Carol Palombini is an Executive Coach, Leadership Consultant, and psychologist who helps tech leaders accelerate career growth, visibility, and influence at the C-level.

With over 10 years of experience coaching senior tech executives and a background as CHRO in a tech company, she supports leaders in strengthening executive presence, communicating with impact, and positioning themselves strategically for executive success.

Through Palombini Consulting, Carol also partners with tech organizations to build emotionally intelligent leadership and align culture with performance.

Carol Palombini is an Executive Coach, Leadership Consultant, and psychologist who helps tech leaders accelerate career growth, visibility, and influence at the C-level. With over 10 years of experience coaching senior tech executives and a backg... 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

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

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

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

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

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

Mohammed is a community catalyst, a true open source believer, Java Champion and one of Google developer expert.

Mohammed is a community catalyst, a true open source believer, Java Champion and one of Google developer expert. 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

Patrick is a true pioneer—credited with coining the term DevOps, co-authoring the DevOps Handbook, and launching the very first DevOpsDays back in 2009. Since then, he’s been shaping the tech industry with his unmatched ability to bring development, operations, and now GenAI together in truly transformative ways. He now works at Tessl where he shapes up Product Devrel and the AI Native Dev community.

Here’s why you don’t want to miss this:
🔹 Independent consultant at the cutting edge of GenAI and DevOps
🔹 Fractional CTO, advisor, and workshop leader
🔹 Former VP of Engineering, Distinguished Engineer, CTO
🔹 Guided teams at industry giants like Atlassian and Snyk
🔹 Active speaker, community builder, and lifelong learner

Patrick is all about raising the bar—helping companies embed engineering rigor into their GenAI journeys, inspiring teams to embrace AI for automation, and advising GenAI platforms on how to truly deliver value. He bridges the gap between management and engineering with a rare mix of deep tech expertise and people-first thinking.

💬 Ready to hear where the future of DevOps, GenAI, and software delivery is headed? This is your chance.

Patrick is a true pioneer—credited with coining the term DevOps, co-authoring the DevOps Handbook, and launching the very first DevOpsDays back in 2009. Since then, he’s been shaping the tech industry with his unmatched ability to bring development, ... Show more

Head of Wealth Planning - SGPB Europe https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederic-valentin-ab313920 | Member of Cercle des Fiscalistes (https://www.lecercledesfiscalistes.com) | Member of the IACF - Institute of Tax Lawyers https://www.iacf.fr | Membre of Estate Planning Skill Group (https://epsg.international/fr/)

Head of Wealth Planning - SGPB Europe https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederic-valentin-ab313920 | Member of Cercle des Fiscalistes (https://www.lecercledesfiscalistes.com) | Member of the IACF - Institute of Tax Lawyers https://www.iacf.fr | Membre of E... Show more

Having loved NAV/BC as a user, Aldeen has taken her experiences and learnings from the Food Manufacturing and Operations world and transformed them into valuable insights. Now as a Senior Consultant and Trusted Business Advisor, she continues to challenge the boundaries of technology and employ innovative solutions to empower users and drive real business results.

Having loved NAV/BC as a user, Aldeen has taken her experiences and learnings from the Food Manufacturing and Operations world and transformed them into valuable insights. Now as a Senior Consultant and Trusted Business Advisor, she continues to chal... Show more

I am an award winning quality leader. I build high-performing teams who actually like working together. I care deeply about how testing, automation, and team dynamics shape real user experiences. Quality isn't a checkbox. It's a culture.

I've spoken at conferences, built cool things, broken a few (intentionally, I swear), and I’m always learning. If you're into real conversations about testing, leadership, or failing forward with a little style and sarcasm, we’ll get along just fine.

I am an award winning quality leader. I build high-performing teams who actually like working together. I care deeply about how testing, automation, and team dynamics shape real user experiences. Quality isn't a checkbox. It's a culture. I've spok... Show more

I'm a Full Stack Team Lead at Harmonya, where I lead the development of scalable, high-performance applications with a strong focus on JavaScript. I joined Harmonya after playing a key role at CyberSixgill, contributing to its successful exit, and after serving in 8200 in both mandatory and professional service. Along the way, I also worked as a freelancer, delivering end-to-end projects for a variety of clients and companies. Beyond tech, I'm a musician and guitarist, and in my free time, I’m passionate about education, working with teenagers to guide and inspire them. I also speak at meetups and write articles on JavaScript, sharing insights on development best practices, architecture, and performance improvements.

I'm a Full Stack Team Lead at Harmonya, where I lead the development of scalable, high-performance applications with a strong focus on JavaScript. I joined Harmonya after playing a key role at CyberSixgill, contributing to its successful exit, and af... 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

Manfred Moser is a Senior Principal DevRel Engineer at Chainguard, bringing a profound focus on software supply chain security to the open source world. A dedicated community leader and published author, his technical expertise spans decades as a software engineer and advocate. He has a deep, influential history with the Apache Maven ecosystem, including authoring prominent reference books, and is an active Trino maintainer, advocate, and podcast host. Manfred leverages his versatile background to drive technical excellence and foster collaboration across diverse developer communities.

Manfred Moser is a Senior Principal DevRel Engineer at Chainguard, bringing a profound focus on software supply chain security to the open source world. A dedicated community leader and published author, his technical expertise spans decades as a sof... Show more

KASIM SEN is an experienced Project Management Office Manager who has worked the last 17 years of his 27-year career in project management. He has experience particularly in defense industry and space systems.
He has been working as Defense R&D Projects Program Manager at KAREL Electronics Inc. He managed more than 20 military communication system projects during the design, development, testing, and production phases. The systems he developed are still actively used by the Turkish Armed Forces and abroad.
He worked as a manager in the Project Management Office under the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. Space Systems Deputy General Manager, playing a critical role in managing equipment projects for satellite programs. During this period, he successfully managed million-dollar level projects such as Central Satellite Computer, Platform Interface Unit, and Power Control and Distribution Unit.
Areas of Expertise:
• Establishing and managing Project Management Office (PMO)
• Space systems and defense industry projects
• Program and portfolio management
• CMMI standards
• Team management and leadership
He is also an active blogger sharing his experiences in project management, mentoring young engineers, and participating in volunteer activities at the Turkish Project Management Association.

KASIM SEN is an experienced Project Management Office Manager who has worked the last 17 years of his 27-year career in project management. He has experience particularly in defense industry and space systems. He has been working as Defense R&D Pro... Show more

Lawrence Grant is the Founder of SolonAI and creator of GrantAi, a deterministic agentic platform
with built-in memory for enterprise AI. Unlike probabilistic systems that rely on vector search and
retry loops, GrantAi uses constraint-based orchestration to deliver guaranteed execution,
auditability, and compliance-ready AI agents.

He brings over 18 years of experience securing critical infrastructure across financial institutions
managing more than $13 trillion in assets, including advisory roles with Bank of America,
JPMorgan Chase, and Citi. Heserved as Head of Information Security, Compliance, and Privacy at
Norm AI, where he built the company's security and privacy program from the ground up and
designed its agentic AI security architecture to satisfy the requirements of Tier 1 global financial
institutions. He led third-party due diligence processes supporting adoption by firms including
Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, Vista Equity Partners, New York Life, Macquarie, Blackstone, and
TIAA. He previously held security leadership roles at IBM and served as CISO for technology
companies.

Lawrence is the author of Mergers & Acquisitions Cybersecurity: The Framework for Maximizing
Value and a recognized voice on AI governance, the "retrieval tax," and the architectural causes of
context decay in enterprise AI systems. His work focuses on deterministic approaches that enable
reliable, auditable AI at scale.

He holds a Master's degree in Information Management Systems from Harvard University, where
he received the Dean's Award for Academic Excellence, along with certificates in Private Equity
from The Wharton School and Venture Capital from Columbia University. He also holds CISM and
CISSP certifications.

Lawrence Grant is the Founder of SolonAI and creator of GrantAi, a deterministic agentic platform with built-in memory for enterprise AI. Unlike probabilistic systems that rely on vector search and retry loops, GrantAi uses constraint-based orche... Show more

Vandit Pandya is a DevOps Engineer and an active cloud-native community leader from Gujarat, India. He currently works as an Azure DevOps Engineer at Infotechtion, where he focuses on building scalable cloud solutions, automating deployments, and implementing CI/CD pipelines for modern applications.

Beyond his professional role, Vandit is the Organizer of Cloud Native Vadodara, a community dedicated to spreading awareness and knowledge about cloud-native technologies, DevOps practices, and open-source ecosystems. Through meetups, workshops, and conferences, he actively brings together developers, engineers, and students to learn about containers, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms.

Vandit is also a community speaker and technology evangelist who regularly contributes to developer events such as Azure and cloud-native meetups. His sessions often focus on Azure, DevOps practices, Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD automation, and cloud-native architecture, helping developers understand real-world implementation and industry best practices.

Passionate about knowledge sharing and community building, Vandit continues to mentor learners and promote open collaboration in the cloud-native ecosystem while empowering the next generation of DevOps engineers.

Vandit Pandya is a DevOps Engineer and an active cloud-native community leader from Gujarat, India. He currently works as an Azure DevOps Engineer at Infotechtion, where he focuses on building scalable cloud solutions, automating deployments, and imp... 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

As an Agile Coach, I apply my 18 years of work experience in various industries, such as fintech, mobility, blockchain, airline, and travel, to help teams and organizations achieve their goals. I am a Profesional Certified Coach (PCC-ICF) and hold multiple certifications, such as PMI-ACP, CSP-SM, A-CSM, CSM, CSPO, ICP-ACC, ICP-LEA, ICP-BAF, and SAFe.

My mission is to build positive relationships with all and enable teams and organizations to achieve agility and innovation with my coaching and facilitation skills. I help teams raise awareness about how they work, identify meaningful goals, create plans for their fulfillment, and hold them accountable for following through. I also advocate agile in the whole organization and spotlight waste. Previously, I worked on the discovery of a new standard team operating model in medicines research (vaccines) with the aim of prototyping new organizational models to shorten research cycles. I have also collaborated with other coaches, leaders, and stakeholders in big organizations, propagated success through the organization, learned from failures, and raised teams' capability.

As an Agile Coach, I apply my 18 years of work experience in various industries, such as fintech, mobility, blockchain, airline, and travel, to help teams and organizations achieve their goals. I am a Profesional Certified Coach (PCC-ICF) and hold mu... Show more

I’m a Software Engineer specialized in Frontend, currently working as a Tech Lead at CaixaBank Tech.

I have over 11 years of experience building web applications, and over time my focus has progressively shifted toward a specific area: improving how users interact with interfaces, going beyond pixel-perfect design or pure performance.

I’m passionate about psychology and neuroscience, and today I try to apply these disciplines in my work to better understand what happens when an interface changes and how that impacts the real user experience.

Throughout my career, I’ve also had the opportunity to work abroad twice (Ireland and Germany), which has helped me broaden my perspective and refine the way I approach concepts.

I enjoy technology and continuously evolving, and I’m particularly interested in sharing ideas and bringing them into real-world scenarios, so that other teams and projects can apply them and create a more positive impact on how we build software.

I’m a Software Engineer specialized in Frontend, currently working as a Tech Lead at CaixaBank Tech. I have over 11 years of experience building web applications, and over time my focus has progressively shifted toward a specific area: improving h... Show more

Amar Nath Pandey is an Advisory Engineer at IBM India Software Lab with approximately 18 years of IT experience specializing in J2EE, Cloud technologies, and Machine Learning. He has a proven track record of leading teams to deliver complex platforms, including Kubernetes-based ML serving systems and intelligent automation foundations. Amar holds certifications in Data Science and Machine Learning, and his technical expertise spans Java, Golang, Python, and cloud-native tools like Docker and OpenShift. Throughout his career at organizations like Oracle, Nokia Siemens, and IBM, he has consistently focused on building scalable web applications and innovative software solutions.

Amar Nath Pandey is an Advisory Engineer at IBM India Software Lab with approximately 18 years of IT experience specializing in J2EE, Cloud technologies, and Machine Learning. He has a proven track record of leading teams to deliver complex platforms... Show more

To whom much is given much is required

To whom much is given much is required Show more

I have over 15 years of platform engineering experience mainly with macOS but recently with Linux as well. I am a contributor to the macOS Security Compliance project and the macOS CIS Benchmarks and very active within those communities. I have been a planning member of the Greater Philadelphia Mac Admins since 2017 and I'm an avid Philly sports fan.

Outside of work I enjoy tabletop gaming, animals, breweries, and vide games. Ask me about my office I share with my partner's snakes :)

I have over 15 years of platform engineering experience mainly with macOS but recently with Linux as well. I am a contributor to the macOS Security Compliance project and the macOS CIS Benchmarks and very active within those communities. I have been... Show more

Thomas Poppelgaard is awarded:
• NVIDIA Enterprise Platform Advisor
• Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows & Devices (AVD, W365), Azure (HPC, AI)
• Nerdio Valued Professional (NVP)
• Citrix Technology Professional (CTP)
• VMware vExpert
• Parallels VIPP

Thomas Poppelgaard is a Principal Technology Architect with 30 years of professional IT experience, specializing in enterprise architecture, GPU computing, and AI infrastructure. As CEO of Poppelgaard.com, he provides strategic advisory, architectural design, health checks, and implementation services across Microsoft, VMware, Citrix and NVIDIA ecosystems.

Thomas is recognized as a pioneer in GPU virtualization and remote visualization technologies. Since 2008, he has been at the forefront of enabling CAD/CAE/CAM, devops, media, and entertainment applications in virtualized environments, helping organizations unlock business value through workload acceleration and modern EUC solutions.

Thomas Poppelgaard is awarded: • NVIDIA Enterprise Platform Advisor • Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows & Devices (AVD, W365), Azure (HPC, AI) • Nerdio Valued Professional (NVP) • Citrix Technology Professional (CTP) • VMware ... Show more

Soy Juan Carlos, vivo en Perú, actualmente me desempeño como Ingeniero Cloud en una empresa del sector seguros y salud, donde trabajo diseñando y asegurando arquitecturas en la nube.

Cuento con experiencia trabajando con plataformas como AWS y Azure, principalmente en áreas de arquitectura cloud, seguridad y mejora continua de la infraestructura.

He participado en eventos internacionales de Amazon Web Services, siendo ganador del AWS Grant Builder 2024 y asistiendo a conferencias globales como AWS re:Inforce 2025 y AWS re:Invent 2025, donde profundicé en temas de seguridad, arquitectura y buenas prácticas en entornos cloud.

En mi rol actual me enfoco en identificar riesgos de seguridad, mejorar configuraciones de infraestructura y fortalecer las arquitecturas cloud, aplicando principios de seguridad y resiliencia en entornos productivos.

Soy Juan Carlos, vivo en Perú, actualmente me desempeño como Ingeniero Cloud en una empresa del sector seguros y salud, donde trabajo diseñando y asegurando arquitecturas en la nube. Cuento con experiencia trabajando con plataformas como AWS y Azu... Show more

Developer with an electronics engineering background. A jack-of-all-trades on the Power Platform, I'm curious to discover new things every day and to present my discoveries.

Developer with an electronics engineering background. A jack-of-all-trades on the Power Platform, I'm curious to discover new things every day and to present my discoveries. Show more

Victor Churchill is a Senior Product Designer with over 7 years of experience creating impactful, user-centered solutions across fintech, logistics, EdTech, and SaaS. He has led the design of platforms that secured multi-million dollar funding, integrated generative AI to boost user engagement, and scaled systems to serve tens of thousands of users. With a strong focus on measurable impact, inclusive design, and cross-functional collaboration, Victor brings a strategic yet practical approach to solving complex design challenges in emerging and global markets.

Victor Churchill is a Senior Product Designer with over 7 years of experience creating impactful, user-centered solutions across fintech, logistics, EdTech, and SaaS. He has led the design of platforms that secured multi-million dollar funding, integ... Show more