DUG Meetup: Calgary - D365, Power Platform, & AI

Welcome Calgary! Join us for our first Dynamics User Group meeting, as we formally launch the user community for Calgary and surrounding areas. Our goal is too create a user community driven center of excellence for companies/users of Dynamics 365 F&SCM, CRM, AI and Power Platform.
Location: Microsoft Office, Calgary
110 - 9th Avenue SW, 7th Floor
Date: May 29th, 2026
Time: 8:30 - 12:15pm

Agenda:
8:30 am - 9:00 am: Meet/Greet/Networking & Coffee
9:00 am - 9:45 am: Welcome & Opening Keynote
Guest Speaker:
Matthew Mead, Global Blackbelt, Microsoft
Topic: Is SaaS Dead? Demystifying the Narrative: A practical discussion to cut through market noise and confusion around the “SaaS is dead” narrative, and explore how the model applies to Dynamics 365 and is evolving and where it continues to deliver value.

10:00 am - 10:45 am: Executive Roundtable 1: Upstream/Midstream Oil & Gas Roundtable: A practical, business-led discussion on where Dynamics 365 is working today in the industry and areas where it has capabilities to drive value going forward. Hosted by Steve Fulkerson.

10:00 am - 10:45 am: Solution & Technology Roundtable 1: AI in Practice: Moving beyond “we have to use AI now” to a discussion on the interaction within the ecosystem required—tools, integration, operations, business context and the real availability of human expertise—to successfully adopt and scale within the organization. Organizations rarely choose a single tool , so how do we overcome the challenges in the current state of this ecosystem. Hosted by Mike Henry. Joined by Matthew Mead.

10:00 am - 10:45 am: Program & Governance Excellence Roundtable 1: Program Leadership Roundtable: Bridging client and partner transformation agendas to build shared understanding and drive stronger program outcomes. A pragmatic discussion on how early alignment can accelerate delivery, improve collaboration, and lead to more successful transformations. Hosted by Mike Petersen.

10:45 am - 11:00 am: Break

11:00 am - 11:45 am: Solution & Technology Roundtable 2: “Small Ball” AI in ERP: A discussion on applying targeted, incremental AI use cases within Dynamics 365 to deliver immediate value. Focus on how to build momentum from the ground up and scale AI adoption in a manageable, business-led way. Hosted by Mike Petersen. Joined by Matthew Mead, Microsoft.

11:00 am - 11: 45 am: Solution & Technology Roundtable 2b: Copilot Cowork: From Assistant to Execution Agent — what changes for CE/Power Platform teams? This roundtable will explore what changes when Copilot moves from “answering and drafting” to executing multi‑step work across Microsoft ecosystem, with the user staying in control. Hosted by Josh Cook. Joined by Kunal Tripathy

11:45 am - 12:15 pm: Wrap Up & Closing

Guest Speakers:

Matthew Mead is a leader and Global Blackbelt at Microsoft focused on Dynamics 365 in Canada. He works with organizations and partners to drive platform adoption, align business and technology strategy, and help ensure successful outcomes across complex transformation programs.

Steve Fulkerson is a senior advisor at Skymarshall Consulting, bringing deep experience in upstream oil & gas and enterprise transformation. He works closely with business and technology leaders to align strategy, operations, and systems—helping organizations navigate complex programs and drive practical, measurable outcomes.

Mike Henry is the Managing Director of Domino Consulting, a Calgary-based firm focused on aligning organizations with technology through practical, business-driven solutions. With over 20 years of experience, he leads work across data, AI/ML, and enterprise solution delivery—combining process optimization, governance, and coaching to help teams unlock real value from their technology investments.

Michael Petersen is currently the CTO for Next365 North America. Michael has spent the last twenty plus years advising senior executives, program leaders and technologists on D365 and related technologies. Prior to joining Next365, Mike held senior management positions with global systems integrators, like Avanade/Accenture.

Kunal Tripathy is the Founder of Upzoids, and a multiple-time Microsoft Business Applications MVP based in Calgary. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform, leading architecture, integration, and AI-driven solutions while actively contributing to the global Microsoft community.

Josh Cook is a Microsoft Business Applications MVP and AI Solutions Lead at Upzoids, based in Calgary. He specializes in Power Platform, Power Pages, and Copilot Studio, helping organizations apply Microsoft technologies in practical ways to improve service delivery, automation, and user engagement.

Details on the roundtable specific topics\agendas will be released as we get closer to the event, including our facilitators. Our goal is too ensure we have relevant content for Senior Executives, Application Owners and Technologists.

This user community is not intended to solicit, but focus on education and create a forum for sharing.