5th Annual Chicago Data Center Boom!

Paul is responsible for leading the firm’s consulting practice in the areas of data center development, total cost of ownership (TCO), mergers and acquisitions (infrastructure), and technology migration services. Over his career, Paul has consulted within the data center sector in Europe, Pacific Rim, North America, and South America. Additionally, he is an internationally renowned speaker and has authored numerous articles published in industry publications.

North American Agency Practice Leader PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Todd Bateman leads the Data Center Solutions (DCS) efforts to service and advise owners and operators of data centers and other Mission Critical real estate. As the leader of the DCS’s Agency Practice for North America, Todd is able to bring CBRE’s market knowledge and intellectual capital to this asset class. As a member of the DCS executive committee, Todd implements new policies while providing clear direction for the group’s ongoing team efforts. For the last seven years, Todd spent his time helping the world’s largest providers of Mission Critical space with the acquisition, disposition, leasing and marketing of their data center assets nationally and globally. He is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on the needs of data center space operators and the market dynamics that affect their projects. Recently, Todd has been a key advisor for several of North America’s largest data center developments. Since entering the commercial real estate industry in 2000, Todd developed expertise in the areas of Global Corporate Services and Mission Critical Facilities. His efforts have been focused on portfolio management and project execution around the world. During his career, Todd has lived and worked in Chicago, London and Washington, D.C., where he has gained the trust of a number of the world’s largest companies for projects on six continents. Todd’s past and current clients include: Digital Realty, Sabey Data Centers and Stream Data Centers. Most recently, Todd created and managed what is widely held as the leading multi-market practice for agency work in the mission critical space. The brand identity and exposure Todd created have helped numerous providers’ better leverage the market and execute their respective business plans.

Alex is one of the DCA Group’s truly national players, crisscrossing the country every year for site selection, advisory, and transactional work for his mission critical clients. Alex joined the firm in 2000 and was immediately drawn into work servicing the telecommunications boom by representing tenants in the acquisition of mission critical data centers and telecom facilities. In 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016 Alex was the top producing broker in Chicago and the Midwest for C&W including ranking number 11 in the entire company. He is the youngest Vice Chair in the company.

Nabon is the Site Director for the QTS Chicago facility. Nabon was formerly with Zayo/Latisys where he was the Regional Director for East Coast Operations, having responsibility for all of Zayo’s data centers in the East region of the United States. Prior to this, he was with Equinix, Stargate and Emerson/Liebert fulfilling electrical engineering and facility management roles. Nabon served in the U.S. Navy in his early career where he was a nuclear trained electrician aboard a fast-attack submarine.

Sean Reynolds is a Managing Director with JLL and is the co-leader of the Midwest Chicago Data Center Services. Focusing exclusively in tenant / user representation, Sean assists his clients in data center and office strategic real estate planning, acquisition and disposition of real estate assets, financial analysis, lease and MSA analysis, and market valuations. Specialties Data Center and Office Specialist. Years of experience ​ 15 years Experience Sean started as an Associate at The Staubach Company in 2000 and worked his way to Principal in 2007. Sean has been a consistent leader within Jones Lang LaSalle and has been recognized globally five of the last seven years. Sean’s list of clients includes Comcast, Walgreens, Computer Associates, Huron Consulting, UAL, Roosevelt University, Karbal Cohen Economue Silk & Dunne, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Williams Lea, the Chicago Housing Authority, Geneva Investment, Kovitz Investment Group and the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Key transactions Comcast (portfolio) Williams Lea (portfolio) Chicago Housing Authority (portfolio) UAL - 130,000 s.f. Cancer Treatment Centers - 90,000 s.f. DuPage Technology Park - 72,000 s.f. Walgreen's - 50,000 s.f. TCF Inventory Finance - 45,000 s.f. ASCP - 32,000 s.f. Karbal Cohen Economue Silk & Dunne - 16,000 s.f. Quad Graphics - 15,500 s.f. Computer Associates - 2,000 s.f. Awards Jones Lang LaSalle – “Top Gun” 2006 & 2011 & “Top Achiever” 2005, 2007 & 2010 Education B.A. Economics – University of Iowa Affiliations Completed Data Center Dynamics Course- “Design Awareness” Illinois Real Estate Licensed Broker Jones Lang LaSalle –Multiple public speaking engagements, seminars and publications regarding data center trends and real estate strategies​

Currently serving as the Vice President & General Manager for Mortenson’s Chicago office, Andy is focused on overall strategy development and direction of all facets of the group, including relationship management, preconstruction, construction and business development activities. He also works closely with Mortenson’s national Mission Critical team of experts across the country. Andy's unique technical background in MEP systems and passion for customer service has led to a robust career at Mortenson. Andy was selected to be part of Mortenson’s first international project, a substrates facility for Seagate Technology in Limavady, Northern Ireland. He has worked on a multitude of impressive projects, including the $211 million Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In June 2003, he returned to Chicago to become part of Mortenson’s Chicago operating group. Since then, Andy has worked on over $900 million of healthcare projects in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, while simultaneously leading Mortenson’s development of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) and Building Information Modeling (BIM). He actively participates in promoting the progress and education of these dynamic areas of our industry. Andy also served as the Director of Business Development for the Chicago office and was involved in many notable projects including data centers for QTS, Allstate Insurance, United Airlines and other mission critical customers and construction of the new Lurie Children’s hospital. Outside of Mortenson, Andy keeps a busy agenda filled with speaking engagements and civic activities.

Rafal Rak is Vice President of Digital Realty and serves as the company’s Portfolio Manager for Midwest and West regions. In this capacity, he has overall responsibility for strategic planning, development, operations, leasing and financial performance of 48 buildings with 9.2 million rentable square feet. Digital Realty is a leading global data center Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with 215 properties in 14 countries and 36 markets representing 34 million square feet in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. Digital Realty is the 8th largest publicly-traded REITs in the U.S. with a market capitalization of approximately $27 billion, a member of the prestigious S&P 500 and has been recognized by the EPA as one of the top 100 largest buyers of renewal energy.

A former U.S. Air Force officer who helped launch GPS satellites into orbit, as Chief Customer Officer, Craig leads the cross-functional management of T5’s customer engagement and success programs along with the development and execution of all corporate marketing and communications strategies. Craig holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Miami and a Master of Business Administration with concentrations in finance and marketing from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Andy Cvengros is a Managing Director with JLL and is member of the firm’s Data Center Services Practice. Focusing exclusively in mission critical tenant / user representation and project management, Andy assists his clients in strategic planning, acquisition and disposition of heavy infrastructure and data center assets, financial analysis, geographic risk planning, lease analysis and negotiations, market valuations and technology consulting services. He has worked with many multi-national F500 organizations to help define and implement their data center sourcing and site selection strategy globally. Prior to joining JLL, Andy worked within Hewlett Packard’s Data Center Consulting group (formerly EYP), assisting clients in aligning their IT, Facility and Business requirements. He draws on his experience in working with IT to match virtualization, cloud computing and disaster recovery strategies to data center facility builds and capacity planning. By understanding the dynamic drivers of a data center, he is able to provide valuable insight to all parties.