Most Active Speakers 2025

Sessionize proudly presents the list of the most active speakers in the year 2025!

  • 1126 speakers
  • Auto-generated
Brayan Kai Mwanyumba

Brayan Kai Mwanyumba

Brayan Kai is a Data Scientist passionate about Technical Writing and Open-source Advocacy, currently working as a Data Scientist. At work, he helps build Data Science solutions, facilitates technical mentorship sessions, and builds next-level data content to equip learners with hands-on, job-ready, in-demand skills for their next career move. He also volunteers at different developer communities, including Google Developer Group Nairobi, OSCA Nairobi, and the GitHub Community. Brayan is also a global tech speaker so far having spoken at over 30 conferences across Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. It makes him happier and more balanced, and gives him a stronger sense of purpose to innovate, share, and teach in and with the community rather than just for it.

Brayan Kai is a Data Scientist passionate about Technical Writing and Open-source Advocacy, currently working as a Data Scientist. At work, he helps build Data Science solutions, facilitates technical mentorship sessions, and builds next-level data c... Show more

Arin Roy

Arin Roy

As a Principal Architect with a specialization in Azure and AI, Arin excels at pioneering new services in Azure, bringing innovative solutions to his clients.

He is dedicated to keeping the developer community updated with new technology, advocating for best practices, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

He combines his expertise in Azure and AI with a passion for mentoring and leadership, driving technological excellence and community engagement. He is also deeply passionate about the Microsoft Development Ecosystem and .NET, integrating these technologies seamlessly into his projects to deliver optimal results.

As a Principal Architect with a specialization in Azure and AI, Arin excels at pioneering new services in Azure, bringing innovative solutions to his clients. He is dedicated to keeping the developer community updated with new technology, advocati... Show more

Nicholas Chang

Nicholas Chang

Nicholas Chang is a Senior Platform Engineer at Kainos with a deep passion for Microsoft Azure.

With extensive experience across cloud technologies, he is the founder of the Microsoft Azure Community User Group, where he drives knowledge sharing, collaboration, and growth within the tech community.

Nicholas is also the creator and host of the Microsoft Community Insights podcast, connecting with industry leaders to share valuable perspectives on Azure and the wider technology ecosystem.

He has collaborated with Microsoft and the Azure community on initiatives that promote innovation, learning, and practical engineering experience.

As a dedicated community advocate, Nicholas regularly speaks at events and shares his expertise through his blog, nicholaschangblog.com. You can connect with him on Twitter: @nick_cloudops or visit his blog to learn more.

Nicholas Chang is a Senior Platform Engineer at Kainos with a deep passion for Microsoft Azure. With extensive experience across cloud technologies, he is the founder of the Microsoft Azure Community User Group, where he drives knowledge sharing, ... Show more

Wesley Cabus

Wesley Cabus

Wesley is a Customer Success Engineer at Duende Software, helping Duende's customers to be successful by assisting developers with issues, documenting common problems and teaching about security / identity.

He's also a Microsoft MVP, board member of the VISUG meetup in Belgium and speaker at meetups and conferences, such as NDC Copenhagen, London and Sydney, ConFoo Montreal, WeAreDevelopers Berlin, Update Conference, TechDays, Swetugg, DevConf, DeveloperDays and Techorama.

Wesley is a Customer Success Engineer at Duende Software, helping Duende's customers to be successful by assisting developers with issues, documenting common problems and teaching about security / identity. He's also a Microsoft MVP, board member ... Show more

Małgorzata Janeczek

Małgorzata Janeczek

Gosia is a full-stack developer specialising in .NET and React, with a knack for test automation, DevOps and building reliable, user-friendly applications. After graduating in Automatic Control and Robotics, she discovered her passion for programming and hasn’t looked back since.

When she’s not coding, Gosia is a mom, a painter, and a piano beginner. She’s a lifelong learner who loves solving problems and sharing her discoveries with others. Whether you know her as a developer, a friend, a colleague, or just “hey, you!”, Gosia brings curiosity and creativity to everything she does.

Gosia is a full-stack developer specialising in .NET and React, with a knack for test automation, DevOps and building reliable, user-friendly applications. After graduating in Automatic Control and Robotics, she discovered her passion for programming... Show more

Alberto Mori

Alberto Mori

Software Developer. In love with Web and .NET. I like to try and learn always something new.

I try to share my experience living the community. I'm the host of "Spike time" (https://www.ugidotnet.org/tv/3307/Spike-time) and sometimes you can find me live on my Twitch channel, writing code.

Software Developer. In love with Web and .NET. I like to try and learn always something new. I try to share my experience living the community. I'm the host of "Spike time" (https://www.ugidotnet.org/tv/3307/Spike-time) and sometimes you can find ... Show more

Mohamed Mortadha Manai

Mohamed Mortadha Manai

I'm Mohamed Mortadha Manai, an AI Engineer at SFEIR Paris, Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Cloud AI, and a PhD Candidate specializing in Explainable AI (XAI). My work focuses on building production ready AI systems powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), Agentic AI, Generative AI, and Cloud AI, with an emphasis on scalability, trustworthiness, and responsible deployment.

Beyond engineering, I serve as an AI Expert Author at Packt Publishing, an AI Expert Consultant, and an AI international speaker, sharing practical insights with developers, researchers, and organizations worldwide. Recognized as a LinkedIn Top AI Voice, I am passionate about democratizing AI knowledge, mentoring the next generation of AI engineers, and strengthening AI communities across Africa and the MENA region through education, open collaboration, and real world innovation.

I'm Mohamed Mortadha Manai, an AI Engineer at SFEIR Paris, Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Cloud AI, and a PhD Candidate specializing in Explainable AI (XAI). My work focuses on building production ready AI systems powered by Large Language Models (... Show more

Nicola Paro

Nicola Paro

Nicola Paro is a Solution Architect with over 10 years of experience in the industry, with a special focus on the Industrial IoT environment. He is passionate about software development, primarily using .NET, Blazor, and AI technologies.

Nicola Paro is a Solution Architect with over 10 years of experience in the industry, with a special focus on the Industrial IoT environment. He is passionate about software development, primarily using .NET, Blazor, and AI technologies. Show more

Katerina Chernevskaya

Katerina Chernevskaya

Katerina, an MVP, MCT, and renowned public speaker, focuses on Power Platform & AI. With twenty years of experience and key certifications in PROSCI, PMI, Power Platform Solution Architect, she leads in app development, AI, and adaptive work models. Active in the Microsoft community, Katerina mentors new tech talent and supports innovation. Katerina takes part in the #SharingIsCaring initiative, guiding community contributions to the Microsoft Sample Solution Gallery.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katerinachernevskaya/

Katerina, an MVP, MCT, and renowned public speaker, focuses on Power Platform & AI. With twenty years of experience and key certifications in PROSCI, PMI, Power Platform Solution Architect, she leads in app development, AI, and adaptive work models. ... Show more

David Pless

David Pless

David Pless is a Principal Program Manager in Azure Data at Microsoft, where he focuses on SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, performance engineering, storage architecture, and Azure Arc. With nearly three decades of experience in the data platform industry and almost twenty years at Microsoft, David has worked across consulting, support, technical sales, and product engineering roles.

A Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), David specializes in SQL Server performance tuning, high availability and disaster recovery, Azure SQL, and cloud modernization. He is a frequent speaker at SQL Saturdays, Microsoft events, industry conferences, and user groups, where he shares practical lessons learned from helping customers run and optimize mission-critical SQL Server workloads at scale.

David Pless is a Principal Program Manager in Azure Data at Microsoft, where he focuses on SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, performance engineering, storage architecture, and Azure Arc. With nearly three decades of experience in the data platfor... Show more

Gilles Pommier

Gilles Pommier

Gilles Pommier is a senior SharePoint Consultant and Office 365 MVP. During the last 15 years, he has helped numerous companies in their implementation for SharePoint architecture and development. Since 2005, he has also participated in several events such as SharePoint Saturday, SQL Saturday, Microsoft TechEd U.S., TechEd Australia, TechEd EMEA TechEd Dubai TechDays France as a speaker on Office 365, SharePoint, .Net and VSTO technologies.

Gilles Pommier is a senior SharePoint Consultant and Office 365 MVP. During the last 15 years, he has helped numerous companies in their implementation for SharePoint architecture and development. Since 2005, he has also participated in several even... Show more

Yannick Reekmans

Yannick Reekmans

Yannick (a Microsoft 365 & Business Applications MVP) was born and raised in SharePoint, starting his career in 2011 when SharePoint 2010 was still new and shiny. The changing reality of the cloud made him expand his knowledge to the whole of Microsoft 365, Azure, and Power Platform. He is a Managing Partner and Cloud Solution Architect at Qubix, a Belgium-based consultancy firm, responsible for the technical underpinnings of products and solutions. Problem-solving and development are his passions, and he is still working day-to-day with code. He always asks the important questions: How does it work? What do you want to achieve? Does it have an API? Do we really need development for this? Where's the coffee?

Yannick (a Microsoft 365 & Business Applications MVP) was born and raised in SharePoint, starting his career in 2011 when SharePoint 2010 was still new and shiny. The changing reality of the cloud made him expand his knowledge to the whole of Microso... Show more

Truls Dahlsveen

Truls Dahlsveen

Hey guys, my name is Truls and I do security-related stuff mostly detection, automation and security engineering.

My experience spans from system- and network-administration, penetration testing experience and SOC, mainly security and automation engineering. I'm a Microsoft MVP in SIEM&XDR and spent most of my time off work either experimenting with some technical stuff or playing video games. I'm very curious and love to learn new things, but my favorite thing is talking about or hearing others talk about things they tried that didn't work.

Hey guys, my name is Truls and I do security-related stuff mostly detection, automation and security engineering. My experience spans from system- and network-administration, penetration testing experience and SOC, mainly security and automation ... Show more

Marjolein Opsteegh

Marjolein Opsteegh

Hi, my name is Marjolein. I'm a Power BI consultant, trainer, and speaker who loves helping people get more value from their data. My passion lies in creating dashboards that combine strong visual design with a great user experience, making data easier to understand and act on.

I regularly share my knowledge through training courses, workshops, presentations, blogs, and videos, both online and in person.

Hi, my name is Marjolein. I'm a Power BI consultant, trainer, and speaker who loves helping people get more value from their data. My passion lies in creating dashboards that combine strong visual design with a great user experience, making data easi... Show more

Jonah Andersson

Jonah Andersson


Jonah Andersson is a tech entrepreneur, Principal Cloud Engineer Architect and published book author.
She works as a IT Consultant with different tech hats. With a background in Computer Science and System Development, Jonah specializes in .NET technologies and excels in cloud development, particularly within Microsoft Azure. Passionate about solving complex problems and crafting modern applications, Jonah works with cloud platforms like Azure, and her expertise in cloud computing and development has earned her international recognition. She is recognized as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and Microsoft Certified Trainer for her contributions to the tech industry.

Her book, 'Learning Microsoft Azure: Cloud Computing and Development Fundamentals' (O'Reilly), further highlights her expertise and the depth of her technical knowledge.

She actively engages in tech communities and international events such as Microsoft Ignite. She values genuine inspiration and connections, and shares insights with fellow developers. Jonah's leadership extends beyond her technical expertise. As the founder and leader of the Azure User Group Sweden, she guides, inspires, and leads others in tech. She is also an MCT Community Lead from Sweden, helping and supporting fellow Microsoft Certified Trainers in the community.

Her advocacy for gender equality and inclusion in tech, recognized by her Developer of the Year awards in 2023 at the Nordic Women in Tech Awards and in 2024 at Developers Day, is a testament to her commitment to making the tech industry a more inclusive space. She actively mentors aspiring women in tech careers and co-hosts the Extend Women In Tech Podcast, to inspire inclusive tech for all.

Jonah Andersson is a tech entrepreneur, Principal Cloud Engineer Architect and published book author. She works as a IT Consultant with different tech hats. With a background in Computer Science and System Development, Jonah specializes in .NET te... Show more

Roland Guijt

Roland Guijt

Roland is a Microsoft MVP, MCT and Pluralsight author enjoying a constant curiosity around new techniques in software development. His focus is on all things .NET and browser technologies with a special focus on security.
As a long-time trainer and speaker, he led many courses on these topics and spoke about these topics at many international conferences. He's currently working with Duende software to help building out their products.

Roland is a Microsoft MVP, MCT and Pluralsight author enjoying a constant curiosity around new techniques in software development. His focus is on all things .NET and browser technologies with a special focus on security. As a long-time trainer and... Show more

Roberto Carrancio

Roberto Carrancio

My name is Roberto Carrancio and I am an SQL Server DBA with over 14 years of experience in the sector. I have been recognized as a Microsoft MVP in the Data Platform category in SQL Server and Azure SQL. During my years of experience, I have had the opportunity to work on projects in companies of all sizes and sectors, from SMEs to large multinationals. Author of the book “SQL SERVER: The NOT practical guide to optimization.” I am also the creator of the blog soydba.es and the YouTube channel SoyDBA.

My name is Roberto Carrancio and I am an SQL Server DBA with over 14 years of experience in the sector. I have been recognized as a Microsoft MVP in the Data Platform category in SQL Server and Azure SQL. During my years of experience, I have had th... Show more

Irine Kokilashvili

Irine Kokilashvili

Infrastructure Engineer during the day, tinkerer during the night!
When I'm not pushing code or fixing servers, you can find me trying to automate anything that moves (or doesn't move - I'm not picky). I'm a firm believer in the power of memes, using duct tape to fix just about anything, and the occasional brainstorming session with my sidekick rubber duck (who is a great listener, by the way).

Infrastructure Engineer during the day, tinkerer during the night! When I'm not pushing code or fixing servers, you can find me trying to automate anything that moves (or doesn't move - I'm not picky). I'm a firm believer in the power of memes, usin... Show more

Nick Doelman

Nick Doelman

Nick Doelman helps companies build and adopt intelligent business solutions on Microsoft Power Platform. As an independent solution architect, trainer, and advisor, he works with organizations worldwide to design and build apps, agents, automations, and websites with Dataverse, Power Apps, Power Pages, Power Automate, and Copilot Studio. He uses agentic development practices to build better and faster, and trains client teams to do the same. An 8-time Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer, Nick stays hands-on: he builds real client solutions, speaks at conferences internationally, co-hosts the Power Platform BOOST podcast, and shares what he learns through the ReadyXRM blog and YouTube channel. Outside of work, Nick is a competitive powerlifter representing Team Canada at international events.

Nick Doelman helps companies build and adopt intelligent business solutions on Microsoft Power Platform. As an independent solution architect, trainer, and advisor, he works with organizations worldwide to design and build apps, agents, automations, ... Show more

Giorgi Dalakishvili

Giorgi Dalakishvili

Giorgi is a software developer with almost two decades of experience, working mainly with C#, ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, and databases - SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Oracle - on Azure and AWS.

He is the author of open-source libraries including EntityFramework.Exceptions and DuckDB.NET, downloaded more than 35 million times on NuGet. He is a Microsoft MVP - the first from Georgia in the Developer Technologies category.

Giorgi has spoken at conferences across Europe and the US, including NDC London (2026 & 2027), NDC Copenhagen, Voxxed Days Luxembourg, Build Stuff Lithuania, KCDC, .NET Conf, .NET DeveloperDays, Developer Week (DWX), .NET Day Switzerland, Update Conference (Kraków & Prague), and FabCon Europe.

Giorgi is a software developer with almost two decades of experience, working mainly with C#, ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, and databases - SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Oracle - on Azure and AWS. He is the author of open-source libra... Show more

Simon Skotheimsvik

Simon Skotheimsvik

Simon is a Microsoft MVP, Senior Cloud Architect at CloudWay, international speaker, and technology blogger specializing in Microsoft Intune, Entra ID, modern endpoint management, and identity-driven security.

With 30 years in IT, Simon has spent his career turning technology into working solutions. He helps organizations modernize and secure their endpoint environments, with a strong focus on reducing complexity and making identity and endpoints work together in a cloud-first world.

As an international speaker, Simon is known for practical, engaging sessions built around real-world challenges, lessons learned, and the how behind modern Microsoft technologies. His sessions combine deep technical knowledge with practical guidance that IT professionals can take back to their own environments.

Simon also shares his experience through blogging and community work, covering Intune, Entra ID, security, and modern endpoint management. His approach is straightforward: understand the technology, understand the problem, and build solutions that actually work.

Simon is a Microsoft MVP, Senior Cloud Architect at CloudWay, international speaker, and technology blogger specializing in Microsoft Intune, Entra ID, modern endpoint management, and identity-driven security. With 30 years in IT, Simon has spent ... Show more

Bob Ward

Bob Ward

Bob Ward is a Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team, which owns the development for Microsoft SQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure HorizonDB. Bob has worked for Microsoft for 32+ years on every version of SQL Server shipped from OS/2 1.1 to SQL Server 2025 including Azure SQL and SQL database in Fabric. Bob is a well-known speaker on SQL Server, Azure SQL, AI, Microsoft Fabric, and Azure PostgreSQL often presenting talks on new releases, internals, and specialized topics at events such as SQLBits, Microsoft Build, Microsoft Ignite, PASS Summit, FabCon, SQLCon, and VS Live. You can follow him at @bobwardms or linkedin.com/in/bobwardms. Bob is the author of the books Pro SQL Server on Linux, SQL Server 2019 Revealed, Azure SQL Revealed, SQL Server 2022 Revealed, Azure SQL Revealed 2nd Edition, and SQL Server 2025 Unveiled available from Apress Media.

Bob Ward is a Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team, which owns the development for Microsoft SQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure HorizonDB. Bob has worked for Microsoft for 32+ years on every version of SQL Server shipped f... Show more

Steven Hillaert

Steven Hillaert

Steven took up several roles over the past 20+ years, from junior developer to team lead and architect. His strength sits at the intersection of architecture, people, and delivery. He has led teams from a few developers to full departments, designed technical strategies, combining strategic oversight with hands-on technical leadership and worked closely with business stakeholders to align technology with real-world needs.

What he typically bring to a mission:
- Architectural ownership from concept to production
- Tech leadership and engineering management
- Team coaching and career development
- Pragmatic, quality-driven software engineering

When it comes to non-technical subjects he focuses on sharing knowledge and help others grow to become successful software engineers and consultants.

In his free time he likes to sport, play chess and boardgames, and tame his 2 kids.

Steven took up several roles over the past 20+ years, from junior developer to team lead and architect. His strength sits at the intersection of architecture, people, and delivery. He has led teams from a few developers to full departments, designed ... Show more

Nikos Delis

Nikos Delis

Microsoft MVP for Azure & IoT, Senior Cloud Architect and tech enthusiast. Passionate about software architecture and solution design.

During my 13+ years of hands-on experience in Software Engineering, I have primarily focused on .NET-based solutions and Azure as a cloud-services provider. I have worked with pretty much all kinds of applications, from small Windows Forms tools to large-scale enterprise web-based solutions. The more I code, the more I realize that my true passion is solution design and software architecture, regardless of tech-stack and platform.

Sharing knowledge and insights is the finest thing I know and the one thing I love the most in the IT community.

Microsoft MVP for Azure & IoT, Senior Cloud Architect and tech enthusiast. Passionate about software architecture and solution design. During my 13+ years of hands-on experience in Software Engineering, I have primarily focused on .NET-based solut... Show more

Jemima Abu

Jemima Abu

Jemima Abu is a self-taught front-end developer, Google Developer Expert, Microsoft MVP, and Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies. She is passionate about diversity in technology and accessibility in web development.

Jemima Abu is a self-taught front-end developer, Google Developer Expert, Microsoft MVP, and Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies. She is passionate about diversity in technology and accessibility in web development. Show more

Ron Dagdag

Ron Dagdag

Ron Dagdag has spent 25 years figuring out which tool fits the problem—and when “good enough” is the right engineering choice. Today, he leads AI research engineering at Thomson Reuters, building agentic systems that hold up in production, not just on stage.

A Microsoft MVP since 2017, Ron is currently recognized in Web Development and Microsoft AI Foundry, with previous awards in Windows, Mixed Reality, and IoT. He speaks internationally, organizes community events across DFW, and keeps tinkering with agents, robots, and half-finished ideas.

He builds things, tests what breaks, and teaches what works. 🛠️

Code > Create > Coach > Repeat.

Ron Dagdag has spent 25 years figuring out which tool fits the problem—and when “good enough” is the right engineering choice. Today, he leads AI research engineering at Thomson Reuters, building agentic systems that hold up in production, not just o... Show more

Massimo Crippa

Massimo Crippa

Massimo Crippa is a cloud enthusiast with 20+ years of experience shaping enterprise solutions on Microsoft technologies, with a tech-intensive mindset and a strong passion for exploring emerging technologies.

He began his career in the Italian ICT sector as a web developer before moving into messaging and cloud projects. Since 2011, he has lived and worked across Belgium and France, and today he is a Lead Architect at Codit.
Massimo’s expertise spans the full cloud journey: from defining strategy and demonstrating the value of Azure PaaS, AI, and container-based solutions to delivering hands-on implementations with customers.

Outside of work, he’s a proud dad of two, passionate about motorbikes, and always eager to explore the latest in cloud technology.

Massimo Crippa is a cloud enthusiast with 20+ years of experience shaping enterprise solutions on Microsoft technologies, with a tech-intensive mindset and a strong passion for exploring emerging technologies. He began his career in the Italian IC... Show more

Jasper Oosterveld

Jasper Oosterveld

My name is Jasper Oosterveld. I am a Microsoft MVP, Data Security & Microsoft 365 Consultant working for Rubicon in the Netherlands. I’ve spent the last decade helping organizations tackle complex challenges around Microsoft 365 Governance, Adoption and Data Security with Microsoft Purview. My mission? To empower companies to protect their data and streamline collaboration in Microsoft 365, all while keeping Governance, Adoption and Data Security at the forefront.

My name is Jasper Oosterveld. I am a Microsoft MVP, Data Security & Microsoft 365 Consultant working for Rubicon in the Netherlands. I’ve spent the last decade helping organizations tackle complex challenges around Microsoft 365 Governance, Adoption ... Show more

Hasan Savran

Hasan Savran

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

Leonardo Micheloni

Leonardo Micheloni

Leonardo Micheloni has been a software developer for more than 22 years, and has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for the last 12 years thanks to his collaboration with the development community in Latin America and Spain.
For several years he has been involved with good development and agility practices, and everything related to creating quality software.
He currently works for Tokiota in Madrid.

Leonardo Micheloni has been a software developer for more than 22 years, and has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for the last 12 years thanks to his collaboration with the development community in Latin America and Spain. For several years he has... Show more

Please note that Sessionize is not responsible for the accuracy or validity of the data provided by speakers.

Most Active Speakers 2025

Every year, we put together a list of the most active speakers. This list features the top 3% of speakers who have participated in events using Sessionize during the 2025.

The 3% is calculated from the pool of all speakers that have at least one accepted session in year 2025. We don't include inactive speakers or speakers that had no accepted sessions during the year. There are around 39,000 unique accepted speakers this year, the 3% is 1163. Not all of them have their speaker profiles set as public, and we respect that, so the list doesn't show all of them.

The calculation is based on the number of accepted events, that's the main criteria, but to get more refined results we also look at things like multiple sessions per event, sharing a session with a co-speaker and how big the event is. Number of submissions and declined sessions don't affect the list.

Please note that the count of events and sessions in this list does not represent the number of events and sessions from the year 2025. Instead, it shows the number of events and sessions featured on the speaker's public speaker profile; these numbers have nothing to do with the award itself.