Francisca B. Medina Concha (frani.be) is a Front-End Developer, Women Techmakers Ambassador, and Lecturer at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her career thrives at the intersection where logic meets communication. As a programming professor in the faculties of Design and Communications, she has led the challenge of democratizing technology, turning Python into a language for mutual understanding. With experience on international stages such as JSConf Budapest and Nerdearla, Frani is dedicated to humanizing code to build more inclusive and connected communities.

Francisca B. Medina Concha (frani.be) is a Front-End Developer, Women Techmakers Ambassador, and Lecturer at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her career thrives at the intersection where logic meets communication. As a programming profes... Show more

Jason specializes in brand strategy, corporate identity systems, and brand architecture for organizations navigating growth and change. He helps companies clarify their structure, unify sub-brands, and build design systems that scale across teams, channels, and markets.

With decades of experience leading rebrands, product launches, and multi-channel campaigns, Jason brings a strategic yet creative approach to solving complex brand challenges. He has partnered with corporations, startups, and nonprofits alike, blending structure with personality to ensure brands are both organized and human.

A Louisville native, Jason has led award-winning projects recognized with Gold ADDYs, AIGA Louisville’s Best of Branding, and the organization’s only Visionary Award. He was also named one of Business First’s 20 People to Know in Advertising.

Jason’s talks explore branding as an essential business function that drives clarity, culture, and growth. He speaks on topics including brand architecture for growing companies, agile creative process, and how to align legacy with evolving markets.

He has presented at CreativeMornings, AIGA Louisville, AAF, and on panels covering branding, AI, and leadership.

Jason specializes in brand strategy, corporate identity systems, and brand architecture for organizations navigating growth and change. He helps companies clarify their structure, unify sub-brands, and build design systems that scale across teams, ch... Show more

Speaker Biography: Balaji Venkatasubramaniyar
Balaji Venkatasubramaniyar is a Technical Lead with over 12 years of experience in software development, specializing in architecting scalable enterprise solutions. As his career has evolved alongside the AI revolution, Balaji has developed deep expertise in understanding how AI technologies integrate into modern software architectures and business workflows.
As a Technical Lead, Balaji excels at evaluating emerging technologies and translating complex technical concepts into practical implementation strategies. His extensive background in distributed systems, API design, and software architecture provides a unique lens for analyzing AI orchestration patterns. He has studied how leading AI applications are built, examining the architectural decisions behind successful products like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Notion AI.
Balaji's technical foundation spans full-stack development, cloud infrastructure, microservices architecture, and system design—skills that are increasingly critical as organizations integrate AI capabilities into their existing platforms. He brings a pragmatic, engineer-focused perspective to AI adoption, emphasizing practical patterns, common pitfalls, and realistic implementation strategies rather than theoretical ideals.
Passionate about continuous learning and knowledge sharing, Balaji has invested significant time researching AI orchestration frameworks, studying production AI systems, and understanding the engineering challenges teams face when building with LLMs. He believes that successful AI integration requires solid software engineering fundamentals combined with an understanding of AI-specific patterns and constraints.
At the Optimized AI Conference 2026, Balaji will share comprehensive insights into AI orchestration patterns, drawing from extensive research and analysis of well-orchestrated applications in production today.

Speaker Biography: Balaji Venkatasubramaniyar Balaji Venkatasubramaniyar is a Technical Lead with over 12 years of experience in software development, specializing in architecting scalable enterprise solutions. As his career has evolved alongside th... Show more

Andy Crotty is a TS/SCI-cleared cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience in cyber threat detection, incident response, and security engineering across federal, financial, and enterprise environments. He currently serves as a Cyber Network Defense Analyst 3 with Leidos, supporting the Department of Homeland Security in a 24x7x365 NOSC environment. In this role, Andy leads high-impact investigations, develops and optimizes detection logic aligned to MITRE ATT&CK, and mentors junior analysts to strengthen operational readiness and cyber defense capabilities.

A U.S. Army Warrant Officer with over 15 years of military service, Andy has led teams in advanced persistent threat (APT) analysis, cyber threat hunting, and defensive operations for the Department of Defense. His civilian career includes senior roles in security operations for Wells Fargo and the State of Arizona Department of Homeland Security, where he enhanced detection strategies, streamlined incident response workflows, and strengthened enterprise security postures.

Beyond his operational work, Andy is passionate about cybersecurity community engagement and mentorship. At DEFCON 33, he served as a staff member for Noob Village, where he coordinated community-focused activities including volunteer outreach, CTF raffle setup, and securing sponsors to provide prizes. Through his YouTube channel GingerHacker and mentorship initiatives, Andy continues to guide aspiring cybersecurity professionals, sharing practical insights on breaking into the field, building technical skills, and navigating a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Andy Crotty is a TS/SCI-cleared cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience in cyber threat detection, incident response, and security engineering across federal, financial, and enterprise environments. He currently serves as a Cyber ... Show more

Ted is a big geek. See http://www.newardassociates.com/#/bio for more

Ted is a big geek. See http://www.newardassociates.com/#/bio for more Show more

geek@FLOSS.Slackware

Experienced Telecommunications Technician with a demonstrated history of working in the computer hardware industry. Skilled in Linux System Administration, Storage, Bash, and Event Management. Strong professional with a Diploma In Physics from University of Mauritius.

geek@FLOSS.Slackware Experienced Telecommunications Technician with a demonstrated history of working in the computer hardware industry. Skilled in Linux System Administration, Storage, Bash, and Event Management. Strong professional with a Dipl... Show more

Sumaiya Shrabony is a Technical Program Manager and BI practitioner at the University of Colorado Denver, where she manages enterprise analytics infrastructure across 200+ Azure Data Factory pipelines, SSAS Tabular models, Power BI, 10+ departments, and 530+ users.

Her work sits in the gap most AI talks skip: what happens after a tool looks good in a demo and has to survive real workflows, governance constraints, anxious stakeholders, broken metrics, and users who did not sign up for AI. She writes Ground Truth, a weekly newsletter that tests AI tools against practical enterprise data work and reports the adoption barriers stopping them from landing.

Sumaiya speaks on three subjects: AI adoption translation for non-technical teams, BI and semantic-layer reliability, and agentic workflows that refuse to guess when the user cannot verify the answer. She moved to the US from Bangladesh at 19 and built her technical career without inherited defaults, which now shapes how she teaches: specific, direct, and built for people who need the work to make sense by Monday morning.

Sumaiya Shrabony is a Technical Program Manager and BI practitioner at the University of Colorado Denver, where she manages enterprise analytics infrastructure across 200+ Azure Data Factory pipelines, SSAS Tabular models, Power BI, 10+ departments, ... Show more

Marc Dekeyser is a seasoned cloud architect and 10-year veteran of Microsoft, where he most recently served in the Azure engineering group. During his tenure, he worked closely with enterprise customers, startups, and product teams to shape, deploy, and optimize cloud solutions to be reliable, secure, scalable and cost-efficient.

Today, as the founder of his own consultancy, Marc helps organizations design and implement scalable, reliable, and cost-efficient Azure environments. With a unique blend of deep platform expertise and hands-on field experience, he brings a pragmatic, engineering-driven perspective to modern cloud architecture and networking.

Marc Dekeyser is a seasoned cloud architect and 10-year veteran of Microsoft, where he most recently served in the Azure engineering group. During his tenure, he worked closely with enterprise customers, startups, and product teams to shape, deploy,... Show more

Kiruthika Subramani is an aspiring AI professional with a robust foundation in developing and implementing AI solutions. She works as a Data Scientist in Bell Canada. She holds industry certifications in Data, Machine Learning, and Cloud, and is recognized as an IBM Dual Champion and Google Developer Expert. Kiruthika is a prolific speaker and author, having delivered over 200 AI talks and published 100 blogs. She is committed to driving innovation and ethical AI practices, ensuring responsible and impactful advancements in the field.

Kiruthika is currently pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science at Université de Montréal (MILA), Canada, and holds a B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science from M.Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur, India. Her technical skills span across programming languages (Python, Java, C++), machine learning, deep learning, NLP, computer vision, responsible AI, cloud platforms, and various tools and frameworks.

Authored two books on AI and holds several professional certifications. She has been recognized as a Google Developer Expert, IBM Dual Champion, and Google Cloud Champion Innovator. Her key accomplishments include winning multiple hackathons and receiving the Best Outgoing Student Award. She has also been spotlighted as Today’s Architects by IBM and has delivered numerous global tech talks and authored a popular blog series on Medium

Kiruthika Subramani is an aspiring AI professional with a robust foundation in developing and implementing AI solutions. She works as a Data Scientist in Bell Canada. She holds industry certifications in Data, Machine Learning, and Cloud, and is reco... Show more

Alan worked in the IT realm for large and small companies from 1971 until 2019 and still tries to keep current with changing trends.

In Alan’s spare time, he volunteers with a local organization that sends him to the homes of the elderly (older than himself) to fix their computers.

Alan is currently a member of the Board of Governors of The Collectors Club (NY), along with being their webmaster and membership chair, Webster Groves (MO) Stamp Club, secretary-treasurer of the APS Writers Unit #30, and the secretary of the Gastronomy on Stamps Study Group.

Alan speaks to several clubs each year on a host of topics such as “Computers and Technology on Stamps”, “Bread!”, “Penguins on the Stamps of Falkland Islands”, “An Alphabet of Topicals – Ideas for Collectors”, and “Pachyderms”.

Alan worked in the IT realm for large and small companies from 1971 until 2019 and still tries to keep current with changing trends. In Alan’s spare time, he volunteers with a local organization that sends him to the homes of the elderly (older th... Show more

Mousaab Khaldi is a leadership coach, author,
and entrepreneur based in Germany. He is the
creator of the '4 Interior Empires' framework,
a neuroscience-backed methodology used by
executives and founders to achieve sustainable
leadership transformation.

With over 10 years of entrepreneurial experience,
Mousaab specializes in helping high-achieving
leaders break through burnout and lead with
clarity, confidence, and authentic authority.

My book '4 Empires, 12 days to unlock Leadership'
is a practical 12-day program designed to
transform leadership from the inside out.

Mousaab Khaldi is a leadership coach, author, and entrepreneur based in Germany. He is the creator of the '4 Interior Empires' framework, a neuroscience-backed methodology used by executives and founders to achieve sustainable leadership tr... Show more

Aivars Kalvāns is a FinTech developer, software architect, and consultant. He spent more than 18 years developing and architecting payment card software for acquiring and issuing, as well as for accounting and utility payments, through mobile phones, ATMs, and POS terminals. At the moment, he is a contractor exploring Foreign Exchange, SWIFT, SEPA, ledgers, and other areas of the FinTech landscape.
The rest of the time is spent smashing with BJJ team Jelgava and participating as a Linux team member for Latvia in Locked Shields.

Aivars Kalvāns is a FinTech developer, software architect, and consultant. He spent more than 18 years developing and architecting payment card software for acquiring and issuing, as well as for accounting and utility payments, through mobile phones,... Show more

Renad Turki is an AI in education strategist, consultant, and the founder of Edtech Academy. As a doctoral candidate pursuing an EdD in emerging technologies and AI integration in education at Edgewood College, her work bridges the critical gap between academic research and practical classroom application. She is a published researcher who recently co-authoring a study on higher-education faculty adoption of generative AI in lesson planning and assessment for the 2025 IEEE International Conference.
Renad brings extensive expertise in driving institutional change across both higher education and K-12 sectors. Her recent work includes leading comprehensive faculty and student AI training initiatives in collaboration with Google for Education, alongside AI syllabus audits with the Higher Colleges of Technology to build AI-integrated curricula. Additionally, she served as the implementation partner for the Arabic Write and Improve research project in collaboration with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.
An active voice in the region, she has presented at major platforms, including the Google for Education Leadership Summit, Dubai AI Week, Gitex, UAE Innovate, the UAE AI Summer Camp and the Sharjah International Summit on Improvement in Education.

Renad Turki is an AI in education strategist, consultant, and the founder of Edtech Academy. As a doctoral candidate pursuing an EdD in emerging technologies and AI integration in education at Edgewood College, her work bridges the critical gap betwe... Show more

Consultant senior et formateur certifié SAFe Practice Consultant, ElMehdi Safraoui est un expert passionné par la transformation digitale et Lean Agile, particulièrement dans le secteur public. Fondateur du cabinet Arrioph, il accompagne des organisations basées entre Paris et Casablanca dans leurs parcours de transformation Agile et numérique, en plaçant l’humain et l’innovation au cœur de la performance.

Consultant senior et formateur certifié SAFe Practice Consultant, ElMehdi Safraoui est un expert passionné par la transformation digitale et Lean Agile, particulièrement dans le secteur public. Fondateur du cabinet Arrioph, il accompagne des organisa... Show more

Tech Lead, Software Architect & Machine Learning Engineer with 10+ years of experience delivering end-to-end AI and automation solutions across data, ML, and cloud ecosystems. I specialize in building LLM-powered applications, intelligent agents, and orchestrated workflows that connect business systems and drive measurable impact.

Tech Lead, Software Architect & Machine Learning Engineer with 10+ years of experience delivering end-to-end AI and automation solutions across data, ML, and cloud ecosystems. I specialize in building LLM-powered applications, intelligent agents, and... Show more

Rodney is an experienced Senior Software Engineer, teacher, and JavaScript evangelist with nearly a decade of experience. He demonstrates a profound interest in solving complex problems focusing mainly on front-end and cloud technologies. In his spare times he spend most of his time with his kids, games, tinkering with the latest tech and observing modern user interfaces.

Rodney is an experienced Senior Software Engineer, teacher, and JavaScript evangelist with nearly a decade of experience. He demonstrates a profound interest in solving complex problems focusing mainly on front-end and cloud technologies. In his spar... Show more

Trey Johnson is a life-long Microsoft Data Platform enthusiast.

Having been involved with Microsoft Data and Analytics technology for 30+ years, starting with SQL Server on OS2/Warp, Trey has held the roles of Executive leader, Advisor, Consultant, Product Owner, Developer and IT team member. For the last 25 years, Trey has been speaking at conferences globally such as PASS, Microsoft Events, VS Live and many others. Trey remains passionate about the Data Community having been involved in the earliest stages of things like SQL Saturday and the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS).

He has spent the last 16 years focused on ERP and CRM customers helping them do more with their data.

Today, he works with upwards of 200 customers a year to help them architect the best path forward on their Data Journey and now gets to do so with Microsoft Fabric!

When not focused on Data & Analytics, Trey spends his spare time restoring classic Porsche motorcars and boats from his home base in Florida, USA!

Trey Johnson is a life-long Microsoft Data Platform enthusiast. Having been involved with Microsoft Data and Analytics technology for 30+ years, starting with SQL Server on OS2/Warp, Trey has held the roles of Executive leader, Advisor, Consult... Show more

Dhruv Goel is a Staff Software Engineer at project44, specializing in cross-platform development, distributed systems, and modernizing legacy infrastructure . With a career defined by tackling complex scale, Dhruv previously served as a Senior Software Engineer at Atlassian . There, he played a pivotal role in breaking down the legacy JIRA monolith, decoupling core systems to engineer a standalone JQL Search platform service . By pioneering new search-based experiences and enforcing strict sub-second performance SLOs, his work directly accelerated workflows for millions of enterprise users . Dhruv is passionate about resilience engineering, cloud architecture, and helping engineering teams navigate the painful but necessary transition from monoliths to high-performance microservices .

Dhruv Goel is a Staff Software Engineer at project44, specializing in cross-platform development, distributed systems, and modernizing legacy infrastructure . With a career defined by tackling complex scale, Dhruv previously served as a Senior Softwa... Show more

Mateo is an expert at bridging cutting-edge AI research with practical developer tools. With a background in computational biology and experience in both research and engineering, he now focuses on making LLMs more useful by connecting them to systems developers already use. At Arcade, Mateo creates tutorials, SDKs, and open-source examples that help developers move beyond chatbots and into fully agentic applications.

Mateo is an expert at bridging cutting-edge AI research with practical developer tools. With a background in computational biology and experience in both research and engineering, he now focuses on making LLMs more useful by connecting them to system... Show more

Hrefna Thorisdottir is a Senior Business Central Consultant at Wise in Iceland with over 25 years of experience in the ERP ecosystem, ranging from AS/400 to modern SaaS solutions.
What sets Hrefna apart is her unique journey: having spent years working hands-on within ERP systems before recently transitioning to consulting, she understands both sides of the equation. This front-line experience provides her with invaluable insights into how businesses actually use ERP systems, the challenges end-users face, and what truly drives success. Her dual perspective enables her to design and deliver solutions that are not only technically sound but also practical and user-friendly in real-world business environments.

Hrefna Thorisdottir is a Senior Business Central Consultant at Wise in Iceland with over 25 years of experience in the ERP ecosystem, ranging from AS/400 to modern SaaS solutions. What sets Hrefna apart is her unique journey: having spent years work... Show more

Elisa Love is a marketing strategist, speaker, and community connector who believes clarity changes everything. As the founder of Hourglass Strategy, she helps organizations and individuals turn ideas into direction, and direction into momentum.

Her work is rooted in more than twenty years of experience in media, marketing, and community engagement. Elisa is known for making strategy feel accessible and for helping people move past self-doubt into confident, visible leadership.

She speaks on imposter syndrome, personal branding, leadership, and marketing strategy, with sessions that combine practical tools, honest storytelling, and meaningful interaction. Her approach resonates especially with women leaders, entrepreneurs, and purpose-driven professionals navigating growth and change.

Elisa is a Boettcher Foundation Doers & Difference Makers Fellow and a frequent speaker at regional business and leadership events.

Elisa Love is a marketing strategist, speaker, and community connector who believes clarity changes everything. As the founder of Hourglass Strategy, she helps organizations and individuals turn ideas into direction, and direction into momentum. H... Show more

Rama Samantapudi is a Sr. Staff AI/ML Architect at ServiceNow, specializing in Search, Ranking, Recommendations, Conversational AI, Generative AI, and Agentic AI. With over 13 years of experience across Walmart, Zillow, State Street, and FactSet, Rama has led large-scale AI initiatives that bridge applied research and production systems. His work focuses on building intelligent search, ranking, reasoning and structured extraction models that enhance user experience, automation and decision-making at scale.

Rama Samantapudi is a Sr. Staff AI/ML Architect at ServiceNow, specializing in Search, Ranking, Recommendations, Conversational AI, Generative AI, and Agentic AI. With over 13 years of experience across Walmart, Zillow, State Street, and FactSet, Ram... Show more

Olamide is a cloud engineering leader, specialising in secure AWS architecture, cloud governance, DevOps, and digital transformation within regulated environments.

Over the past eight years, He has led cloud modernisation programmes across government and enterprise sectors, strengthening infrastructure resilience, reducing security risk exposure, and improving operational efficiency. My experience spans large-scale migrations, multi-account AWS optimisation, DevOps automation, and Zero Trust implementation.

Beyond infrastructure, He is passionate about enabling digital growth, mentoring emerging engineers, delivering AI and cloud training workshops, and contributing to technology conversations through podcast discussions and community initiatives.

Olamide combines strategic thinking with hands-on technical depth, ensuring that cloud solutions are not only scalable and cost-efficient but also secure and audit-ready.

Olamide is a cloud engineering leader, specialising in secure AWS architecture, cloud governance, DevOps, and digital transformation within regulated environments. Over the past eight years, He has led cloud modernisation programmes across governm... Show more

J. Michael Coffey is a CEO, M&A Strategist and author of GALE Force: Navigating Strategy, Culture, and Value Creation in Modern M&A(Entrepreneur Books, 2026).

Over a thirty-year career leading industrial and manufacturing companies across seven countries, Coffey has been involved in 38 M&A transactions valued in excess of $1 billion — leading or serving as a C-suite principal in over 20 of them. As a member of the executive team that built H-E Parts International into a global multi-country platform, he helped drive the acquisition strategy that culminated in a $240 million exit to Hitachi Construction Machinery.

He subsequently served as CEO of Manitex International (NASDAQ: MNTX), where he led a full operational turnaround — delivering 30% revenue growth and a 400% EBITDA, prior to leading a sale to Tadano Ltd.

He is the founder of Resurgence Advisory, a boutique firm specializing in M&A strategy, post-merger integration, and performance metrics for lower-middle market industrials.

GALE Force, Global Aim, Local Execution - draws on his experience and methodologies such as DRiiVE and PRACTISE

Coffey holds an MBA from Emory University's Goizueta Business School and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife of 30 years and two daughters.

J. Michael Coffey is a CEO, M&A Strategist and author of GALE Force: Navigating Strategy, Culture, and Value Creation in Modern M&A(Entrepreneur Books, 2026). Over a thirty-year career leading industrial and manufacturing companies across seven co... Show more

Markus is Senior Consultant at TNG Technology Consulting. From OR planning systems at the University Hospital Erlangen to evaluation and simulation of X-ray experiments at the Technical University of Munich, he has always been interested in complex software problems. At TNG, besides full-stack development, he also likes to deal with software architecture and requirements analysis, preferably in the environment of modern cloud technologies. Currently he supports a customer in the development and delivery of software for the visualization of vehicles.

Markus is Senior Consultant at TNG Technology Consulting. From OR planning systems at the University Hospital Erlangen to evaluation and simulation of X-ray experiments at the Technical University of Munich, he has always been interested in complex s... Show more

Chris Barber is a chartered accountant (ACMA, CGMA), 4 times Microsoft MVP, author of Income Statement Semantic Models, runs StarSchema.co.uk, and has popular YouTube videos (over 100k views) and courses (over 1k participants) on the topic of Profit and Loss (P&L) using Power BI. He also works in the largest Microsoft consultancy globally and thus has experience working across various industries.

Chris Barber is a chartered accountant (ACMA, CGMA), 4 times Microsoft MVP, author of Income Statement Semantic Models, runs StarSchema.co.uk, and has popular YouTube videos (over 100k views) and courses (over 1k participants) on the topic of Profit ... Show more

Deep Patel is a senior data engineering and analytics leader with over a decade of experience designing and scaling large-scale data platforms across fintech and technology organizations. He has led enterprise-critical initiatives spanning executive metrics, real-time analytics, and AI-driven decision systems, helping leadership teams measure ROI, manage risk, and operate with data they can trust. Deep frequently speaks and writes on modern data infrastructure, AI governance, and translating complex systems into clear business outcomes.

Deep Patel is a senior data engineering and analytics leader with over a decade of experience designing and scaling large-scale data platforms across fintech and technology organizations. He has led enterprise-critical initiatives spanning executive ... Show more

Ramakrishna Yekulla "Ramky" is a Principal Architect within the Application Developer Business Unit at Red Hat. In this role, he focuses on creating distinctive platform features that enhance developer efficiency, streamline data and application connections, and empower customers with the knowledge and resources to prioritize software supply chain security, minimize technical obligations, and achieve compliance goals. His interests lies in System Design, Functional Programming and Observability

Ramakrishna Yekulla "Ramky" is a Principal Architect within the Application Developer Business Unit at Red Hat. In this role, he focuses on creating distinctive platform features that enhance developer efficiency, streamline data and application conn... Show more

Treb is one of only four individuals worldwide to hold dual MVP titles in both the Data Platform and AI Platform categories from Microsoft. His contributions and demonstrated expertise in the industry have earned him this recognition from Microsoft.

With an illustrious 24-year career in Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence, he has consistently pushed the boundaries of what's possible. Before stepping into his role as CEO of Marquee Insights, Treb held influential leadership positions at renowned organizations such as Microsoft, Starbucks, and Wachovia (now Wells Fargo).

Treb resides in vibrant Seattle area with his wife and beloved corgi. He also boasts an MBA from Wake Forest University, underscoring his dedication to continuous learning and professional growth.

Treb is one of only four individuals worldwide to hold dual MVP titles in both the Data Platform and AI Platform categories from Microsoft. His contributions and demonstrated expertise in the industry have earned him this recognition from Microsoft. ... Show more

Passionated Product Manager shaping products that have impacted millions of lives over the past decade-many of which you likely use daily.

Throughout his career at NOS, Sanoma and Disney, Sam has collaborated with R&D teams from leading tech companies, consumer electronic manufacturers and automotive industry.

Passionated Product Manager shaping products that have impacted millions of lives over the past decade-many of which you likely use daily. Throughout his career at NOS, Sanoma and Disney, Sam has collaborated with R&D teams from leading tech compa... Show more