When I was young I wanted to be an architect. As it turns out, I'm a different type of architect. I am a Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect.

When I was young I wanted to be an architect. As it turns out, I'm a different type of architect. I am a Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect. Show more

Danica began her career as a software engineer in financial services and pivoted to developer relations, where she focussed primarily on open source technologies such as Apache Kafka® and Apache Flink®. She now leads the open source advocacy efforts at Snowflake, supporting Apache Iceberg™ and Apache Polaris™, serves as a Jupyter Foundation Board member, and is a member of the Apache Software Foundation.

She can be found on X (Bluesky and Mastodon) @TheDanicaFine.

Danica began her career as a software engineer in financial services and pivoted to developer relations, where she focussed primarily on open source technologies such as Apache Kafka® and Apache Flink®. She now leads the open source advocacy efforts ... Show more

Pat Petersen is a Director at RSM US LLP, a leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services. He has more than 20 years of experience in Information Technology and leads the Collaboration and Voice consulting practice at RSM. Pat specializes in Microsoft 365 platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, PowerApps, Power Automate, and Copilot. In addition, he has extensive knowledge and experience in administration and training on these platforms and has conducted various customer immersion experiences and training sessions for RSM clients.

Pat Petersen is a Director at RSM US LLP, a leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services. He has more than 20 years of experience in Information Technology and leads the Collaboration and Voice consulting practice at RSM. Pat specializes in... Show more

As a Microsoft MVP and Principal AI Architect, I lead a transformative wave, evangelizing AI agents and Low-Code solutions to help organizations achieve high-value business transformation. With over 20 years of experience in this role, I have successfully designed and implemented integrated enterprise solutions that leverage AI Factory, AI/Copilot, Power Platform, Dataverse, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Azure technologies.

My passion is to support business visionaries in achieving significant and sustainable results by applying my expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Adoption and Change Management, Enterprise Architecture, Cloud Services, and Low-Code Solutions. I also enjoy giving back to the community as an organizer of the Global AI St. Louis Chapter. I hold multiple awards/certifications, including Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). CPMAI (Cognitive Project Management for AI), Project Management Professional (PMP), Advanced Project Management, Microsoft Certified Professional.

As a Microsoft MVP and Principal AI Architect, I lead a transformative wave, evangelizing AI agents and Low-Code solutions to help organizations achieve high-value business transformation. With over 20 years of experience in this role, I have success... Show more

Clemens Vasters is Lead Architect in Microsoft’s Azure Messaging team that builds and operates a fleet of hyper-scale messaging services, including Event Grid, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Stream Analytics and Microsoft Fabric Eventstreams. Clemens represents Microsoft in messaging standardisation in OASIS (AMQP, MQTT) and CNCF (CloudEvents, xRegistry) and writes too much code for being an "Architect". He looks back at nearly 30 years in professional software development and has seen the same fashion come and go a few times.

Clemens Vasters is Lead Architect in Microsoft’s Azure Messaging team that builds and operates a fleet of hyper-scale messaging services, including Event Grid, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Stream Analytics and Microsoft Fabric Eventstreams. Clemens repre... 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

Markus is a Java Champion, former Java EE Expert Group member, founder of German JavaLand, reputed speaker at Java conferences around the world, and a very well known figure in the Enterprise Java world.

Markus is a Java Champion, former Java EE Expert Group member, founder of German JavaLand, reputed speaker at Java conferences around the world, and a very well known figure in the Enterprise Java world. Show more

Meet Rajaniesh Kaushikk – a Microsoft MVP and TOGAF Certified Enterprise Architect with over 22 years of experience in delivering complex software architectures for Fortune 500 companies. Rajaniesh specializes in data integration, governance, and analysis, with a proven track record in defining technical architectures, designing analytic solutions, and developing agile frameworks. His expertise spans Hybrid Cloud, Azure Cloud, Power BI, Kubernetes, Databricks Lakehouse, Snowflake, and more, making him a trusted partner in solving intricate business challenges and driving market growth.

As a hands-on technical architect, Microsoft Certified Solution Architect, and Databricks Champion, Rajaniesh excels in translating complex concepts into actionable strategies, whether through pre-sales technical presentations or public speaking at Microsoft events. A Microsoft Certified Trainer, he is committed to sharing his knowledge and staying at the forefront of technological advancements, ensuring scalable and innovative solutions for modern software architecture needs.

Meet Rajaniesh Kaushikk – a Microsoft MVP and TOGAF Certified Enterprise Architect with over 22 years of experience in delivering complex software architectures for Fortune 500 companies. Rajaniesh specializes in data integration, governance, and ana... Show more

Vincent Caldeira, Red Hat APAC CTO and Industry Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, drives tech strategy and emerging engineering. A Top 10 APAC CTO (2023) with 20+ years in finance IT, he is an authority on open source, cloud-native technologies and AI. Vincent holds leadership roles across the Linux Foundation (FINOS, LF AI & Data) and GSF, championing AI safety, sustainability, and digital sovereignty.

Vincent Caldeira, Red Hat APAC CTO and Industry Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, drives tech strategy and emerging engineering. A Top 10 APAC CTO (2023) with 20+ years in finance IT, he is an authority on open source, cloud-native technologie... 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

Passionate about leveraging the power of Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Committed to delivering top tier services and solutions that empower productivity. My dedication to staying abreast to the latest tools and maintains a high level of integrity has not only facilitated to transformation through technology but also contributed to the ongoing pursuit of excellence in my field.

Passionate about leveraging the power of Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Committed to delivering top tier services and solutions that empower productivity. My dedication to staying abreast to the latest tools and maintains a high level of integrity has not ... Show more

Samir Makwana empowers enterprises and government agencies to harness the full power of Microsoft Cloud—and especially its cutting-edge AI stack—to build secure, value-driven businesses. With 17 years as a software developer, pre-sales engineer, and solution architect, he’s architected end-to-end IT transformations that blend security, automation, and collaboration.

A true AI evangelist, Samir designs PoCs and production systems leveraging Azure AI services (Cognitive Services, Azure OpenAI, Semantic Kernel), Copilot Studio, and Power Platform AI—applying deep prompt engineering, vector search/RAG patterns, and grounding techniques to deliver next-gen user experiences. He’s integrated generative AI agents into Office 365 and custom apps, automated workflows with Power Automate and Logic Apps, and secured data with Zero Trust and Microsoft Purview.

As Founder & Principal Architect of Cloudtrify Inc., Samir crafts both short- and long-term cloud-native and AI solutions that drive ROI, user adoption, and maintainability—always with responsible AI and compliance top-of-mind.

Samir Makwana empowers enterprises and government agencies to harness the full power of Microsoft Cloud—and especially its cutting-edge AI stack—to build secure, value-driven businesses. With 17 years as a software developer, pre-sales engineer, and ... Show more

Marcus is a platform engineer at Monzo, a UK based bank committed to making money work for everyone, helping build their infrastructure platform. His main area of focus in recent years has been around Go, Kubernetes, containers and DevOps but originally started out as a web developer and JavaScript enthusiast. A self-described “tinkerer”, when not building Kubernetes solutions, Marcus likes to dabble with 3D printing and experimenting with smart home tech.

Marcus is a platform engineer at Monzo, a UK based bank committed to making money work for everyone, helping build their infrastructure platform. His main area of focus in recent years has been around Go, Kubernetes, containers and DevOps but origina... Show more

Balkrishna works as an engineering lead at ING Bank. He is a frequent speaker at renowned tech conferences. He has passion for continuous learning and genuine desire to sharing knowledge. Although he has been working with Java for many years, he finds latest developments in Java quite exciting. He is also an Oracle ACE Associate for Java.

Balkrishna works as an engineering lead at ING Bank. He is a frequent speaker at renowned tech conferences. He has passion for continuous learning and genuine desire to sharing knowledge. Although he has been working with Java for many years, he find... Show more

Senior Data Architect with 10+ years of experience designing and delivering scalable data and analytics solutions in enterprise environments, particularly in the financial sector.

Specialized in Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and modern data architectures, I build data platforms that enable real-time insights, improve decision-making, and drive measurable business value.

I have led initiatives in modern data architectures (Lakehouse, real-time analytics, cloud), performance optimization, and data-driven strategies.

Recognized as a 5x Microsoft MVP (Data Platform) and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), I contribute to the global data community through speaking, training, and content creation.

Highlights:

- Delivered technical sessions at international conferences and global tech events
- Designed enterprise-scale data architectures in the financial sector
- Lecturer in graduate-level data and analytics programs
- Active contributor through speaking, mentoring, and technical content

Senior Data Architect with 10+ years of experience designing and delivering scalable data and analytics solutions in enterprise environments, particularly in the financial sector. Specialized in Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and modern data architec... Show more

Senior Agile Coach, Jean-Yves Klein has worn many hats: developer, project manager, program director, head of IT… This diverse background gives him a 360° view of agility — from hands-on delivery to executive strategy.

Certified in PMI, SAFe, and Disciplined Agile, he has coached teams across IT, mechanical engineering, electronics, marketing, and legal. His approach is always tailored to the team, the project, and the organization — no cookie-cutter solutions here.

A passionate educator, he has designed over 10 Serious Games, including several with LEGO, to bring Agile, SAFe, DevOps, and key roles like Product Owner and Scrum Master to life. With him, learning is hands-on, fun, and unforgettable.

Senior Agile Coach, Jean-Yves Klein has worn many hats: developer, project manager, program director, head of IT… This diverse background gives him a 360° view of agility — from hands-on delivery to executive strategy. Certified in PMI, SAFe, and ... Show more

Jamel Abed is a Microsoft MVP in Microsoft 365 Development and SharePoint, Senior Developer Advocate, and International Speaker with over 17 years of experience in architecting, building, and migrating enterprise-scale solutions.

He has successfully delivered projects across multiple industries, including Banking, Finance, Energy, Insurance, Healthcare, Aerospace, Defense, and Government, leveraging the full power of Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Power Platform, Azure, and SharePoint Embedded.

As a Solutions Architect and Developer Advocate, Jamel is passionate about empowering developers, promoting clean code, and driving product adoption. He specializes in designing end-to-end solutions across the Microsoft ecosystem, transforming complex business requirements into secure, scalable, and efficient technology solutions.

Ranked #1 Global Speaker on CommunityDays.org, Jamel regularly speaks at international conferences on topics such as SharePoint Embedded, AI integration, and cost optimization for data management. He is also a community leader and mentor, dedicated to fostering innovation and collaboration within the global tech community.

Jamel Abed is a Microsoft MVP in Microsoft 365 Development and SharePoint, Senior Developer Advocate, and International Speaker with over 17 years of experience in architecting, building, and migrating enterprise-scale solutions. He has successful... Show more

I’m a Lead software engineer and architect with a background in biotechnology. I specialize in modernizing legacy systems, transforming them into scalable, efficient, and maintainable solutions. I focus on applying Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles to create software that not only meets technical requirements but also aligns with business goals.

I have experience designing modular, cloud-ready architectures and using techniques like microservices and event-driven design to solve complex challenges. I’m passionate about continuous learning and improvement, and I enjoy mentoring teams and promoting best practices in software development. My approach combines deep technical knowledge with a practical understanding of business objectives, ensuring that the solutions I deliver are both effective and future-ready.

I’m a Lead software engineer and architect with a background in biotechnology. I specialize in modernizing legacy systems, transforming them into scalable, efficient, and maintainable solutions. I focus on applying Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principl... Show more

Ryan Edge is a software engineer and Flutter GDE living in Charlotte, North Carolina. His primary focus is front-end mobile and web development using Flutter and React. His secondary focus is back-end development with technologies including Node.js, GraphQL, Vercel, Supabase, and Firebase. He is a co-author of the "Cross-Platform UIs with Flutter" book.

Ryan Edge has 10+ years of experience ranging from maintaining large-scale systems to developing internal and commercial web, mobile, and desktop applications using various technologies.

Ryan Edge is a community organizer of Flutter Charlotte and GDG Charlotte. He is passionate about creating software that has a tangible positive impact on the lives of its users, furthering diversity in the developer community, and mentoring young software engineers.

Ryan Edge is a software engineer and Flutter GDE living in Charlotte, North Carolina. His primary focus is front-end mobile and web development using Flutter and React. His secondary focus is back-end development with technologies including Node.js,... Show more

Dr. Maryleen Amaizu is a seasoned machine learning engineer and AI specialist with extensive experience developing privacy-aware AI and data solutions across diverse domains including healthcare, finance, public sector, and beyond. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where she focused on privacy-preserving machine learning systems.

At Redgate Software, Maryleen builds privacy-aware AI-integrated software to ensure compliance and safe test data sharing. She has worked on synthetic data generation, text anonymisation, LLM-based masking dataset generation, intelligent PII classification, and privacy evaluation framework.

Her expertise and impact have been recognized with several accolades, including the AI Champion of the Year award by Bupa Everywoman in Technology in 2025 and the Excellence Award in Data Protection and Information Privacy from the Young CISO Network in 2022.

Dr. Maryleen Amaizu is a seasoned machine learning engineer and AI specialist with extensive experience developing privacy-aware AI and data solutions across diverse domains including healthcare, finance, public sector, and beyond. She holds a PhD in... Show more

I am a Microsoft Business Applications MVP and Prosci® certified, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform functional lead. My experience is in business applications, CRM operations and enterprise change. With a FTSE 100 client background in Financial Services, CRM and Marketing across Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce platforms, I manage global transformation and adoption programs with deep human impact. I am also a speaker in the Microsoft Community, advocating as a human evangelist about user-centered design and enabling governance.

I am a Microsoft Business Applications MVP and Prosci® certified, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform functional lead. My experience is in business applications, CRM operations and enterprise change. With a FTSE 100 client background in Financial Service... Show more

Leon Gordon, is a leader in data analytics. A current Thought Leader at the Forbes Technical Council, an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine, a Thought Leader in Data Science for the Global AI Hub, Microsoft Data Platform MVP based in the UK and founder of Onyx Data.

During the last decade, he has helped organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data.

Leon is a chair for the Microsoft Power BI – UK community group and the DataDNA data visualization community as well as an international speaker and advisor.

Leon Gordon, is a leader in data analytics. A current Thought Leader at the Forbes Technical Council, an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine, a Thought Leader in Data Science for the Global AI Hub, Microsoft Data Platform MVP based in the UK and... Show more

I am an enthusiastic Power BI user, Speaker, Power BI Super User, co-organizer of the Fabric User Group Switzerland and Microsoft MVP.

I work as Principal Consultant, trainer and mentor in the area of Business Intelligence in Switzerland.
I have been lucky enough to work with Power BI since its release in 2015 and gain experience in many interesting projects since the beginning. In my blog WhatTheFact.bi I write about everything related to Power BI, best practices, share tips and look forward to exchange with you!

I am an enthusiastic Power BI user, Speaker, Power BI Super User, co-organizer of the Fabric User Group Switzerland and Microsoft MVP. I work as Principal Consultant, trainer and mentor in the area of Business Intelligence in Switzerland. I have... Show more

Building intuitive products

Building intuitive products Show more

Charly is an IT Project Leader with more than 19 years of experience, he worked as QA Automation Manager leading services in LATAM and USA. He is also a speaker, Microsoft MVP, Playwright Ambassador, Grafana K6 Champion, SelectorsHub Ambassador and Test Automation & Performance related content creator.

Charly is an IT Project Leader with more than 19 years of experience, he worked as QA Automation Manager leading services in LATAM and USA. He is also a speaker, Microsoft MVP, Playwright Ambassador, Grafana K6 Champion, SelectorsHub Ambassador and T... Show more

Imma is a Staff Developer Advocate at Grafana Labs, passionate about simplifying Observability, OpenTelemetry, and Cloud-Native technologies. In her past life, she worked as a consultant, trainer, and support engineer at @elastic, and was a proud organizer of Software Crafters Barcelona from 2018 to 2025.

She currently focuses on creating accessible technical content and driving the adoption of best practices within the community. She is deeply committed to clean code and the art of automation.

She is also a passionate community builder and ally. As a WomenInAPIs champion, she advocates for underrepresented groups being seen and heard in the public domain. You will find her co-organizing Grafana meetups in Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Zurich, and Lisboa; Cloud Native Barcelona; DevOpsDays Barcelona, Green Software Barcelona; and TechFems.

She is an aquafitness enthusiast and a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. No surrender!

Imma is a Staff Developer Advocate at Grafana Labs, passionate about simplifying Observability, OpenTelemetry, and Cloud-Native technologies. In her past life, she worked as a consultant, trainer, and support engineer at @elastic, and was a proud org... Show more

Lead BI Architect, with a background as business analyst with a 20-year experience, data analysis is one of his daily tasks, with Power BI a world of possibilities opened.
Super User in the Power BI community since the start of the program back in 2018 that allowed him to achieve a Microsoft MVP for the first time in 2019.

The engagement with the community, went further in 2020 with the first presentation on DAX and the blog https://pbiportugal.com/.
In 2021 there was a shift in his career with full time job in data, currently he provides solutions in Power BI and the Microsoft environment for customers in different business areas.

Making his own tools in Excel and VBA since University to improve the analysis and ways to show data that allowed users to have quick insights.
With Power Query and Power BI, the insights are easier and faster, and takes BI to a different level since removes the dependency on specialized professionals to have data as we need and when we need it.

Lead BI Architect, with a background as business analyst with a 20-year experience, data analysis is one of his daily tasks, with Power BI a world of possibilities opened. Super User in the Power BI community since the start of the program back in ... 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

Vijaykumar Jangamashetti (VJ), is a seasoned professional with 18 years of experience in Data Analytics, Cloud, and AI. Currently a Trusted Advisor, Staff Cloud Consulting Architect, and Program Manager at Google, he specializes in guiding customers through their digital transformation journeys. VJ's expertise lies in helping customers design, architect, migrate, and modernize their infrastructure, data warehouses, and applications on Google Cloud, enabling them to fully harness the power of cloud computing. Furthermore, VJ offers valuable insights into AI and Generative AI (GenAI), empowering customers to explore new opportunities and achieve success with their AI endeavours. VJ is also a Startups Mentor in Google For Startups Accelerator (GFSA) programmme and holds Google Cloud 13X certifications.

Vijaykumar Jangamashetti (VJ), is a seasoned professional with 18 years of experience in Data Analytics, Cloud, and AI. Currently a Trusted Advisor, Staff Cloud Consulting Architect, and Program Manager at Google, he specializes in guiding customers ... Show more

Carey Payette is a Principal Engineer at Financial Finesse, an Azure AI MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer and part of the Progress Ninja community. Known for turning cutting-edge AI concepts into practical, production-ready solutions, she specializes in architecting intelligent, agentic systems, ensuring AI system and data security, and designing scalable platforms that solve real-world problems. She brings additional depth through her work in machine learning, IoT, and data analytics. Carey combines deep technical expertise with a passion for creating impactful, forward-thinking technology.

Carey Payette is a Principal Engineer at Financial Finesse, an Azure AI MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer and part of the Progress Ninja community. Known for turning cutting-edge AI concepts into practical, production-ready solutions, she specializes ... Show more