Back in the olden days, before that thing we call Y2K, Shawn Oden was a pilot, until he accidentally became a programmer, and then eventually a data monkey. He has spent almost all of his career in highly regulated and security-conscious spaces, like background screening, healthcare, insurance, government, and the military. Driven by a healthy dose of curiosity, Shawn has learned quite a bit about more topics than he can ever hope to master.

On the current step of his adventure, Shawn finds himself working as a DBA for the U.S. Army.

And he still hasn't learned when to stop saying things like "Oh, that looks interesting."

Back in the olden days, before that thing we call Y2K, Shawn Oden was a pilot, until he accidentally became a programmer, and then eventually a data monkey. He has spent almost all of his career in highly regulated and security-conscious spaces, like... Show more

I’m an AI/ML engineer and researcher who loves turning complex ideas into practical real-world solutions, who thrives on building smart, scalable systems , from an intelligent automation to advanced AI modeling pipelines. I don’t just experiment with models, I deploy them, optimize them, and make them work where it matters. Over the past four years, I’ve worked across industries retail automation, aviation, and neuroscience building systems that blend innovation with impact. I’m passionate about computer vision, generative AI, and making cutting-edge tech accessible to developers everywhere.

I’m an AI/ML engineer and researcher who loves turning complex ideas into practical real-world solutions, who thrives on building smart, scalable systems , from an intelligent automation to advanced AI modeling pipelines. I don’t just experiment with... Show more

Marco Lubig is a Senior Consultant and Team Lead with extensive experience in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

He specializes in implementing and optimizing ERP solutions, helping businesses streamline operations and enhance productivity.

Marco is passionate about leveraging technology to drive business success and is committed to delivering innovative solutions tailored to client needs. His expertise and leadership make him a valuable asset in the field of business technology.

Marco Lubig is a Senior Consultant and Team Lead with extensive experience in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. He specializes in implementing and optimizing ERP solutions, helping businesses streamline operations and enhance productivity. ... Show more

Jeremy Nathan is the CEO of JN Training, a Chattanooga-based technology training company. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst. Jeremy has worked in various industries as a production worker in a factory to an office worker. He founded JN Training to improve people’s skills. He understands the easiest way to deliver training for everyone based on how they learn. He instructs workshops in all levels of technology including Microsoft applications.

Jeremy Nathan is the CEO of JN Training, a Chattanooga-based technology training company. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst. Jeremy has worked in various industries as a production worker in a factory t... Show more

Christian is an Azure Cloud Architect at IBM, with a background in software engineering, cloud architecture, DevOps, and IT security. He helps enterprise teams design, build, and operate secure, scalable cloud platforms while navigating the technical and organizational challenges of complex enterprise environments.

His experience spans Azure architecture and migration, infrastructure as code with Terraform, application and network security, and enterprise governance in regulated industries. Having worked across software development, integration engineering, and technical leadership, Christian brings a hands-on perspective to balancing engineering productivity, security, compliance, and maintainability.

As a conference speaker and workshop leader, Christian shares practical insights from enterprise engineering at events including Azure Dev Community Day in Munich and Cloudland. His sessions explore how modern engineering practices can work within real-world constraints, from delivering software in regulated environments to designing secure cloud platforms and navigating the challenges of global cloud architectures. His focus is on actionable lessons that help teams build and deliver software more effectively without compromising on security or sound engineering principles.

Christian is an Azure Cloud Architect at IBM, with a background in software engineering, cloud architecture, DevOps, and IT security. He helps enterprise teams design, build, and operate secure, scalable cloud platforms while navigating the technical... Show more

Connie is a software architect who is passionate about Angular, NestJS, AI, Web AI, and building stuff with JS frameworks. She loves coding with Angular and NestJS, and blogging about these topics to share knowledge with members in the communities. She also demos Web AI technology on her YouTube channel, allowing web developers to integrate AI into their web applications. Her hobbies are blogging, running, language learning, and attending conferences to meet new friends. She hopes to be able to present at meetups and conferences in Spanish, Mandarin, and other foreign languages fluently one day.

Connie is a software architect who is passionate about Angular, NestJS, AI, Web AI, and building stuff with JS frameworks. She loves coding with Angular and NestJS, and blogging about these topics to share knowledge with members in the communities. S... Show more

Passionate about science since childhood, I studied Mathematics at the University of Santiago de Compostela, I completed these studies with a Master in Statistics and Operational Research. The latter allowed me to enter the world of AI and ML, fields in which I am currently working as AI Team Lead @MDW.

Passionate about science since childhood, I studied Mathematics at the University of Santiago de Compostela, I completed these studies with a Master in Statistics and Operational Research. The latter allowed me to enter the world of AI and ML, fields... Show more

Hanna Schwab is Microsoft Foundry MVP and Data & AI Lead at teccle group, where she designs and delivers data platforms and AI solutions with Microsoft Fabric and Foundry.

She enjoys working at the intersection of data, technology, and business, helping organizations build data platforms and AI applications that solve real-world challenges. She combines deep technical expertise with a strong focus on creating practical solutions that people actually use.

Outside of her project work, Hanna mentors aspiring professionals through ITgirls and organizes her own career events for women in tech. She is passionate about making technology more accessible and encouraging more diverse voices in the industry.

Hanna Schwab is Microsoft Foundry MVP and Data & AI Lead at teccle group, where she designs and delivers data platforms and AI solutions with Microsoft Fabric and Foundry. She enjoys working at the intersection of data, technology, and business, h... Show more

Ayoade Adegbite is a Senior Analytics Engineer, open-source builder, and technical speaker focused on the intersection of data, AI, and software engineering.

He builds practical tools that solve problems he encounters in real data teams—from data quality and governance to AI usage and developer experience. His open-source work includes AgentAbacus, a tool for interpreting and tracking AI agent usage and costs, and Governance Atlas, a practical guide to data protection and privacy for data professionals. He has also built developer tooling and extensions around technologies including dbt, Spark, and VS Code.

His work sits at an interesting intersection: understanding the business problem, translating it into a technical solution, and then building something people can actually use.

As a speaker, Ayoade focuses on practical, experience-driven talks that make complex topics understandable without stripping away the technical depth. His sessions explore data engineering, analytics engineering, AI, data governance, developer tooling, and the lessons that emerge when technology meets real-world constraints.

Ayoade Adegbite is a Senior Analytics Engineer, open-source builder, and technical speaker focused on the intersection of data, AI, and software engineering. He builds practical tools that solve problems he encounters in real data teams—from data ... Show more

Don is a recipient of the Microsoft MVP award in M365 Development and Microsoft Graph. He has spent the last 20+ years partnering with companies of all sizes, helping them maximize their productivity in SharePoint, Teams, Viva, Office 365, Power Platform, and Azure. With over 30 years of programming experience, Don's passion for coding is centered around the full Microsoft ecosystem of cloud technologies. Prior to working full-time in the IT world, Don spent 20 years as a pilot in the Air Force, accumulating over 4500 hours in various aircraft, including the T-1A, E-3B/C, and T-38.

Don is a recipient of the Microsoft MVP award in M365 Development and Microsoft Graph. He has spent the last 20+ years partnering with companies of all sizes, helping them maximize their productivity in SharePoint, Teams, Viva, Office 365, Power Plat... Show more

I work at the intersection of large-scale digital infrastructure and public health — designing AI-driven systems that turn prediction into real-world care. Over nearly two decades, I've built consumer and healthcare platforms that operate reliably at national scale, from fulfillment serving hundreds of millions to AI for early disease detection in underserved communities.

My talks connect two worlds most people keep separate: the engineering discipline behind systems that can't fail, and the public-health opportunity in reaching people traditional systems miss. I speak on healthcare AI, last-mile and prescription delivery, reliable and observable systems, and safe AI agents at scale — grounded in production experience and peer-reviewed research, not slideware.

I'm an IEEE and Linux Foundation speaker, a peer reviewer for venues including AMIA, HICSS, and IEEE journals, and I mentor student teams and early-career engineers. My aim on stage is simple: leave the room with something they can build on.

I work at the intersection of large-scale digital infrastructure and public health — designing AI-driven systems that turn prediction into real-world care. Over nearly two decades, I've built consumer and healthcare platforms that operate reliably at... Show more

Ryan is a self-employed Technologist at GO-INIT focused on the EUC and Code area. Ryan is primarily focusing on the user experience in centralized desktop environments. With his development skills, Ryan is capable of adapting quickly to customers’ needs by having an agile mindset. Ryan is a bit lazy, yes lazy but in a good way. Ryan is all about automation as he is not made for repeating tasks.

Community is very important for Ryan as he is an active blogger and has published multiple tools. Next, to his personal blogs and tools, Ryan is also a member of the Remote Display Analyzer team and TeamRGE. Ryan has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), Citrix Technology Professional (CTP), NVIDIA vGPU Community Advisor (NGCA), Parallels VIPP and VMware vExpert status.

If you ever meet Ryan you can always do him a pleasure buying a beer because he loves beer.

Ryan is a self-employed Technologist at GO-INIT focused on the EUC and Code area. Ryan is primarily focusing on the user experience in centralized desktop environments. With his development skills, Ryan is capable of adapting quickly to customers’ ne... Show more

Robb is a 28-year veteran of the Navision, NAV, and BC world.
He is a Microsoft MVP, an MCT, MCP, and a nonpracticing CPA.
He has spoken at Convergence, Directions NA, Directions EMEA, Days of Knowledge, and multiple User Group Conferences.

Robb is a 28-year veteran of the Navision, NAV, and BC world. He is a Microsoft MVP, an MCT, MCP, and a nonpracticing CPA. He has spoken at Convergence, Directions NA, Directions EMEA, Days of Knowledge, and multiple User Group Conferences. Show more

Jackie Gleason is an experienced AI Principal Engineer for a private airline. Mr. Gleason has almost 20 years of experience in the Columbus area including Chase, PUCO, OCLC and the Columbus Foundation. Jackie has presented previously at CodeMash, M3, and other local user groups on topics such as Java, Javascript, mobile development, testing and more. In addition to development Jackie enjoys 3D printing, billiards, and traveling. For more information or to reach out go to https://THEjackiegleason.com.

Jackie Gleason is an experienced AI Principal Engineer for a private airline. Mr. Gleason has almost 20 years of experience in the Columbus area including Chase, PUCO, OCLC and the Columbus Foundation. Jackie has presented previously at CodeMash, M3... Show more

Databricks Champion and Microsoft & Databricks certified consultant with over 15 years of experience in data, analytics, and Azure.

Specialises in designing and delivering end-to-end data platforms using Azure, Databricks, and the Power Platform, with a strong focus on automation, DevOps, and scalable analytics. Works closely with engineers and stakeholders to turn complex data problems into practical solutions.

An active member of the data community who enjoys sharing real-world lessons through talks, blogs and mentoring.

Outside work, enjoys running, swimming, football, and learning new technologies.

Databricks Champion and Microsoft & Databricks certified consultant with over 15 years of experience in data, analytics, and Azure. Specialises in designing and delivering end-to-end data platforms using Azure, Databricks, and the Power Platform, ... Show more

Emma’s story is anchored in two worlds that rarely meet: elite sport and enterprise transformation. While building a professional football career, she developed deep, practical expertise in large-scale programmes for FTSE and global brands. Her grounding across AI, ERP, CRM and HCM ecosystems positions her as a trusted partner to Microsoft, Dayforce and organisations that want to navigate transformation with discipline, risk awareness and genuine quality control.

Her sporting pedigree shapes her perspective. She sees transformation through the same lens as high-performance football: preparation, drills and strategy come first, and shortcuts simply cost you later. She is known for a direct, engaging style that cuts through jargon and gets to the truth of how programmes succeed or fail. Her talks blend sharp insight with authenticity, humour and sports logic, giving both technical and functional audiences something they can use the moment they leave the room.

Emma’s story is anchored in two worlds that rarely meet: elite sport and enterprise transformation. While building a professional football career, she developed deep, practical expertise in large-scale programmes for FTSE and global brands. Her groun... Show more

Harry Arce is a Microsoft AI and Data strategist helping organizations become frontier firms by transforming data into business value through AI, analytics, and intelligent applications. With more than 20 years of experience, including 18+ years leading enterprise transformation at Intel, he bridges emerging technology and real-world outcomes. Harry advises customers across healthcare, financial services, insurance, and other regulated industries on AI adoption, governance, cloud architecture, and modernization. Known for combining deep technical expertise with a consultative approach, he helps organizations innovate confidently while building secure, scalable, and responsible AI foundations.

Harry Arce is a Microsoft AI and Data strategist helping organizations become frontier firms by transforming data into business value through AI, analytics, and intelligent applications. With more than 20 years of experience, including 18+ years lead... Show more

Dr. Siegfried Isele is a Managing Director, senior transformation executive, and board-level
advisor with more than 25 years of international leadership experience across insurance,
financial services, government, logistics, retail, and technology.

He specializes in large-scale modernization and transformation programs, including legacy
system replacement, data migration, AI-enabled automation, and regulated platform
transformation. Dr. Isele has led initiatives involving hundreds of specialists across multiple
continents, operating in highly regulated environments where reliability, compliance, and
governance are mission-critical.

In addition to his executive delivery leadership, he serves as a Senior Security Auditor (ISO/IEC
27001 & OT Security) and trusted advisor on cybersecurity, operational risk, and regulatory
compliance. His board and advisory contributions focus on technology strategy,
transformation governance, risk oversight, and executive decision-making.

Dr. Isele is known for his pragmatic application of agile principles, bridging structured
governance with real-world execution. He holds advanced degrees in economics, law, and
business engineering and has completed executive education at Harvard University, MIT,
Columbia Business School, UC Berkeley, and IIM Bangalore.

He is authorized to work in all Europe (incl. D A CH), the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as he operates internationally.

Dr. Siegfried Isele is a Managing Director, senior transformation executive, and board-level advisor with more than 25 years of international leadership experience across insurance, financial services, government, logistics, retail, and technology.... Show more

Carsten Meilbak is a Microsoft MVP for Microsoft Teams and an experienced IT architect specializing in Microsoft Teams, meeting rooms, and telephony. With more than 15 years of experience in Microsoft communications — and several years in the telecom industry before that — Carsten brings a practical, real-world perspective to modern collaboration, enterprise voice, and hybrid meeting experiences.

His work focuses on helping organizations design, implement, and optimize Microsoft Teams solutions that connect people across locations, devices, and meeting spaces. Carsten has deep experience with Teams Phone, enterprise voice, session border controllers, Teams Rooms on both Windows and Android, and the wider ecosystem of certified meeting room devices and AV technologies.

Over the years, Carsten has worked with customers ranging from smaller national organizations to large international enterprises and public sector organizations, including municipalities and ministries. His implementation experience spans many industries, geographies, and deployment models — from remote advisory and design work to hands-on onsite implementation.

Carsten is passionate about making technology work in the room — not just on paper. He enjoys bridging the gap between Microsoft 365, Teams, telephony, network infrastructure, and AV hardware, ensuring that meeting rooms are reliable, intuitive, and ready for the way people actually collaborate.

As a speaker, Carsten is known for combining technical depth with practical examples from real deployments and lab testing. He regularly shares knowledge with the Microsoft Teams community on topics such as Teams Rooms, Teams Phone, meeting room architecture, device management, and the evolving role of AI and Copilot in meetings.
His core areas of expertise include:

• Microsoft Teams Phone and enterprise voice
• Microsoft Teams Rooms for small, medium, and large meeting spaces
• Meeting room architecture across Windows and Android platforms
• Session Border Controllers, gateways, and telephony integration
• AV, network, and device management for modern collaboration spaces
• Contact center and operator solutions integrated with Microsoft Teams

Carsten’s goal is to help organizations create communication and meeting experiences that feel simple for users, while being technically robust, secure, and manageable for IT.

Carsten Meilbak is a Microsoft MVP for Microsoft Teams and an experienced IT architect specializing in Microsoft Teams, meeting rooms, and telephony. With more than 15 years of experience in Microsoft communications — and several years in the telecom... Show more

I’m a cloud architect, AI consultant, entrepreneur, and community builder focused on making AI and Google Cloud work for African businesses — in our context, not through frameworks imported from elsewhere.

I lead GDG Gombe and founded Ummatore Technologies. I’ve spoken at technology events across Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and The Gambia, and trained 3,900+ developers across Africa.

My work spans AI readiness, Google Cloud architecture, enterprise AI agents, developer training, and digital transformation. I’ve also built and deployed products including TripDial, a USSD-based transport management platform for Nigerian road transport unions, and InsightVox, an AI-powered voice analytics platform.

As a speaker, I bring practical experience from building, deploying, and advising — not just theory. My sessions focus on actionable strategies, real-world implementation, and what it takes to make cloud and AI adoption succeed in African organisations.

I’m a cloud architect, AI consultant, entrepreneur, and community builder focused on making AI and Google Cloud work for African businesses — in our context, not through frameworks imported from elsewhere. I lead GDG Gombe and founded Ummatore Tec... Show more

Monica has worked with several Industries including Financial Services, Facilities Management, Construction, Retail, Health care, Oil and Gas as well as Enterprise Software.
Monica is a computer technology and data enthusiast that is always looking for innovative way to solve problems.
13 years of IT exp with 4 yrs. of architecture engagements to design & deliver Microsoft on Premise and Cloud based solutions. She has successfully helped clients in architecting and implementing both cloud computing and on-premises I&D solutions.
Monica has a successful track record of building strong relationship with technical and non-technical stakeholders at multiple levels.
She has been involved throughout the full development lifecycle from requirements gathering, designing, building, testing and deployment to production.
Having worked at one of Europe’s biggest and fastest growing value & discount retailer she was involved in projects where she shared data insights, provided faster reporting and demonstrated key performance indicators that allowed the organisation grow from 400 to 850+ stores.

Monica has worked with several Industries including Financial Services, Facilities Management, Construction, Retail, Health care, Oil and Gas as well as Enterprise Software. Monica is a computer technology and data enthusiast that is always looking... Show more

Michael McKinley is the founder of McKinley Consulting. Michael has managed projects and workstreams in consulting for the last thirteen years, in areas including data analytics, change management, operations excellence, and supply chain transformation.

Michael McKinley is the founder of McKinley Consulting. Michael has managed projects and workstreams in consulting for the last thirteen years, in areas including data analytics, change management, operations excellence, and supply chain transformati... Show more

Hartmut is a software engineer and tech lead with a strong passion for architecture, data streaming, and distributed systems. He has designed and delivered solutions for mission-critical platforms, working with clients including HSBC, NEX Group plc, Raiffeisen Switzerland, Deutsche Bahn, and eu-LISA. He is now building StoatFlow.io, a stream processing engine born from years of work on systems like these.

Hartmut is a software engineer and tech lead with a strong passion for architecture, data streaming, and distributed systems. He has designed and delivered solutions for mission-critical platforms, working with clients including HSBC, NEX Group plc, ... Show more

Arequipeño, actualmente en phData y casi siempre metido en algo relacionado con AWS. Mi camino empezó en Data Engineering, pasó por Solutions Architecture y hoy estoy en Enterprise Managed Services. Últimamente me interesan mucho los proyectos donde se cruzan IA, DevOps y datos.

Soy AWS Community Builder y Golden Jacket. Me gusta compartir lo que voy aprendiendo, participar en comunidades tech y conocer a otras personas que disfrutan tanto como yo de todo esto.

Arequipeño, actualmente en phData y casi siempre metido en algo relacionado con AWS. Mi camino empezó en Data Engineering, pasó por Solutions Architecture y hoy estoy en Enterprise Managed Services. Últimamente me interesan mucho los proyectos donde ... Show more

Anshika has 14 years experience developing software at Posten Bring - Norwegian National Postal Service, building logistics systems and APIs that enable millions of people in the Nordics to order and receive packages. She values studying users, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration and building great products with her team. A typical day at work involves climbing stairs to the 18th floor of Posten Bring's towering headquarters in the heart of Oslo, where she will transform whiteboard scribbles into deployed features.

She loves sharing fun stories and experiences at tech conferences and embracing new challenges. She's spoken at 14 international conferences over the past year including Javazone, JFokus, Adacon, JCON, NDC Oslo, KotlinConf, JavaDay Istanbul, DevBcn, Devoxx Morocco, Devoxx Poland, TDC, Hello Stavanger and BoosterConf among others.

Off-duty you'll find her chasing sunsets and culinary adventures, sampling flavours from around the globe.

Anshika has 14 years experience developing software at Posten Bring - Norwegian National Postal Service, building logistics systems and APIs that enable millions of people in the Nordics to order and receive packages. She values studying users, and f... Show more

David Parry is a Principal Architect with 25+ years building enterprise systems, cloud platforms, and AI integrations. Starting in 1996, he has focused on scalable, mission-critical solutions, from government-grade communication systems to guiding Fortune 500 companies into the autonomous agentic era. His work emphasizes deterministic guardrails, governed agent orchestration, and production-ready architectures that ensure reliability, security, and measurable outcomes in AI systems.

David Parry is a Principal Architect with 25+ years building enterprise systems, cloud platforms, and AI integrations. Starting in 1996, he has focused on scalable, mission-critical solutions, from government-grade communication systems to guiding Fo... Show more

I am passionate about using technology to understand and solve real business problems. I love sharing knowledge, discussing ideas and finding out how others solve problems. My Dynamics journey started with NAV in 2015 as an end-user, I moved to the Microsoft partner channel in 2022 where I've focused on Business Central, AL Coding, Power Platform and more recently AI prompt engineering.

I am passionate about using technology to understand and solve real business problems. I love sharing knowledge, discussing ideas and finding out how others solve problems. My Dynamics journey started with NAV in 2015 as an end-user, I moved to the M... Show more

As a freelancer, Katrin prefers to work at the intersection of business and software development, helping teams translate complex requirements into clear, practical solutions.
She works in various roles, ranging from business analysis to quality assurance, and brings practical expertise from the finance and payroll sectors to the table. Katrin enjoys developing applications or automations that support teams and simplify processes in a pragmatic, efficient way that addresses real needs.

As a freelancer, Katrin prefers to work at the intersection of business and software development, helping teams translate complex requirements into clear, practical solutions. She works in various roles, ranging from business analysis to quality as... Show more

Andres Sepulveda Morales is the founder of Red Mage, a technology consultancy for impact makers and barrier breakers. They are presently Treasurer of the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group (RMAIIG), founder of Fort Collins AI for Everyone, Top 10 Puerto Rican Voices in IT & Tech (Favikon) and were named one of Contra’s Best Software Consultants to Hire in 2025-2026 for English and Spanish markets.

Andres Sepulveda Morales is the founder of Red Mage, a technology consultancy for impact makers and barrier breakers. They are presently Treasurer of the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group (RMAIIG), founder of Fort Collins AI for Everyone, Top 10 Puert... Show more

I'm a visionary Cloud Architect on a mission to spearhead digital transformation and redefine the technological landscape. With over two decades of experience, I've orchestrated transformative journeys for enterprises, guiding them through the intricate maze of digital evolution. A maestro of innovation, I specialize in event storming and event-driven architecture, sculpting solutions that synchronize with the rhythm of change. My expertise extends to the realm of microservices, where I craft intricate webs of interconnected systems to fuel organizational agility and scalability. As a Microsoft Official Speaker since 2007, I've captivated audiences with tales of technological prowess, inspiring them to embrace the winds of change and chart their course towards excellence. Engaged in the vibrant community of the CTO's Fraternity, I collaborate with fellow visionaries to shape the future of cloud computing, empowering organizations to thrive in an era of boundless possibilities.

I'm a visionary Cloud Architect on a mission to spearhead digital transformation and redefine the technological landscape. With over two decades of experience, I've orchestrated transformative journeys for enterprises, guiding them through the intric... Show more