver real business results.

Holly Bielawa is the head of Product Coaching and Consulting for Jeff Patton and Associates, where she and her team help companies put Product Thinking concepts into practice. As an international tech start-up founder, CPO, and transformational strat... Show more

Ignat is a systems engineer at Cloudflare working mostly on Linux, platforms and hardware security. Ignat’s interests are cryptography, hacking, and low-level programming. Before Cloudflare, Ignat worked as a senior security engineer for Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Division. His solutions may be found in many older Samsung smart phones and tablets. Ignat started his career as a security researcher in the Ukrainian government’s communications services.

Ignat is a systems engineer at Cloudflare working mostly on Linux, platforms and hardware security. Ignat’s interests are cryptography, hacking, and low-level programming. Before Cloudflare, Ignat worked as a senior security engineer for Samsung Elec... Show more

Fabien Vauchelles is an Anti-Ban Expert. With over a decade of experience in Web Scraping, Fabien's passion for code and technology helps him to bypass protections. He is the creator of Scrapoxy, a mature free and open-source proxy waterfall tailored for the Web Scraping industry.

He had the opportunity of sharing his insights at many events including Devoxx conferences, Voxxed Days, API Days, PyCon, PyData and others.

Fabien Vauchelles is an Anti-Ban Expert. With over a decade of experience in Web Scraping, Fabien's passion for code and technology helps him to bypass protections. He is the creator of Scrapoxy, a mature free and open-source proxy waterfall tailored... Show more

Evgeny is a contributor to various open source projects, including OpenJDK, and a speaker at international conferences and JUGs. He is also one of the project leads of widely adopted code coverage library for Java and Kotlin - JaCoCo, and the award-winning EclEmma project at the Eclipse Foundation that integrates JaCoCo into Eclipse. In his day job at Sonar he develops SonarQube’s static source code analysis for languages such as Java, Kotlin, C, and C++.

Evgeny is a contributor to various open source projects, including OpenJDK, and a speaker at international conferences and JUGs. He is also one of the project leads of widely adopted code coverage library for Java and Kotlin - JaCoCo, and the award-w... Show more

Reid is a seasoned data professional with a wealth of experience in data visualization, Microsoft Power Platform, and artificial intelligence. In his professional capacity, Reid specializes in consulting on IT processes to drive improvement and efficiency. In addition to his role, Reid is deeply involved in developing Power Platform solutions, integrating artificial intelligence, and advocating for enhanced end-user technology experiences.

Before transitioning into tech, Reid built a successful career in the finance industry. From broker and trader to consultant, where he assisted Financial Advisors in scaling and marketing their businesses, while also serving as a trusted expert in investments and strategy.

Reid is a proud graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration specializing in Finance with a minor in Leadership Studies.

Outside of work, Reid enjoys spending quality time with his wife and son. He also enjoys the company of his dogs, Finley and Bentley, and enjoys the occasional lake trip, serving on nonprofit boards, reading, continuous learning, sharing knowledge, and working on side projects.

Four Colors: Green | Gold | Orange | Blue
Myers-Briggs: ISTP

Reid is a seasoned data professional with a wealth of experience in data visualization, Microsoft Power Platform, and artificial intelligence. In his professional capacity, Reid specializes in consulting on IT processes to drive improvement and effic... Show more

I'm an experienced web developer and a passionate IT and electronics trainer, specializing in frontend development and enterprise applications built with Angular.
I spend most of my time exploring what's new in the tech world and helping other developers improve their skills.
As a conference speaker, I bring advanced Angular topics, tips for the integration of smart contracts and best solutions for web3 applications.

I'm an experienced web developer and a passionate IT and electronics trainer, specializing in frontend development and enterprise applications built with Angular. I spend most of my time exploring what's new in the tech world and helping other devel... Show more

David Yitzhak, Team leader of Big Data and Nosql databases
David Yitzhak has over 24 years of experience with SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase and PostgreSQL . He is an applicative & infrastructure DBA for relational and Nosql solutions (MongoDB, Redis), Hadoop CDH and Spark. David is a specialist in HA and DRP solutions, tuning, Machine learning , security, High Performance Computing, replication (Oracle & SQL Server), BI infrastructure and system engineering. David Yitzhak holds 3 Degrees from Technicon (Israel Institute of Technology): BSC Information System , MBA and ME (System engineering) and research associate in one of the enterprise Organization. He presents in Oracle open world 2010, Organize Oracle ILOUG for 3 years , SQL Server forums, Microsoft BI forums, Sqlsaturday 2016/17/18/19/20 , DATA SATURDAY , Power Camps , GroupBy Europe , Future Data Driven , Data Platforms GlobalHebrew , Code PaLOUsa 2021\2 , Pass summit 2021 and more …

David Yitzhak, Team leader of Big Data and Nosql databases David Yitzhak has over 24 years of experience with SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase and PostgreSQL . He is an applicative & infrastructure DBA for relational and Nosql solutions (MongoDB, Redis),... Show more

Ben has been working with SQL Server since SQL Server 6.5, mainly in the BI/Datawarehousing field.

He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, a co-author of "SQL on Kubernetes", "Azure Arc-enabled Data Services Revealed", "SQL Server Big Data Clusters" and "The Biml Book" as well as a regular speaker at national and international events. He has also published multiple Video courses at Pluralsight and other platforms.

Ben is also a co-organizer of DataGrillen, New Stars of Data and dativerse as well as a volunteer and mentor for many other Data Platform events.

Ben has been working with SQL Server since SQL Server 6.5, mainly in the BI/Datawarehousing field. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, a co-author of "SQL on Kubernetes", "Azure Arc-enabled Data Services Revealed", "SQL Server Big Data Clusters" ... Show more

Warwick Rudd is a Data Platform MVP, Microsoft Certified Master – SQL Server 2008, Founder and Principal Consultant at SQL Masters Consulting. With 20+ years of experience beginning with the release of SQL Server 6.5, he has worked in both Australia and England from small start-ups to Multi-National Corporations. He is a frequent speaker at local SQL Server User Groups / Meetups & SQL Saturday events in Australia and New Zealand as well as many international in-person and remote presentations. When not playing with the SQL stack, Warwick likes to get away to the cold and spend time snowboarding.

Warwick Rudd is a Data Platform MVP, Microsoft Certified Master – SQL Server 2008, Founder and Principal Consultant at SQL Masters Consulting. With 20+ years of experience beginning with the release of SQL Server 6.5, he has worked in both Australia ... Show more

Sam Basu is a technologist, author, speaker, Microsoft MVP and Lead Developer Advocate for Uno Platform. With a long developer background, he now spends much of his time advocating modern development platforms & AI tools for cross-platform technology stacks. His spare times call for travel, fast cars, cricket and culinary adventures. You can find him on the internet.

Sam Basu is a technologist, author, speaker, Microsoft MVP and Lead Developer Advocate for Uno Platform. With a long developer background, he now spends much of his time advocating modern development platforms & AI tools for cross-platform technology... Show more

With over 15 years of experience in the field, I have developed a deep expertise in SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Viva, and now Copilot. I have received the Microsoft MVP award for my contributions in Microsoft 365 - Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Viva.

I am also a co-host and producer of the 365 Message Center Show, a weekly podcast that covers the latest updates and news from Microsoft 365. Additionally, I am a founder and leader of several community initiatives, such as Microsoft 365 Nashville, a free one-day event that features sessions from influential and respected Microsoft professionals, and Nashville Microsoft 365 & SharePoint Users Group, a local network of enthusiasts and experts. I am passionate about giving back and building the Microsoft technical community, as well as educating and inspiring others to embrace the potential of cloud technology.

With over 15 years of experience in the field, I have developed a deep expertise in SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Viva, and now Copilot. I have received the Microsoft MVP award for my contributions in Microsoft 365 - Microsoft 365 Copilot an... Show more

Paresh Motiwala ​PMP; a Fabric enthusiast and a Data Platform Manager has led several large SQL implementations, migrations and upgrades.
He was selected as a "Speaker Idol" finalist for the PASS Summit 2018. He also runs DBA VUG, Houston Area SQL Server User Group and Boston BI User Groups.
He has managed multi terabyte OLTP databases. He has also been a Senior SQL DBA and a Solutions Architect in Fortune 100 companies. He also helps organize and speaks at many PASS Summits, SQL Saturdays, Azure Bootcamp and User Groups. He is certified in Big Data Analytics and FinTech(MIT) Project manager, Public Speaker, an avid singer, cook, open networker, and stand-up comedian. He teaches public speaking, debating, interviewing and group discussion skills. He also mentors DBAs and children around the globe via www.circlesofgrowth.com

Paresh Motiwala ​PMP; a Fabric enthusiast and a Data Platform Manager has led several large SQL implementations, migrations and upgrades. He was selected as a "Speaker Idol" finalist for the PASS Summit 2018. He also runs DBA VUG, Houston Area SQL ... Show more

Roy Derks is a lifelong software developer, author and public speaker from the Netherlands. Currently chasing his dreams in Silicon Valley, California. Roy's mission is to make the world a better place through technology by inspiring developers all over the world, more specifically AI and Web Development technologies. Before jumping into Developer Advocacy and joining IBM in Product Management, he founded and worked at multiple startups.

Roy Derks is a lifelong software developer, author and public speaker from the Netherlands. Currently chasing his dreams in Silicon Valley, California. Roy's mission is to make the world a better place through technology by inspiring developers all o... Show more

Brian Alderman is a six-year Microsoft MVP alumni, twenty-eight consecutive years as an MCT, and seven years as a PMP. Since 1995 he has held several Microsoft certifications that include MCSE for SharePoint, MCSA for Office 365, MCITP for SQL Server(R), and MCSE for Windows Server(R). As a Senior Technical Instructor, and consultant he has over 30 years of experience in networking, SQL Server databases, SharePoint technologies, Microsoft 365, and project management. Brian's publications include Windows 2000 Professional, SQL Server 2000 Administration, SharePoint 2010 Administrator's Companion and Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Administration Inside Out. He is an active speaker at SharePoint, SQL Server, and Microsoft 365 Industry conferences including SharePoint Saturday's, CollabDays, SPLive, DevIntersection, SharePoint Fest/365 EduCon, North American Collaboration Summit, Microsoft 365 Conference, Microsoft Ignite and several international SharePoint conferences including London, Milan, Dublin, Madrid, and Copenhagen. Brian has a BS and MS in Computer Information Systems where he graduated summa cum laude from Regis University of Colorado Springs and now lives in Scottsdale, AZ where he enjoys playing golf year-round and traveling around the world.

Brian Alderman is a six-year Microsoft MVP alumni, twenty-eight consecutive years as an MCT, and seven years as a PMP. Since 1995 he has held several Microsoft certifications that include MCSE for SharePoint, MCSA for Office 365, MCITP for SQL Server... Show more

Chicago-based and proudly a natural creature of winter, I thrive on snow, OSS, and just the right amount of chaos. Whether sipping Grand Mayan Extra Añejo or warding off cyber threats with a mix of honeypots, magic spells, and a very opinionated flamingo named Sasha (the BSidesChicago.org mascot), I keep things interesting. Honeypots and refrigerators rank among my favorite things—though my neighbors would likely disagree.

Chicago-based and proudly a natural creature of winter, I thrive on snow, OSS, and just the right amount of chaos. Whether sipping Grand Mayan Extra Añejo or warding off cyber threats with a mix of honeypots, magic spells, and a very opinionated flam... Show more

Louis is the editor of the Simple-Talk website. Prior to that, has was a corporate database developer and data architect for a non-profit organization for 25 years! Louis has been a Microsoft MVP since 2004, and is the author of a series of SQL Server Database Design books, most recently Pro SQL Server Relational Database Design and Implementation.

Louis is the editor of the Simple-Talk website. Prior to that, has was a corporate database developer and data architect for a non-profit organization for 25 years! Louis has been a Microsoft MVP since 2004, and is the author of a series of SQL Serve... Show more

Fawaz Ghali is an independent applied AI technologist with over 25 years of experience spanning AI research, higher education, and industry delivery. He works at the point where enthusiasm has faded, tools have been tried, and AI initiatives are expected to deliver real value.

Holding a PhD in Computer Science, Fawaz has led and contributed to applied AI, data engineering, and distributed systems across academia and industry. He has published 45+ peer-reviewed papers and delivered over 300 talks worldwide, focusing on what actually works once AI meets real data, real constraints, and real organisational pressure.

Fawaz speaks and teaches independently, without vendor affiliation or sales agendas. His sessions are direct, evidence-based, and deliberately free of marketing, product promotion, or speculative claims, offering audiences clarity, critical evaluation, and hard-earned insight grounded in practice rather than hype.

Fawaz Ghali is an independent applied AI technologist with over 25 years of experience spanning AI research, higher education, and industry delivery. He works at the point where enthusiasm has faded, tools have been tried, and AI initiatives are expe... Show more

Data Platform professional based in the Netherlands. Microsoft Certified Trainer and Data Platform MVP.

Many years experience with Microsoft Data Platforms. Along the way gained various Microsoft Certifications.

Held various roles over the years. Over that tome gained real-life experience with various Microsoft Data Platform offerings and ALM solutions such as Azure Devops and GitHub.

Involved with Microsoft technical community in various ways. Including blogs, videos, events and sharing various repositories in GitHub.

Data Platform professional based in the Netherlands. Microsoft Certified Trainer and Data Platform MVP. Many years experience with Microsoft Data Platforms. Along the way gained various Microsoft Certifications. Held various roles over the yea... Show more

John Miner is a Senior Data Architect at Insight Digital Innovation helping corporations solve their business needs with various data platform solutions.

He has over thirty years of data processing experience, and his architecture expertise encompasses all phases of the software project life cycle, including design, development, implementation, and maintenance of systems.

His credentials include undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science from the University of Rhode Island. Also, he has earned certificates from Microsoft for Database Administration (MCDBA), System Administration (MCSA), Data Management & Analytics (MCSE) and Data Science (MPP).

John has been recognized with the Microsoft MVP award ten times for his outstanding contributions to the Data Platform community.

When he is not busy talking to local user groups or writing blog entries on new technology, he spends time with his wife and daughter enjoying outdoor activities. Some of John’s hobbies include wood working projects, crafting a good beer and playing a game of chess.

John Miner is a Senior Data Architect at Insight Digital Innovation helping corporations solve their business needs with various data platform solutions. He has over thirty years of data processing experience, and his architecture expertise encomp... Show more

Google Developer Expert in Web Technologies and Angular, also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, Nicolas is a French FontEnd specialist and User Interface Designer from Metz, France.

He works as a Developer Advocate and Senior Staff Engineer at Sfeir Luxembourg. Besides that, Nicolas is a speaker, and likes to contribute to the community by giving talks, trainings, writing articles or participating in open source projects like Ng Zorro

Google Developer Expert in Web Technologies and Angular, also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, Nicolas is a French FontEnd specialist and User Interface Designer from Metz, France. He works as a Developer Advocate and Senior Staff Engineer ... Show more

Torsten Strauß (MVP) is the CEO of inside-sqlserver and Principal Microsoft SQL Consultant at Sarpedon Quality Lab. He is a multi-certified Microsoft expert with a strong focus on Azure DevOps, SQL Server performance optimization, and the development of scalable SQL Server and Azure SQL solutions.
Torsten has delivered more than 330 technical sessions at national and international conferences and user groups. Since 2018, he has been recognized annually as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Data Platform — and since 2025 also for Developer Technologies. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and has been listed among Sessionize’s Top Speakers for three consecutive years.

Torsten Strauß (MVP) is the CEO of inside-sqlserver and Principal Microsoft SQL Consultant at Sarpedon Quality Lab. He is a multi-certified Microsoft expert with a strong focus on Azure DevOps, SQL Server performance optimization, and the development... Show more

Consultant and trainer in Fabric and Power BI. Microsoft MVP Data Platform. Certifications DP-700, DP-600, PL-300. You can find me at www.dataxbi.com.

Consultant and trainer in Fabric and Power BI. Microsoft MVP Data Platform. Certifications DP-700, DP-600, PL-300. You can find me at www.dataxbi.com. Show more

Anja is a Principal Fullstack Engineer based in Berlin. She loves systems thinking - but doesn't love buzzwords all that much. Her aim is to understand and influence human dynamics behind software and organizations.
She's equally passionate about hard and soft skills. Over time, she's become more and more convinced that soft skills are the true hard skills.
Off stage, she's a sports enthusiast, current local champion in wakeskating, and a fan of pushing limits – whether on the water or in the workplace.

Anja is a Principal Fullstack Engineer based in Berlin. She loves systems thinking - but doesn't love buzzwords all that much. Her aim is to understand and influence human dynamics behind software and organizations. She's equally passionate about ha... Show more

Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Proprietor of Catallaxy Services, LLC, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL (https://curatedsql.com), president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group (https://www.meetup.com/tripass), and author of PolyBase Revealed (https://www.apress.com/us/book/9781484254608) and Finding Ghosts in Your Data (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-8870-2). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather's nice enough.

Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Proprietor of Catallaxy Services, LLC, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand... Show more