Chris Hoard is currently Partner Education Lead at Infinigate Cloud. A six-time Microsoft MVP in the areas of Security (4) and Microsoft 365 Apps and Services (5), he has been an active certified trainer since 2018, holding the postion of MCT Regional Lead for the UK three times. He is a formally qualified secondary school teacher (PGCE / QTS). With over seventeen years of practical cloud experience specialising in provisioning, professional services and architecture – a decade of that active in the field – he has built and leads Infinigate Cloud’s education, enablement and skilling pillar servicing over 800 Microsoft partners throughout EMEA. His technical focus is broad – ranging from Microsoft 365 and the Microsoft Security stack, to Microsoft Azure (Infrastructure, DevOps) and AI including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Security Copilot and Copilot Studio. Out of the office, he enjoys spending time with his family and participating in traditional pursuits. At the time of writing (Nov 2025), he ranked 10th all-time on the Microsoft Tech Community (MTC) with over 1000 solutions and the highest ever response-to-solution ratio, and was ranked No 1 contributor to the Microsoft Security CCP program for both 2023 and 2024. Since 2019 he has spoken at many international events including Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft Build, Microsoft Secure, the Microsoft MVP Summit, MCT Connect and the Modern Workplace Conference Paris. He was the co-creator and principal of community events such as Teams Nation and Metaverse One.
Certifications | Active (Microsoft Learn)
| Certification | Exam | Field |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Collaboration Communications Systems Engineer Associate | 721 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert | 100/1 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals | 900 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Modern Desktop Administrator Associate | 100/1 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate | 700 | M365 |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate | 100/1 | Azure |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals | 900 | Azure |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals | 900 | Azure |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals | 900 | Azure |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate | 500 | Azure |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert | 305 | Azure |
| Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert | 100 | Security |
| Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals | 901 | Bus Apps |
| Microsoft Certified: Educator Expert | 193 | Edu |
| Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate | 300 | Security |
| Microsoft Certified: Information Protection Administrator Associate | 400 | Security |
| Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate | 401 | Security |
| Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate | 200 | Bus Apps |
| Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals | 900 | Bus Apps |
| Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals | 900 | Security |
| Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate | 200 | Security |
| Microsoft Innovative Educator | N/A | N/A |
Certifications | Legacy
| Certification | Exam | Field |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Messaging Administrator Associate | 203 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate | 500 | Security |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Support Engineer Specialty | 740 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Voice Engineer Expert | 720 | M365 |
| Microsoft 365 Certified Teamwork Administrator Associate | 300/1 | M365 |
| Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate: Office 365 | 346/7 | O365 |
| Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Productivity | 345 | O365 |
| Microsoft Technology Associate: Cloud Fundamentals | 369 | O365 |
| Microsoft Technology Associate: Mobility and Device Fundamentals | 368 | O365 |
| Microsoft Technology Associate: Security Fundamentals | 367 | Security |
Awards
| Award | Year |
| Microsoft MCT Regional Lead | 2020/21 |
| Microsoft MCT Regional Lead | 2021/23 |
| Microsoft MCT Regional Lead | 2023/24 |
| Microsoft MVP M365 Apps and Services | 2020/21 |
| Microsoft MVP M365 Apps and Services | 2021/22 |
| Microsoft MVP M365 Apps and Services | 2022/23 |
| Microsoft MVP M365 Apps and Services | 2023/24 |
| Microsoft MVP M365 Apps and Services | 2024/25 |
| Microsoft MVP Security | 2022/23 |
| Microsoft MVP Security | 2023/24 |
| Microsoft MVP Security | 2024/25 |
| Microsoft MVP Security | 2025/26 |
User Groups and Conferences
| User Group | Role | Since |
| Metaverse One | Principal | 2022/22 |
| Teams Nation | Principal | 2019/24 |
| Teams Nation Meetup | Principal | 2019/22 |
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