Conference speaker · Technology and commercial strategy
James B. Marshall
Chief Technology Strategist at Microsoft
Practical, story-led sessions for technology leaders and Microsoft partners who need to turn big ideas into something their teams can actually use.
Speaking experience
Speaking publicly since 2005.
Selected events include Softcat Summit, Microsoft AI Tour for Partners, Arrow Agents of Change.
Signature talks
Building Microsoft Partner Practices That Scale
For: Partner leaders, practice leads and sales teams
A practical look at what separates a repeatable Microsoft practice from one that depends on individual heroics.
- Connect technical capability to a clear commercial proposition
- Spot the gaps between strategy, skills and execution
- Build operating rhythms that support consistent growth
AI Agents for Real Work
For: Technology leaders, operations teams and AI practitioners
How to move AI agents beyond demonstrations and into useful, governed work without over-engineering the answer.
- Choose valuable agent use cases rather than novelty projects
- Design human oversight into agent workflows
- Start small while keeping a path to scale
The Frontier Partner Opportunity
For: Microsoft distributors, resellers and services partners
What Microsoft's Frontier vision means for the channel, and where partners can build services customers will need next.
- Translate the Frontier Firm idea into partner opportunities
- Connect AI adoption to data, security and change services
- Turn market direction into an actionable partner plan
Shadow AI and Agent Governance
For: Business leaders, security teams and technology decision-makers
A direct look at how unmanaged AI use appears, why it matters and what sensible governance looks like in practice.
- Recognise where shadow AI risk is already forming
- Set proportionate boundaries without blocking useful work
- Build governance around identity, data and accountability
Selected appearances
The Importance of a Good Data Platform for AI
May 2026 · Keynote
Softcat Summit 2026 · London, UK
Why a strong, well-governed data platform is the foundation for AI that businesses can trust and scale.
How Copilot Is Changing the Way We Work
April 2026 · Interview
Future Generation Solutions · YouTube
A conversation about how Microsoft Copilot is changing everyday workflows and what that means for the future of productivity.
Opening Conversations for Org-Wide Transformations
February 2026 · Headline sales track session
Microsoft AI Tour for Partners · London, UK
How sales teams can open stronger customer conversations about organisation-wide AI transformation.
Helping Businesses Become Frontier Firms
November 2025 · Keynote
Arrow Agents of Change · London, UK
How Microsoft partners can help businesses take the practical steps needed to become Frontier Firms.
With Azure, You've Won an Empty Bucket
April 2025 · Podcast
Microsoft Mentors: The Podcast · LinkedIn and YouTube
How Microsoft partners can build effective strategies for growth with Microsoft Azure.
Azure Partner Success
January 2025 · Podcast
TD SYNNEX Podcast · Spotify
How distributors and resellers need to evolve their strategies to succeed in a changing market and capitalise on customer success.
For event organisers
James B. Marshall is a Chief Technology Strategist at Microsoft, where he works with the UK's largest Microsoft partners to build their cloud, AI and security practices. With over 20 years in the technology channel, James specialises in the intersection of strategy and execution: go-to-market planning, skills maturity and figuring out what actually moves the needle for partner organisations. He writes about partner strategy, AI and commercial models at jamesbmarshall.com.