Carol is an executive with a passion for delivering results and developing high-performing teams. Currently leading TechFluent, the premier education program for Microsoft Biz Apps and AI Foundational learning. She is an experienced driver of engagement and leadership, with hands-on strategy, project and delivery expertise, technical product ownership, business start-ups and staff development. Carol has successfully led technical delivery and scrum teams in highly matrixed, geographically dispersed environments to deliver complex, enterprise-level business solutions.

Carol is an executive with a passion for delivering results and developing high-performing teams. Currently leading TechFluent, the premier education program for Microsoft Biz Apps and AI Foundational learning. She is an experienced driver of engagem... Show more

Erika Chestnut is a transformational leader with over 25 years in the tech industry, fueled by a passion for people and a purpose to empower. Her journey is defined by a commitment to helping individuals and teams rethink leadership, culture, and communication to achieve peak performance and financial success. She equips others with practical tools and strategies to foster deeper connections, amplify performance, and create empowered, thriving environments.

Erika Chestnut is a transformational leader with over 25 years in the tech industry, fueled by a passion for people and a purpose to empower. Her journey is defined by a commitment to helping individuals and teams rethink leadership, culture, and com... Show more

Dennis is a self employed Enterprise Cloud Architect and Microsoft Certified Trainer focusing on driving business value through the use of cloud services. He works as an independent contractor at a variety of clients under the company name CloudMatters supporting organizations to realize a sustainable state of governance, developing architecture and driving cloud adoption.

Dennis has a background in mission critical managed (cloud) infrastructures, cloud security, End User Computing (such as Remote Desktop Services, Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop), Identity and Access Management, Microsoft cloud offerings for end-users like Microsoft 365 and cloud governance.

Dennis wants to inspire and guide organizations and people to change.

Dennis is a self employed Enterprise Cloud Architect and Microsoft Certified Trainer focusing on driving business value through the use of cloud services. He works as an independent contractor at a variety of clients under the company name CloudMatte... Show more

Dr. Phillip T. Meade is a transformational leadership expert with over 30 years of experience in systems design and culture change. As a senior leader at NASA, he led the cultural transformation following the Columbia tragedy, guided the workforce transition during the Space Shuttle retirement, and helped reinvent Kennedy Space Center into the world’s busiest commercial spaceport. Now a consultant and keynote speaker, Dr. Meade helps organizations navigate complexity, drive cultural shifts, and build high-performance systems from the inside out.

Dr. Meade’s keynotes and presentations are designed to meet the unique needs of your event, whether you’re looking to inspire leadership teams or dive deep into culture transformation and strategic alignment. Dr. Meade is also available for on-demand speaking, offering his signature talks to deliver immediate, actionable insights that create lasting impact.

Dr. Phillip T. Meade is a transformational leadership expert with over 30 years of experience in systems design and culture change. As a senior leader at NASA, he led the cultural transformation following the Columbia tragedy, guided the workforce tr... Show more

Directions for Partners Board Member since 2011
Chairman Diections for Partners 2015 to 2021
Managing Director Tecman Deutschland GmbH
Shareholder of various VAR's and ISV's
Expert for business development in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ecosystem and ISV space
Member of the German Dynamics IMACP Chapter
Proven Business Coach and podcast creator
Christian lives in Hamburg/Germany, in his free time you can find him often on the golf course, sailing (sometimes) or rowing on his inhouse rowing erg or creating the latest edition of his newest podcast about emotions together with his friends. He is also an AI / Copilot enthusiast and like to play poker.

Directions for Partners Board Member since 2011 Chairman Diections for Partners 2015 to 2021 Managing Director Tecman Deutschland GmbH Shareholder of various VAR's and ISV's Expert for business development in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business C... Show more

South African born, UK resident, Mike is a Mechanical Design Engineer & spent 20 years as a Draughtsman in the Dairy industry, a Project Technician & ran the drawing office for NCD/Clover Dairies. At Toyota, he worked as a mechanical designer in body in white. He moved to the UK in 2001, spent 7 years creating & designing 3D technical models.
He continued his studies in IT & enhanced his developer & web design skills at Halesowen College.
At age 50, in 2008 Mike jumped tracks & began a new career as IT Manager & NAV implementation project leader for SSI Schaefer in Andover, England. With the NAV project successfully implemented, he moved to Evosoft as support office manager, then to Sci-Net in Oxford as a consultant & then to KPMG for a three year corporate engagement.
As the Dynamics 365 Solution Architect for Experience/GCC for almost 3 years - now Global Solutions Architect for Dynavics, Mike has implemented multiple D365 solutions for a range of customers in a variety of industries in the UK.

South African born, UK resident, Mike is a Mechanical Design Engineer & spent 20 years as a Draughtsman in the Dairy industry, a Project Technician & ran the drawing office for NCD/Clover Dairies. At Toyota, he worked as a mechanical designer in body... Show more

Some leaders command a room. Robert H. Johnson Jr. changes what happens when people leave it.

A Culture and Leadership Strategist, TEDx speaker, and Amazon #1 bestselling author, Robert spent 20+ years inside Fortune 100 organizations — Amazon, Nike, Capital One, Lucid Motors — studying one persistent question: Why do talented people disengage, disconnect, and disappear?

His answer became a movement. The TACT® Leadership Framework — Trust, Accountability, Communication with Intent, Take Action — is an independently validated model deployed across 500+ leaders and 73,000+ employees.

His Three C’s of Community™ framework gives organizations the language and the ledger to quantify what disconnected leadership is actually costing them.

In 2020, Robert made a defining choice — he walked away from corporate America and became The Corporate Dropout: a strategist, speaker, and author committed to building what most organizations aspire to but few achieve: cultures where people feel genuinely safe, seen, heard, and valued.

His work blends the rigor of research, the resonance of lived experience, and the rare ability to make leaders feel both challenged and cared for — often in the same sentence.

Some leaders command a room. Robert H. Johnson Jr. changes what happens when people leave it. A Culture and Leadership Strategist, TEDx speaker, and Amazon #1 bestselling author, Robert spent 20+ years inside Fortune 100 organizations — Amazon, Ni... Show more

Ingeniero en Informática. Apasionado del software y la tecnología con más de 20 años de desarrollo profesional en el mundo IT. Convencido de que solo el trabajo bien hecho, la calidad y la mejora continua sientan una base sólida de futuro.

Ingeniero en Informática. Apasionado del software y la tecnología con más de 20 años de desarrollo profesional en el mundo IT. Convencido de que solo el trabajo bien hecho, la calidad y la mejora continua sientan una base sólida de futuro. Show more

Alexon works as a Senior Principal Technical Account Manager at Red Hat focusing on Infrastructure and Management, Integration and Automation, Cloud Computing, Storage, and AI Solutions. He also contributes to produce and enhance documentation, knowledge-base articles, blog posts, presentations, webinars, and workshops. When he is not at work, he enjoys spending quality time with his family (wife, two children, and cat) and participating in several volunteer jobs.

Alexon works as a Senior Principal Technical Account Manager at Red Hat focusing on Infrastructure and Management, Integration and Automation, Cloud Computing, Storage, and AI Solutions. He also contributes to produce and enhance documentation, knowl... Show more

I am a UX design leader and product strategist with a decade of experience in creating user-centric digital solutions. Currently, I work as a product design leader focusing on enterprise design for Cisco. My expertise lies in scaling design systems, leading cross-functional teams, and driving business impact through innovative UX strategies.

I’ve had the privilege of speaking at global conferences like UXDX and NFT.London, where I share insights on blending creativity, research, and technology to deliver impactful results. My experience also includes leveraging design and AI to drive sustainable practices through in-depth research, usability testing, and exploring how design influences user decisions toward eco-friendly outcomes. Additionally, I’m passionate about mentoring emerging designers at premier institutions, helping them shape the future of user-centered design.

I am a UX design leader and product strategist with a decade of experience in creating user-centric digital solutions. Currently, I work as a product design leader focusing on enterprise design for Cisco. My expertise lies in scaling design systems, ... Show more

Riz Vazir wants you to never lose focus, time, or health to doomscrolling and digital distractions. With over 20 years in organizational change and transformation including leadership roles at Microsoft and Aon he founded Scroll By Choice to address the health and productivity crisis created by attention-hijacking technologies. A Prosci-certified Change Management Practitioner and MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Riz helps organizations and families build digital wellness that strengthens focus, performance, and connection in an AI-driven world. He lives in the Seattle area with his wife and son, who inspires his work.

Riz Vazir wants you to never lose focus, time, or health to doomscrolling and digital distractions. With over 20 years in organizational change and transformation including leadership roles at Microsoft and Aon he founded Scroll By Choice to address ... Show more

Karen Eilers ist Wirtschaftspsychologin und beschäftigt sich mit Herausforderungen und Lösungsansätzen für Führungskräfte, Teams und Unternehmen in agilen und digitalen Transformationen. Begonnen in ihrer Promotionszeit im Fachbereich Wirtschaftsinformatik der Universität Kassel sowie der Universität St.Gallen, vertieft sie heute die Forschung rund um Menschen in Veränderungsprozessen und transferiert die Erkenntnisse aus der Wissenschaft in die Praxis. Sie leitet das Institut für Transformation in Hamburg und ist Professorin an der BSP Business and Law School.

Karen Eilers ist Wirtschaftspsychologin und beschäftigt sich mit Herausforderungen und Lösungsansätzen für Führungskräfte, Teams und Unternehmen in agilen und digitalen Transformationen. Begonnen in ihrer Promotionszeit im Fachbereich Wirtschaftsinfo... Show more

Andrew Hess is a Senior Solution Architect on Microsoft's Copilot Acceleration Team (CAT) although speaking events are normally under his own person brand and company Hess IT Solutions. Andrew helps organizations get real results from the Power Platform, Copilot, and Microsoft AI. A national award winner in Power Apps and an accomplished application developer, Andrew also shares his expertise as a YouTuber, helping the community grow through practical guidance and real-world innovation.

Andrew Hess is a Senior Solution Architect on Microsoft's Copilot Acceleration Team (CAT) although speaking events are normally under his own person brand and company Hess IT Solutions. Andrew helps organizations get real results from the Power Platf... Show more

Yevgen Nebesov is a systems architect based in Bruchsal, Germany. He provides consultancy services to companies across various sectors, including railways, defence, logistics, medical devices, and retail. His expertise spans software architecture, organization design, team leadership, and business analysis.

His consultancy focuses primarily on managing the complexity arising from intertwined uncertainties across technical, operational, and political domains within organizations.

Yevgen is the author of two practical frameworks:
- “Sociotechnical Engineering” — an approach that applies classical Systems Engineering principles, such as requirements elicitation and requirements-driven design, to sociotechnical systems, including software development projects.
- “The Architecture of Power” — a framework for structural change designed for people with or without formal authority.

Yevgen Nebesov is a systems architect based in Bruchsal, Germany. He provides consultancy services to companies across various sectors, including railways, defence, logistics, medical devices, and retail. His expertise spans software architecture, or... Show more

Chad Hester has more than 20 years of development experience and 10 years focused primarily on accessibility. He combines his experience with leadership of people, processes and projects together to provide you with expertise in implementing strategies to be a better developer for your company.

Chad Hester has more than 20 years of development experience and 10 years focused primarily on accessibility. He combines his experience with leadership of people, processes and projects together to provide you with expertise in implementing strategi... Show more

Alberto Carrazco is a first-generation college graduate and immigrant, who has overcome many obstacles, including learning how to code outside a traditional learning environment. He's leveraged his skills and passion for innovation to build platforms that empower nonprofits, driving positive change in the world.

Alberto is Co-Founder and COO of NonprofitsHQ a nonprofit management platform that aims to amplify impact.

Alberto Carrazco is a first-generation college graduate and immigrant, who has overcome many obstacles, including learning how to code outside a traditional learning environment. He's leveraged his skills and passion for innovation to build platforms... Show more

Thomas is Smart Automation Lead at Miragon. For over six years he has been helping organizations digitize their processes in a structured way, automate them with purpose, and transform them sustainably.
His experience spans classical process management, methodical training in BPM, and the architecture of complex automation solutions in large organizations. As a Solution Architect he designs scalable process architectures, integrates heterogeneous system landscapes, and ensures that functional and non-functional requirements receive the same attention as governance, compliance, and operations. He regularly shares his practical insights at conferences and industry events.

Thomas is Smart Automation Lead at Miragon. For over six years he has been helping organizations digitize their processes in a structured way, automate them with purpose, and transform them sustainably. His experience spans classical process managem... Show more

Dr. Aday E. Adetosoye is an international speaker and leadership strategist specializing in human-centered AI adoption and women's leadership in tech. With 25 years as a U.S. diplomat (USAID, CDC, HRSA) and former Vice President overseeing global health programs in 37 countries, she brings high-stakes communication expertise to the digital landscape.

Recent speaking engagements include moderating at the International AIDS Conference 2024 (25,000+ attendees), featured panelist at the Weitzman Institute Virtual Symposium, presenter at the Women in Government Relations 50th Conference, and featured guest on "Lunch with Leaders" LinkedIn Live discussing women in STEM leadership.

As CEO of 1099 Impact Street and Maxwell Leadership Certified Speaker, Dr. Adetosoye helps leaders navigate technological transformation without sacrificing creativity, wellbeing, or authentic connection. She also provides training on public speaking. Her signature topic: "The Human Algorithm" for ethical AI leadership is a favorite.

Dr. Aday E. Adetosoye is an international speaker and leadership strategist specializing in human-centered AI adoption and women's leadership in tech. With 25 years as a U.S. diplomat (USAID, CDC, HRSA) and former Vice President overseeing global hea... Show more

So Cal native, now live in Phoenix, 17th year in channel; focus on Microsoft ERP, CRM, Azure, Power Platform, and love ISVs!

So Cal native, now live in Phoenix, 17th year in channel; focus on Microsoft ERP, CRM, Azure, Power Platform, and love ISVs! Show more

With over 25 years of experience architecting high-performance applications, I thrive at the intersection of technical depth and product discovery. My career is defined by a unique duality: I am a technical builder who has developed AI-powered workflows and an elite educator who has trained 500+ professionals, achieving a 90% average learner satisfaction rate.

I hold the AWS Authorized Instructor (AAI) Champion status, the highest tier recognized by AWS for exceptional teaching quality and technical expertise. My deep platform fluency led to my selection as an AWS Subject Matter Expert (SME) to develop official certification exams, where I helped write and evaluate the standards for global AWS certification programs.

Today, as a Senior Technical Communicator and AI Product Contributor, I lead the discovery and design of AI Assistants and autonomous workflows. I don't just talk about AI; I build it:
- Agentic Workflows: I design and prioritize feature backlogs for integrated AI Assistants across DCM, BI, and Knowledge-Base products.
- Prompt Engineering: I developed a prompt-engineered RFP response toolkit that enabled a 50% shortlist rate.
- Community Leadership: I am an active speaker at Google Developer Groups, sharing hands-on lessons on building AI agents and demystifying prompt engineering for developer audiences.

My expertise is backed by a robust certification portfolio, including AWS Machine Learning – Specialty and AWS Certified AI Practitioner. As I expand my fluency into Azure AI, I bring a multi-cloud perspective to the challenge of leveraging company knowledge to build intelligent assistants that boost productivity and streamline enterprise workflows.

With over 25 years of experience architecting high-performance applications, I thrive at the intersection of technical depth and product discovery. My career is defined by a unique duality: I am a technical builder who has developed AI-powered workfl... Show more

I build Business Intelligence (BI) systems that help companies make smart decisions based on facts instead of gut feeling. I specialise in Power BI to do this.

As it’s often said, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!”. In the real world, data is messy so I'm all about setting up robust systems to structure it right and eliminate mind-numbing manual tasks through automation.

The end result are highly captivating dashboards that leverage cutting edge BI tech and have an actual impact in day-to-day operations.

I build Business Intelligence (BI) systems that help companies make smart decisions based on facts instead of gut feeling. I specialise in Power BI to do this. As it’s often said, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!”. In the real world,... Show more

Denise N Bronner, Ph.D. has roughly 15 years of organizational thought leadership experience within the global healthcare space and has held various roles in academia, consulting, pharma, and venture capital. During her career, she has specialized in health equity, data-driven global therapy program strategy development, pitch and storytelling refinement, and identifying business opportunities within pharma. Beyond her professional endeavors, she's passionate about enhancing diversity in STEM fields, serving on advisory boards, participating as a judge in pitch/business competitions, and mentoring young professionals. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Wayne State University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, and certification from the Venture Capital Executive Program from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She is the founder of Empactful Ventures which currently consults healthcare-focused startups and venture funds, she is a member of the Clinical Leader editorial board, a Board Director for healthtech startup Naviday Health, and a Board Director for the patient advocacy group We Are ILL.

Denise N Bronner, Ph.D. has roughly 15 years of organizational thought leadership experience within the global healthcare space and has held various roles in academia, consulting, pharma, and venture capital. During her career, she has specialized in... Show more

Sarah Kundla is a facilitator, speaker, and Gallup Certified Coach focused on leadership development, emotional intelligence, and helping teams work better together.

Her approach is shaped by research, experience, and a genuine curiosity about how communication styles, cultural norms, and human dynamics influence the way people lead, relate, and grow in today’s modern landscape. Having lived and worked across different cultures around the world, Sarah brings a global perspective to every room she walks into.

Sarah has delivered training for 1,800+ professionals across the U.S. and internationally, and spoken at conferences including Worthington Steel's LEARN & LEAD Conferences (2020, 2023, 2025), WitCon (2025), and CodeMash (2026). Her sessions blend research-backed frameworks with real-world scenarios, so participants leave with tools and skills they can apply right away.

To view her recent speaking activity, visit Sarah’s LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-kundla/.
Learn more about what Sarah offers through her company at www.questinginsight.com.

Sarah Kundla is a facilitator, speaker, and Gallup Certified Coach focused on leadership development, emotional intelligence, and helping teams work better together. Her approach is shaped by research, experience, and a genuine curiosity about how... Show more

Nicole Derr is an agile coach turned community changemaker. She partners with leaders to build resilient, long-lasting organizations that contribute positively to their communities. Together they grow companies through innovative products and scalable, cooperative, people-first business practices. Improved business outcomes are the natural result.

Nicole has extensive experience with organizations of all sizes, from 1 to 20,000 employees, and in a broad range of industries, from tech, manufacturing, and finance, to non-profit, public service, and academia. She has worked throughout the midwest, the United States and beyond, but her favorite engagements are with small organizations making an impact in their local community. While Nicole’s focus is executives and leaders, she has worked with team members at all levels and across the entire organization.

Nicole Derr is an agile coach turned community changemaker. She partners with leaders to build resilient, long-lasting organizations that contribute positively to their communities. Together they grow companies through innovative products and scalabl... Show more

Elliott Mattice is the founder of Exprima Digital Consulting, where he advises organizations on scalable cybersecurity, GRC strategies, and geopolitical threat integration. With over 20 years of cross-sector experience in IT operations and cybersecurity, he has led enterprise programs across both civilian and defense contracting environments. Elliott brings a strategic, systems-level approach to helping organizations anticipate risk, align with regulatory expectations, and build resilient, threat-informed security practices.

Elliott Mattice is the founder of Exprima Digital Consulting, where he advises organizations on scalable cybersecurity, GRC strategies, and geopolitical threat integration. With over 20 years of cross-sector experience in IT operations and cybersecur... Show more

DevOps Team Leader at Kaltura with over 6 years of experience, living the conflict of Best Practices and Fast Delivery. Currently leading the Infrastructure and DevEx field. Ido has a lot of passion and experience in Platform engineering, Infrastructure as code, GitOps and agile methodologies. He believes that the secret ingredient for creating a robust scalable systems is good design practices, effective communication between teams, and lots of automations. On his days off he likes sailing, reading, and did we say Kubernetes already?

DevOps Team Leader at Kaltura with over 6 years of experience, living the conflict of Best Practices and Fast Delivery. Currently leading the Infrastructure and DevEx field. Ido has a lot of passion and experience in Platform engineering, Infrastruct... Show more

Rajaganesh Vijayaraj is an Associate Partner at IBM Consulting focused on agentic AI on Azure AI, helping enterprises move from pilots to production with secure, governable AI agents. He brings two decades of experience in cloud, architecture, and large-scale delivery across IBM, CGI and TCS. LinkedIn Profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-vijayaraj/

Rajaganesh Vijayaraj is an Associate Partner at IBM Consulting focused on agentic AI on Azure AI, helping enterprises move from pilots to production with secure, governable AI agents. He brings two decades of experience in cloud, architecture, and la... Show more

Ryan Roemer is the SVP, Technology & Open Source at Nearform. Previously, he was a co-founder and the CEO of Formidable (acquired by Nearform).

Technically, Ryan architects full-stack web applications, data / AI plaforms, backend services and APIs, and highly available cloud infrastructures. Ryan leads development groups from small startups all the way up to Fortune 500 engineering teams. He advises clients on issues ranging from technology evaluation and engineering organizational structures to successfully leveraging open source software.

Long, long ago, Ryan was a registered patent attorney, and although he keeps a close eye on open source legal issues, it has been a long time since he has put on his lawyer hat.

Ryan Roemer is the SVP, Technology & Open Source at Nearform. Previously, he was a co-founder and the CEO of Formidable (acquired by Nearform). Technically, Ryan architects full-stack web applications, data / AI plaforms, backend services and APIs... Show more

Nyaradzo (Naya) Bere is a software engineer, speaker, and content creator, best known as the creator behind @theblackfemaleengineer- a vibrant platform that empowers over 200,000+ current and aspiring tech professionals across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Naya earned her degree in Finance and Accounting but launched her tech career after learning to code in just 6 months. She went on to work as a Software Engineer at a Fortune 50 company. Her journey into tech was far from linear, and that’s exactly why her content resonates so widely. By sharing both the highlights and hurdles of her experience, Naya has built a brand grounded in transparency, encouragement, and empowerment.

At the heart of her work are values of accessibility, representation, and cultural fluency. Naya doesn’t just teach tech — she redefines what it looks like to belong in the industry.

Nyaradzo (Naya) Bere is a software engineer, speaker, and content creator, best known as the creator behind @theblackfemaleengineer- a vibrant platform that empowers over 200,000+ current and aspiring tech professionals across TikTok, Instagram, YouT... Show more

Jimmy has been a DDD-practitioner for quite some time. 2006 his second book called “Applying Domain Driven Design and Patterns” was published. He has been in the industry for 35+ years, is co-founder and a consultant of factor10 and spend most of his time helping their clients with their value creation.

Jimmy has been a DDD-practitioner for quite some time. 2006 his second book called “Applying Domain Driven Design and Patterns” was published. He has been in the industry for 35+ years, is co-founder and a consultant of factor10 and spend most of his... Show more