A fortnight ago, we welcomed the world to London for the fifth edition of the biggest Microsoft Excel conference on the globe.
Last year’s inaugural in-person event was widely considered to be a resounding success. However, it was always incumbent upon us to consider everyone’s feedback from then — whether great, good, or not-so-good — and deliver something even better.
You know what? I think we managed it!
With memories still fresh, now’s the time to reflect and reminisce on what was an unforgettable experience. While there’s far too much to possibly cover everything, let’s look back at just some of the highlights across the three days.
The Theatre of Excellence
2024's Shepherd's Bush venue was very nice, but to improve on it, we wanted somewhere a little more central and a place that oozed character.
Where better than the Soho Place Theatre?
At first glance, the modern, sleek, transparent exterior was impressive enough. And come 9 AM on the opening day, a long meandering queue of Excel enthusiasts had formed, waiting patiently to step foot in the venue.
On the inside, the auditorium was a sight for sore eyes.
A cosy, intimate, and grandeur setting it was, thanks to its circular design and three tiers of seating wrapped around the stage. Add to this the double ring of lantern-like fixtures for a golden glow, and it really did create the perfect setting for some top-quality sessions.
An enlightening start
Event Ambassador Leila Gharani got the show alive and kicking with a session about the latest features in Excel, why they matter, and how they can change the way you work.
Microsoft's Chris Webb followed by focusing on the exciting things happening in the world of Power BI and Fabric, and how they can help anyone be more productive when analysing data and producing reports.
Deal or No Deal?
In what was the most light-hearted session of the Summit, speaker Liam Bastick invited two audience members on to participate in an Excel version of popular UK gameshow 'Deal or No Deal?'.
One played the host, while the other was the contestant. There were no actual briefcases or real money at stake — but the game was based in an Excel workbook with buttons and checkboxes.
After it had finished, each volunteer walked off the stage with one of Liam's books!
Five awards for five star winners
Towards the end of Day 2, the Global Excel Awards reached its climax.
After a multi-stage process spanning the best part of four months, we were thrilled to announce the 2025 winners at a ceremony in front of a packed house.
The winners were:
🏆 Rising Star in the Excel Industry ⭐️
🥇 Susana Pinto
🏆 BEST Microsoft Excel Add-in 🧰
🥇 ASAP Utilities
🏆 Most Innovative Use of Excel 🚀
🥇 'Microsoft Excel Simulator' by Mohammad El Medawar
🏆 BEST LAMBDA 🐑
🥇 'UNPIVOT' by Erik Oehm
🏆 BEST Global Excel Summit 2025 In-Person Session 👤
🥇 'The magic of the CONCATENATEX function in Power BI' by Chandeep Chhabra
The final category was only decided minutes before being announced, thanks to the in-person and online audience voting in a live web poll. Clearly, people were awe-struck by Chandeep showing off the capabilities of CONCATENATEX!
Each winner excitedly came up on stage to collect their prestigious award. Mohammad sadly couldn’t make it to the ceremony, but he kindly left a video message for us to enjoy.
Congratulations to all of the winners!
Classes for magical mastery
Our Masterclasses allowed attendees to dive ocean deep into a focused topic, guided by the wisdom of an experienced Microsoft MVP or expert. The skills they gained were invaluable and some of the most sought-after in the workplace.
Hats off to Mark Proctor, Carlos Barboza, George Mount, and Gustaw Dudek for their in-person courses — and Chandoo and Danielle Stein Fairhurst for their online ones. Last but not least, Ken Puls deserves a big pat on the back for his three-day BI Bootcamp.
All of these were very well received!
Networking Area proves a hit again
In what has become an increasingly virtual world, there's nothing quite like seeing people face-to-face, is there?
After all the sessions had finished on each of the first two days, we headed up to the bar on the fifth floor of the venue. Intriguingly, this was only accessible via a lift, but it certainly didn't stop the place from being jam-packed.
With a drink in hand, everyone appreciated the opportunity to meet and mingle with fellow professionals, have incredibly nerdy conversations, and feel starstruck by the Excelebrities they've reverred for years.
The atmosphere was terrific, and it fully justified what the Excel Connected theme was all about.
Leaderboard winners
If you came in person or attended online, you were bound to hop on the virtual platform at some point. It’s fair to say it was a buzzing hive of activity throughout!
Whether you watched live sessions, joined in with chit-chat, created posts, organised meetings, or virtually anything else, you were rewarded for your activity with points.
The top three people on the Leaderboard not only had the satisfaction of finishing on the podium ahead of thousands, but they also won guaranteed spots at the Global Excel Summit 2026.
The winners and their prizes are:
🥇 Darren Sinclair
🎫 Premium In-Person ticket
🥈 Peter Heeks
🎫 Standard In-Person ticket
🥉 Matija Prijatelj
🎫 Masterclass In-Person ticket
Congratulations to the three of you!
Putting the Global in Excel Summit
We’re proud to be able to reach such a huge audience across the length and breadth of the world, and this has been a consistent theme in all our events.
From Europe to Asia, to Africa, to North America, to South America, to Oceania — we want Excel to be seen, heard, felt, smelt and tasted everywhere.
When we consider every single person who came to London or attended the Summit online this year, we had representation from a colossal 134 countries!
Thank you to our sponsors
The Global Excel Summit 2025 wouldn’t have been possible without our partners, so we must pay homage to each and every one for their backing and contributions to the event!
- Sheetcast (Lead Sponsor)
- Taglo (Track Partner)
- Navitas Business Modelling (Track Partner)
- Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) (Networking Partner)
- Excel in Business (EiB) (Networking Partner)
- PerfectXL (Networking Partner)
- Airrange (Networking Partner)
- MyExcelOnline (Networking Partner)
All had a presence in the Networking Area, allowing attendees to make direct contact with the founders and representatives of the companies to discover how their solutions can work for them.
On the Main Stage, we saw:
- Sheetcast's Celia Alves emphasise the importance of being able to deliver Excel-based solutions to the web, whether it's to satisfy internal or external needs.
- Taglo's Tim Jacks identiify three new financial modelling rules you should embrace, break — or ignore!
- Navitas Business Modelling's Col Werner discuss the common overreliance on trust rather than the systematic validation of a financial model.
- FMI's Ian Schnoor demonstrate how the versatility of Excel makes it a Swiss Army Knife for finance professionals.
- EiB's Paul Martin show how ReportStudio can facilitate scalable enterprise reporting with Excel and Power BI.
Missed the event?
After reading this blog post and seeing everyone eulogise about their experiences, it’s probably left you feeling rather bittersweet.
I wish I had gone.
Unfortunately, we can’t turn back the clock, but we can let you live all the action as if you were there.
Thanks to our Event Packages, you can replay any and every session from the three days.
But HURRY! These are only available until 28 February at 23:59 GMT.
Final words
Another year, another awesome event!
If you came, we hope you benefited (and continue to benefit) from our blended package of education, inspiration, entertainment, and socialisation. And hopefully, you’ve been able to head back to the office with a fresh mind so you can propel yourself to Excellence!
You might assume an event like ours takes just a couple of months to organise.
Honestly, before I joined the company, I would have said the same. However, as an insider, I can assure you there’s so much more to consider than you might imagine!
That’s why now is not the time to take our foot off the gas, and we’re already weighing up our options for next year. But even in the coming months, we will have some exciting news to reveal, so stay tuned for that.
We'd love to hear how the event went for you, so let us know by leaving a review on Trustpilot.
And once again, thank you to attendees, speakers, presenters, partners, and those behind the scenes for delivering such a fabulous event!
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