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Speakers and Panels

State of the Rocky Mountain Region and Key Growth Markets: Meeting the Data Center Surge

David Dunn

David Dunn

COO

H5 Data Centers

Tara Risser

Tara Risser

Chief Business Officer

Cologix

Craig Cook

Craig Cook

SVP, Solutions Architecture & Engineering

Flexential

Shawn Ronda
Moderator

Shawn Ronda

Shareholder

Greenberg Traurig

David Dunn

COO

H5 Data Centers

David Dunn is COO of H5 Data Centers. Mr. Dunn has nearly 15 years of experience managing significant growth and delivering outsized returns on investment in the Internet infrastructure space. Mr. Dunn most recently served as vice president at the Zayo Group where he was responsible for managing the wavelength and mobile infrastructure business units. Prior to Zayo, Mr. Dunn was senior vice president at CoreSite where he held leadership roles in mergers & acquisitions, leasing, marketing and strategy. Before joining CoreSite, Mr. Dunn held roles at several private equity firms including The Carlyle Group and J.E. Robert Companies. Mr. Dunn earned a B.S. in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Tara Risser

Chief Business Officer

Cologix

Tara Risser is the Chief Business Officer at Cologix and is responsible for leading

corporate development, analyzing key markets and trends and building new

partnerships to evolve our post-customer deployments. Risser also drives market

expansion and strategic partnerships, focusing on key growth areas like

interconnection, AI and hybrid cloud while optimizing our asset portfolio. Additionally,

Risser leads our corporate strategy for expansion into new markets.

With 25 years of experience in the data center, IT, telecommunications and construction

industries, she has held leadership roles in go-to-market programs, strategic planning,

corporate development, integrations, customer success and transformational programs.

Before Cologix, Tara spent nine years at Equinix, most recently as President of the

Americas, where she was responsible for management, strategy and growth throughout

North and South America. She also served as the Senior Vice President, Global

Customer Care and Experience at Equinix, helping to broaden the organization’s range

from reactive support to proactive engagements. Before Equinix, Tara spent over 14

years in customer-facing roles at Level 3 Communications, including leadership

positions in sales effectiveness, integration, sales engineering and customer care.

As a champion for diversity and inclusion, Tara is deeply engaged in efforts in the

corporate world and the non-profit sector to support women’s and human rights,

including serving as a board member for Shadhika, a not-for-profit organization

dedicated to gender equality in India.

Tara holds an M.S. in business from the University of Colorado and a B.S. in Chemical

Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

Craig Cook

SVP, Solutions Architecture & Engineering

Flexential

Craig Cook has extensive work experience in the technology industry. Craig currently holds the role of SVP, Solutions Architecture & Engineering at Flexential, a position they have held since May 2020. Prior to this, they served as VP, Solutions Architecture and Engineering at Flexential from January 2018 to May 2020. Before joining Flexential, Craig worked at Peak 10 + ViaWest as the VP, Solutions Architecture & Engineering from August 2017 to January 2018. Craig also held the position of VP, Client Solutions & Services at ViaWest from June 2016 to August 2017.

Shawn Ronda

Moderator

Greenberg Traurig

Shawn Ronda focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions and digital infrastructure transactions. Shawn guides clients through virtually all aspects of real estate acquisitions and dispositions as well as finance, leasing, and real estate development, with an emphasis on real estate development for data center, student housing, mixed-use, and retail projects both in the Chicago area and throughout the United States. Shawn regularly represents developers, operators, institutional clients, private equity companies, investors, and joint venture partners.

Shawn regularly advises clients on portfolio transactions across a wide variety of asset classes. He also advises clients with respect to the real estate related aspects of mergers and acquisitions, regularly handling the negotiation of asset purchase agreements and merger documents, as well as the implementation of related due diligence strategies and activities.

Shawn is committed to serving the local community, having served on the Program Committee of ULI Chicago, and the Associate Board of the Chicago Committee for Minorities in Large Law Firms. Shawn currently serves on the Board of Directors of Family Rescue Inc., and the Development Committee of the Chicago Bar Foundation.

Redefining Data Center Operations and Cooling: Scaling for AI, Efficiency, and Resiliency

Mukul Anand

Mukul Anand

Senior Director, Application Engineering

Nortek Data Center Cooling

Jeff Flory

Jeff Flory

VP, Operations

TA Digital Group

Anthony Hatzenbuehler

Anthony Hatzenbuehler

SVP, Data Center Operations

CoreSite

Mike Penland

Mike Penland

Sr. Director, Operational Excellence

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Ryan Sims

Ryan Sims

Market Segment Director

Swanson Rink

Ralph Conklin
Moderator

Ralph Conklin

Director of DVL Services

DVL Group

Jeff Flory

VP, Operations

TA Digital Group

Jeff Flory, Vice President of Operations at TA Digital Group, brings nearly 30 years of expertise as he leads the company’s execution of operational strategy. At TA Digital Group, Jeff plays a pivotal role in ensuring TA Digital Group delivers resilient, efficient, and scalable solutions to its clients. Jeff brings an extensive track record of mission-critical operational and team leadership experience spanning from the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Program, power plant operations, greenfield data center startups, to hyperscale data center operations.

Mike Penland

Sr. Director, Operational Excellence

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

As Senior Director of Operational Excellence for EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, Mike Penland is standardizing and optimizing their Operations team's day-to-day business. His key responsibilities include enhancing training programs, refining maintenance procedures, developing robust disaster response and recovery plans, and ensuring overall data center readiness and peak performance. Prior to his current role at EdgeCore, Mike built a strong foundation in critical operations and high-stakes environments during his 12 years of service in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear power plant operator. Transitioning his expertise to the data center industry, he began his career working in critical operations roles, first at STACK Infrastructure for two years, followed by a year and a half at Comcast.

Ryan Sims

Market Segment Director

Swanson Rink

As a Market Segment Director on Swanson Rink’s Mission Critical projects, Ryan Sims is responsible for managing the design process and coordinating with the Owner and construction team to help successfully deliver projects with no downtime to operations. Mr. Sims has a passion for the data center industry and helps work with clients to find solutions in challenging situations. He is a key team member for Swanson Rink, a Denver and Phoenix based consulting engineering firm providing design services across the US for mission critical companies.

Ralph Conklin

Moderator

DVL Group

As Director of DVL Services for DVL Group, Ralph leads a team of sales managers, leveraging his deep expertise in critical infrastructure, particularly data center thermal management, to deliver high-value service solutions to clients. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Ralph previously held roles in Product Support, Product Management and Product Engineering at Liebert (now Vertiv), where he focused on optimizing data center efficiency and thermal performance through solutions like EC fans, fan retrofits, DSE Optimization and iCOM Controls upgrades. At DVL, Ralph now drives service portfolio growth in all DVL markets, focusing on maximizing uptime, extending equipment lifespan, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring customer satisfaction through tailored service offerings for critical environments. Ralph holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Franklin University.

Fireside Chat: Prioritizing Data Center Security from the Outside In

Alec Kirkman

Alec Kirkman

Senior Security Industry Specialist

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Teresa Giralt
Moderator

Teresa Giralt

Business Development Specialist, Data Centers

Ameristar Perimeter Security USA

Alec Kirkman

Senior Security Industry Specialist

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Alec Kirkman is a Senior Industry Specialist at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He leads an Operational Excellence team within AWS Security focused on direct engagement with a global portfolio of regulators, customers, and third parties interested in the security, resiliency, and compliance of AWS services.

Teresa Giralt

Moderator

Ameristar Perimeter Security USA

Teresa Giralt is the National Business Development Lead for Ameristar Perimeter Security, an ASSA ABLOY Group brand, where she focuses on securing mission-critical infrastructure with an emphasis on enterprise and colocation data centers. She works closely with general contractors, developers, and operators to deliver scalable, future-ready perimeter solutions—from early planning phases to complex retrofits.

Prior to joining Ameristar, Teresa led business development and marketing efforts for Turner Construction Company in South Florida, giving her a strong foundation in large-scale construction and client strategy. Her unique blend of construction and security expertise makes her a valuable voice in conversations around data center protection.

Accelerating Development: Balancing Total Cost of Ownership and Speed to Market

Daniel Cheney

Daniel Cheney

VP, Mission Critical

Doxel

Brendan Foley

Brendan Foley

VP, Procurement

Prime Data Centers

Kevin Garrett

Kevin Garrett

Sr. Project Engineer

Martin/Martin Consulting

Jeff Ivey

Jeff Ivey

VP, Data Center Construction

Crusoe

Hani Noshi

Hani Noshi

Principal Program Manager, Data Center Delivery (DCD)

Microsoft

Drew Unger

Drew Unger

EVP

Polargy

Christian Deputy
Moderator

Christian Deputy

President, Utah

Lockton Companies

Daniel Cheney

VP, Mission Critical

Doxel

Daniel is responsible for mission critical construction for new and existing Doxel customers. He and his team help clients identify use cases for Doxel’s AI solutions to reduce construction costs and accelerate progress. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a Masters of International Business from the University of Florida. Outside of work, he enjoys surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco and snowboarding in Lake Tahoe.

Brendan Foley

VP, Procurement

Prime Data Centers

Brendan Foley is the Vice President of Procurement at Prime Data Centers, where he drives strategic sourcing and supply chain excellence to support large-scale data center development and operations. With a strong background in procurement and operations leadership, Brendan combines industry insight with a passion for building high-performing teams and fostering collaborative partnerships across cross-functional stakeholders. Based in Denver, CO, he brings practical experience in negotiating complex contracts and optimizing supplier ecosystems to deliver value and efficiency for critical infrastructure projects.

Kevin Garrett

Sr. Project Engineer

Martin/Martin Consulting

Kevin brings over nine years of experience as a consulting structural engineer with Martin/Martin, specializing in the structural design and project management of advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and data center facilities. As a recognized subject matter expert in data center design, Kevin offers deep expertise in multi-discipline coordination, retrofits and upgrades of existing facilities, and structural support for specialty equipment.

Throughout his career, Kevin has built strong partnerships with owners' representatives, contractors, and design teams, consistently delivering highly coordinated and efficient solutions. His hands-on field observation experience, combined with a proactive, collaborative approach, makes him a trusted advisor on complex projects requiring high-performance outcomes and accelerated schedules. Kevin’s work is distinguished by his ability to seamlessly integrate structural needs into the larger goals of mission-critical environments.

Hani Noshi

Principal Program Manager, Data Center Delivery (DCD)

Microsoft

Hani Noshi is a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft. Hani has 20+ years of Projects, Operations, Strategy, and Business Transformation experience.

In the Operations Excellence space, Hani focused on the full life cycle of operations transformation: from target operating model design through to operations transformation delivery, change management and implementation. Hani has led projects in Oil & Gas, Resources, and Consumer Products operating groups in 4 continents and 36 countries.

In consulting, Hani has provided services involving supply chain lean transformation and process excellence for several large clients. He prides himself on his ability to help clients through complex transformations. A few noteworthy examples include:

Helping an Energy Supermajor organization to develop a multi-million dollar business case to streamline their Capital Projects and Engineering processes resulting in $200M in savings and a 15 times return on investment.

Advising a public utility company through a full core business transformation and helping an executive team through the development of one of the most ambitious business transformation strategies in their industry resulting in an $148M in cummulative savings over 3 years.

During this time Hani was also involved in innovative thought leadership where he published white paper articles in the Lean New Product Introduction and Rapid & Sustained Cost Management space.

Prior to joining Accenture, Hani started his career in industry with General Electric Company in 1999, where he joined their Operations Management Leadership program. He then held various functions in hard core manufacturing, supply chain, and product development with increasing levels of responsibility. Throughout Hani’s career in GE, he was promoted throughout several GE businesses where he invented five US and European patents.

Drew Unger

EVP

Polargy

Drew leads the commercial efforts at Polargy. He has a decade of experience providing infrastructure to the mission critical market and leading teams to achieve optimal results for the customer. Prior to joining Polargy, Drew was leading sales at DAMAC, where the majority of his time was spent in the hyperscale space creating custom tailored products. He thoroughly enjoys working within the space and is excited to watch the continued growth and new faces join as we all scale.

Christian Deputy

Moderator

Lockton Companies

Christian has over 20 years of experience in the commercial insurance brokerage industry. He has held various leadership positions including Chief Sales Officer and President. He is

dedicated to helping organizations grow and build value. As a relationship-focused leader, Christian engages with people to understand their needs and builds teams capable of creatively solving problems.

His extensive experience spans start-ups, non-profits, and multi-billion dollar public and private organizations. Christian has consulted numerous mergers and acquisitions. He also has vast expertise working with Digital Infrastructure and Technology companies, helping them navigate complex insurance environments and implement innovative risk management solutions.

The Data Center Location Equation: Power, Connectivity and Site Selection

Renee Dowis

Renee Dowis

Data Center Advisor

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing

Somesh Kumar

Somesh Kumar

Principal, Data Center Site Selection

Oracle

John Malone

John Malone

Principal

AVAIO Capital

Abhilash Kunnatoor Margabandu

Abhilash Kunnatoor Margabandu

VP, Infrastructure Engineering

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Chris Cole
Moderator

Chris Cole

VP

Encore Electric

Renee Dowis

Data Center Advisor

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing

Renee brings a people-first approach to navigating the fast-moving, high-stakes world of data centers and communications. With experience in both startup and enterprise environments, she’s known for building strong partnerships across finance, operations, and procurement to align priorities, strengthen resilience, and deliver results that last. Energized by the possibilities of emerging AI, Renee is passionate about using technology to bring clarity and capability to the growing complexity of data centers.

John Malone

Principal

AVAIO Capital

John brings nearly 20 years of experience in energy and infrastructure finance as an investor,

advisor, analyst, field scientist, and consultant. He has sourced and analyzed opportunities

across the energy value chain and has both technical and commercial experience in

international infrastructure and energy project development, including in renewables, thermal

generation, midstream and storage. At AVAIO, John focuses on digital infrastructure and energy

investments, and leads ADP’s sourcing initiatives across North America and Europe, matching

emerging customer demands with market opportunities.

Prior to joining AVAIO, John served as a Principal at Prostar Capital, a middle-market private

equity fund, responsible for sourcing and analyzing energy investment opportunities. Prior to

Prostar, John led energy research efforts for Mizuho Securities and was a Managing Director at

Global Hunter Securities, an energy-focused boutique investment bank. John is also a member

of the Infrastructure Masons Sustainability Committee. John holds a B.A. in International

Relations from Lehigh University, an M.Sc. in Geological and Marine Sciences from the

University of Maine and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Trinity College Dublin.

Chris Cole

Moderator

Encore Electric

Chris Cole is a VP of Business Development and a member of executive leadership for Encore Electric. Focusing on strategic markets, Cole delivers certainty of results by offering a commitment to both technical expertise and workforce capability in development and execution of projects. Responsibilities include internal alignment and growth of team expertise and leveraging that strength in the best interest of our customers.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN AT THIS DATA CENTER EVENT

What You'll Learn

  • Denver metro area alone has a total of 83.3MW of data center inventory, with an additional 8MW under construction - how much more growth can we expect to see in the Denver and Colorado market?

  • How are the challenges around price and power limitations in primary markets impacting secondary markets like Denver? What challenges in these markets can we expect to see in the coming year?

  • What types of customers are driving demand in the region? How is it changing?

  • Where are we in the AI hype cycle and what can we expect to see across markets for AI applications?

  • How are operators thinking about liquid cooling and whether or not to apply it in their data centers? How are they incorporating flexibility into the facilities for future changes?

  • How are developers and service providers working to bring more capacity and increasing power consumption while solving for sustainability? Can it be done effectively?

  • How are construction and engineering approaches changing as facilities continue to scale in size and complexity?

How You'll Do More Business From Attending: Get up to speed on one of the strongest tier II data center markets in the US, learn what customers are looking for and make better business decisions based on the right insights.

Who You'll Meet During Networking: CEOs, investors, vice president of design and construction, owners, head of acquisitions, providers, contractors, engineers, brokers, developers

Are you an end user*?

Click here to be considered for a complimentary pass. *Hyperscaler, colocation provider (non-sales), investor, private equity, or enterprise tenant.

To request disability-related accommodations, please contact ally.araco@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.

For questions, group ticket rates or interest in becoming a speaker or sponsor, please email our DICE Global Director, Adam Knobloch, adam.knobloch@bisnow.com

Venue

The Westin Denver Downtown
1672 Lawrence Street
Denver, CO 80202

Ballroom/Floor: Confluence Ballroom / Mezzanine floor


Self parking: 90min- 12 hours = $23
Valet: 0-3 hours = $24 3-8 hours = $30

The hotel has limited valet sports.
The best way to park for this event is street parking or in the Tabor Center Parking Garage connected to the hotel.

Get Directions

Agenda

Time Activity
1:30 PM
2:25 PM
Registration, Breakfast and Networking
2:25 PM
2:30 PM
Welcome to DICE Rockies!
2:30 PM
3:10 PM
State of the Rocky Mountain Region and Key Growth Markets: Meeting the Data Center Surge

With surging AI demand and hyperscaler interest, Colorado and other Rocky Mountain markets are entering a new phase of data center development. Power availability, water access, ESG pressures, and land scarcity are reshaping site selection and expansion strategies. Meanwhile, adjacent secondary markets like Utah and New Mexico are emerging as critical backup hubs. How will these evolving conditions define which regions will thrive amid the AI and cloud supercycle?

3:10 PM
3:50 PM
Redefining Data Center Operations and Cooling: Scaling for AI, Efficiency, and Resiliency

With rack densities soaring and sustainability targets tightening, traditional operations models and cooling strategies are under pressure. Operators are adapting with liquid cooling, predictive analytics, and automation to ensure resilience and efficiency. How are operations leaders evolving to meet the high-performance, high-sustainability demands of next-generation data centers?

3:50 PM
4:10 PM
Fireside Chat: Prioritizing Data Center Security from the Outside In
4:10 PM
4:40 PM
Networking Break
4:40 PM
5:25 PM
Accelerating Development: Balancing Total Cost of Ownership and Speed to Market

As demand outpaces supply, developers are deploying creative strategies to stay ahead. Yet rising costs and regional constraints complicate execution.What tactics are most effective in compressing timelines while preserving long-term value and performance? How is the scale of these new campuses changing development dynamics?

5:25 PM
6:05 PM
The Data Center Location Equation: Power, Connectivity and Site Selection

Power, connectivity and community are some of the key factors that determine the location of data centers. As the power grid gets pushed beyond its limits and community pushback heightens, how are developers assessing where to build next? What type of network does AI infrastructure require? How is the site selection process changing and what are solutions to limited power availability?

6:05 PM
6:30 PM
Post-Event Networking

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