Wow! What can I say?

It’s crazy to think a week has already flown by since the eve of the Global Excel Summit 2025.

Reading all the rave reviews flooding in since has been great. Such is the eagerness of so many to express their joy, I almost feel a little late with mine. But at this rate, I’m sure we’re going to see even more trickle in for the next week or two.

Nevertheless, four core elements were front and centre of the whole experience: education, entertainment, inspiration, and socialisation — all nicely wrapped into an action-packed three-day jamboree.

Bringing together the Excel community under the same roof is no mean feat. It takes preparation, organisation, and determination to make it all happen before and during the event.

After last year’s successful inaugural in-person edition, many familiar faces returned to London, joined by a sizable flock of new gatherers to enjoy a conveyor belt of sessions from A-list names (I won’t upset anyone by suggesting any speaker was below that).

I could attempt to explicitly list everyone I met as well as my favourite sessions, but that would trigger inevitable grumbles of what about me? and what about mine?

Honestly, there are so many to name. However, a couple of memories really stood out for me.

Firstly, hearing the new entrance music was a great reminder of how the very decisions I influenced played out in reality.

I repeatedly pushed for that this year, and it was me who chose a couple of the songs you heard across the two days, so it really felt like music to my ears.

I also had a smug smile on my face when Mark Proctor offered a rebuttal to one of my LinkedIn posts from a few months back, having complained that Office Scripts is a ‘damp squib’.

I can’t say he’s totally convinced me, but I did enjoy his presentation and some of the cool automations he showed off by combining Office Scripts with Power Automate.

Amongst all the great conversations I had in the Networking Area, particularly with Anna Niedzwiecka and Patryk Samborski, I’d like to say thank you to carlos barboza and Global Excel Award winner Erik Oehm for giving me one of their stickers.

I’m afraid I won’t be putting them on my laptop lid. I had a couple of Excel stickers on my last MacBook, and they left a noticeable stain when I removed them. I’m sure I’ll find another use for them, though.

A shoutout must also go to Taglo‘s Tim Jacks. An impromptu conversation at the end of Day 2 led to him kindly sending me his darts Excel workbook that he showed off during his session. It looked fascinating to me, so I’m glad I asked!

And finally, I’m tempted to take all the credit for everything that went well. 😄 However, it’s a team game, so a massive thanks must go to Tea Kuseva, Elena Lalovska, Annie Dimcheva, and Mina Nesheva for helping the event to run so smoothly.

I hope everyone enjoyed their time!