Meet the Trainers

 

For training to be effective the trainers need to understand the goals of the business and have the confidence and knowledge to be able to relate learning to real world experiences and best practices. Trainers need to be able to adapt to the needs of the student and provide enthusiastic hands on training that enables the student to put into practise what they have learnt immediately.

Combined Knowledge prides itself on our team of trainers which include leading SharePoint, Office 365, Office and Cloud experts that speak at Global seminars and User Groups in topics from Technical and Architecture to User Adoption and Business Processes.

Our trainers not only deliver our education solutions, they are exposed to real-world environments and scenarios with years of experience in Microsoft applications, many of our trainers write and develop the content that we use throughout our course deliveries ensuring they have the ability to answer any questions and can tailor content as the need arises.

Steve Smith

Instructor and Microsoft Regional Director

Steve has been working in the technology space since the early 90’s and formed Combined Knowledge in 2002. For the past 4 years has been part of an advisory role to Microsoft as a Microsoft Regional Director and was a SharePoint MVP for 15 years working on every version of SharePoint since its original release in 2001.

Since 2003 Steve has specialized in the collaboration space and helping companies make the most of the Microsoft platforms and building custom on boarding and readiness programs from technical to champions to end users and building bespoke courses for the technology that are now used by training companies around the world.

Chris Casingena

Instructor

Chris (BSc), has been working with SharePoint for twelve years and had been training for nearly eight years.

Chris works as a digital solutions consultant providing public and private training as well as offering expertise in Office 365 and SharePoint rollout projects. He also works with customers to build and customise their Office 365 products.

While training and consulting, Chris authors content for our Training+ product and assists with production of the videos.  He has worked on many of our course manuals for SharePoint Online and has implemented new workshops such as the rapid upskill of Office 365 course. Additionally, Chris has also worked alongside Penelope Coventry and Olga M Londer as a technical editor for the Step by Step Microsoft SharePoint 2013 and 2016 books.

Chris lives in Leicester, UK and has an enthusiastic and entertaining approach to training.

Simon Gray

Digital Solutions Consultant

Simon has 10 years’ experience as a web developer, originally building registration and document management systems for the exhibition industry. He later moved into developing e-commerce and online recruitment systems for companies all over the UK.

He later moved into the role of IT manager for a small group of companies. The group covered many different sectors from holiday travel, wholesale, commercial, residential and motor insurance, he was responsible for the development of their IT infrastructure and end user training.

With Combined Knowledge as Digital Solutions Consultant, Simon provides public and private training for Office 365 and SharePoint, he also authors and as part of the training team, maintains the Training+ products from Combined Knowledge.

Rav Sandhu

Digital Solutions Consultant

Rav has been an IT Trainer for over 17 years working in the private and public sector, delivering IT Training courses and project rollouts for a wide range of applications including Microsoft Office suite, Office 365 apps, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Dynamics AX, Case management and bespoke applications. He has worked with many organisations delivering Office 365 apps and bespoke systems often as the project Training lead, rolling out the delivery of Microsoft Office 365 and bespoke IT systems.

Rav is a Digital Solutions Consultant with Combined Knowledge and provides public and private training for Office 365. He also authors and maintains the Training+ on-demand training solution as part of the Combined Knowledge training team.

Eric Shupps

Instructor, MVP

Eric Shupps is the founder and President of BinaryWave, a leading provider of enterprise software solutions for SharePoint. Eric has worked with SharePoint Products and Technologies since 2001 as a consultant, administrator, architect, developer and trainer. He is an advisory committee member of the Dallas/Ft. Worth SharePoint Community group and participating member of user groups throughout the United Kingdom. Eric has authored numerous articles on SharePoint, speaks at user group meetings and conferences around the world, and publishes a popular SharePoint blog at www.sharepointcowboy.com.

Brian Alderman

Microsoft MVP, Instructor

Brian Alderman is a Microsoft MVP, and has his Master’s in Computer Information Systems. Since 1995, he has held several Microsoft certifications that currently include; MCT, MCSE for SharePoint, MCSA for Office 365, MCITP for SQL Server(R), MCSA and MCSE for Windows Server(R), and also his PMP certification. As a Senior Technical Instructor and Consultant, he has 30 years of experience in networking, SQL Server databases, SharePoint technologies, and project management. Brian’s publications include Windows 2000 Professional, SQL Server 2000 Administration, SharePoint 2010 Administrator’s Companion, and Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Administration Inside Out. He is an active speaker at SharePoint Industry conferences including SharePoint Saturday’s, SPLive, DevIntersection, SharePoint Fest, Microsoft Ignite, and several international SharePoint conferences including London, Milan, and Madrid.

Bill Ayres

MVP SharePoint Server, MCSE: SharePoint and MCITP SharePoint Administration

Bill Ayers is a consultant developer and software architect who has been working on SharePoint since the 2003 version of the product, and is a Microsoft Certified Master and MCSM, SharePoint. He specialises in web content management and Intranet portals. He has over 20 years’ experience in the software industry, and speaks regularly at international conferences and user groups. He is also a moderator on SharePoint.StackExchange.com.

Matt Groves

Instructor

Matt is the founder and Principal Consultant at Big Sixty, a consultancy specialising in helping clients solve their collaboration, productivity and business process challenges, and to get the most from their technology investments. Matt has worked with SharePoint in various guises since 2001, delivering projects for clients, management and leadership within Microsoft Gold Partners, and virtual roles with Microsoft, he has been involved in the UK SharePoint community since 2007.

Matt’s background is deeply technical but he has been far more focussed on the end-user and business aspects of Microsoft technologies for the last few years. Recognised in the industry as a leader in his field, Matt is frequently invited to speak at conferences and sit on expert panels. Matt teaches the Combined Knowledge range of SharePoint 2013/2016 and Office 365 End User driven classes along with delivery of tailored training courses. Matt has a young family and enjoys Carp Fishing, Rugby and Cycling.

Christina Wheeler

Instructor

Christina Wheeler is a highly respected SharePoint consultant who is committed to sharing her knowledge. Christina has 10-years of training experience in SharePoint and Office 365 development, administration and branding. As a part-time Trainer for Mindsharp, Christina has a passion for enabling people to build better business solutions.

Training and implementing effective IT solutions are two different things. Christina has built solutions in hundreds of SharePoint farms and Office 365 tenants. Her consulting experience includes graphic design, Web development, and custom development who also specializes in Web Content Management and Business Intelligence platforms including Power BI. Christina brings her real-world experience to the classroom so that she can answer your questions.

Christina is a regular speaker at industry conferences in the United States and Europe. Her publications include contributions as the technical editor of “SharePoint 2007 Developer’s Guide to Business Data Catalog,” co-author of the “SharePoint 2010 Field Guide,” and co-author of “SharePoint 2013 Inside Out.” Follow her blog at http://www.sharepointwheeler.com/

Matthew McDermott

Instructor, MVP MCSE: Productivity and SharePoint and MCSA: Office 365

Matthew has specialized in Microsoft administration since 2002 and has more than 15-years of SharePoint and Office 365 (O365) training experience. His professional credentials include the coveted Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) for Productivity and SharePoint. Additionally, he earned the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) for Office 365. Mathew’s speaks extensively at technology conferences and offers great IT Pro advice on his blog at AbleBlue. Mathew lives in Austin, Texas, where he is an accomplished cook and bartender. In his spare time Matt spends as much time with his wife as his dog will allow.

Penny Coventry

MVP SharePoint Server, MCSE: SharePoint and MCITP SharePoint Administration

Penny is an author and consultant based in the U.K., with more than 30 years of industry experience. She has authored and co-authored more than 10 SharePoint-related books including; Exploring MicrosoftR SharePointR 2013: New Features and Functions, MicrosoftR SharePointR 2013 Inside Out, MicrosoftR SharePointR 2013 Step by Step and MicrosoftR SharePointR Designer 2010 Step by Step.

Penny has spoken at a number of conferences around the world including; TechEd North America, SharePoint Conferences in United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK and at SharePoint Saturdays. She is also a keen supporter of the UK SharePoint user group community. Penny has worked with SharePoint since 2001, and when she’s not writing, she works as the Product Specialist for Lightning Tools and a trainer at Combined Knowledge.