Upkar Lidder serves as a senior software engineer at IBM, bringing over a decade of experience in IT development, including significant roles in team management and technical leadership. His expertise spans full-stack technology, with a current focus on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. As an active member of the tech community, he regularly shares his knowledge through speaking engagements at conferences and participation in local tech groups and meetups. His technical portfolio includes extensive work with serverless applications, Apache OpenWhisk platform, and various aspects of cloud-native development. After completing his graduate studies in Canada, he now resides in the United States, where he contributes to IBM's developer initiatives while also serving as an instructor for numerous courses in web development, DevOps, and mobile application development using Flutter and Dart.

John J. Rofrano serves as Senior Technical Staff Member and DevOps Champion at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where he leads groundbreaking research in AI-driven cloud modernization and application development. His distinguished career spans technology innovation, education, and creative pursuits, including roles as an Adjunct Faculty Member at NYU's Courant Institute and Stern School of Business, where he teaches graduate courses in DevOps and Agile Methodologies. His technical achievements include developing the first server-side Java-based dynamic web application and securing over 30 patents, earning him multiple IBM Research Invention Plateau awards and Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards. Beyond his technical expertise, he brings a unique creative perspective from his earlier career as a professional musician in the 1970s under the stage name Johnny Roy, and continues to contribute to the field through authoring numerous patents, industry papers, training videos, and books. His work at IBM encompasses leading research projects in cloud modernization, DevSecOps, and application development, while his teaching roles allow him to shape the next generation of technology leaders through practical instruction in modern software development practices and methodologies.