Martha Williams is a senior data centre and real estate counsel in Haynes Boone’s London office, with over 20 years’ experience leading complex, high‐value real estate investment and development projects. She has a particular strength in supporting and accelerating aggressive growth strategies for a global hyperscaler and a global online retailer across the UK and EMEA, advising on multi‐megawatt acquisitions, leasing, development, infrastructure and operational matters. Combining broad private‐practice expertise with significant in‐house experience, Martha delivers highly commercial, solutions‐driven advice aligned with client objectives. She partners closely with senior

leadership to enable resilient, scalable expansion in fast‐moving operational environments. She is recognised for leading complex, multi‐jurisdictional transactions, her deep expertise in technology‐driven leasing and acquisitions, and her ability to strengthen legal frameworks to support efficient, pragmatic execution of client requirements. Her practice spans high‐value sales and acquisitions, portfolio transactions, leasing, sale‐and‐leasebacks, real estate finance, and the property aspects of corporate transactions.

Adam Eaton is Chief Executive Officer at VIRTUS Data Centres, responsible for leading the company’s next phase of growth and innovation. With over 20 years of experience across the data centre, cloud, and managed services sectors, Adam brings a proven track record in strategic leadership, business transformation, and operational excellence.

Before joining VIRTUS, Adam served as Executive Group Director for Europe at Global Switch, where he oversaw operations across the FLAPM markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Madrid) and drove transformation initiatives to strengthen performance and scale.

Michael bring 23 years of investment banking, commercial real estate, and digital infrastructure experience, and with it he brings a deep understanding how mission critical infrastructure is the bind which holds today’s digital economy together. Serving as Chief Executive Officer for Layer 9 Data Centers, Michael leads the organization’s growth initiatives into Latin America where Layer 9 will begin delivering in 2023 hyperscale data center solutions to cloud service providers and enterprise 1000 clients.

Michael has maintained leadership roles with hyperscale data center operators, Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros Technology and previously served in Portfolio Management at Equity Office Properties through the sale of the company to Blackstone in 2007. Michael’s investment banking experience at JP Morgan and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group focused on capital debt placements and distressed credit workouts. Michael recently earned his Executive Education Certifications in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence from the University Of Oxford.

Rob Donell is a Partner in Eversheds Sutherland’s real estate group, specialising in data centre transactions and data centre advisory matters. His work principally involves advising data centre operators, developers and investors on cross-border and domestic data centre investment and development projects, including joint ventures and development partnerships, and customer contracting and leasing, together with advising large data centre customers on their data centre capacity needs. Rob has deep experience in all data centre segments, AI/HPC, hyperscale, wholesale and retail colo, and edge/telco.

Prior to becoming a partner at Eversheds Sutherland, Rob spent more than a decade at a major UK-headquartered global law firm. He has also spent time seconded to a real estate investment manager and Amazon Web Services’ data centre colocation services team.

With nearly a decade in the industry, Amy spent the early part of her career delivering data centre builds for industry leading clients such as Dell, IBM, Ericsson and Vodafone. She then joined AECOM in early 2014 to drive mission critical engineering across EMEA and APAC. Her unique insight drove AECOM to become an industry thought leader and partner of choice for many global corporations and smaller niche data center operators. Amy has now joined NTT as Director in the Hyperscale team to continue NTT’s successful relationships and delivery for many of the household names in the Data Centre industry.

John Hawkins is the IBM Global Data Center Strategy and Planning Lead. John brings over 20 years and $3B of leasing experience in the data center and commercial real estate fields. John is best known for his work at Telx, where he was the Director of Global Real Estate & Data Center Expansions. During his years at Telx, John expanded the data center portfolio over seven hundred percent and negotiated over $1B+ in leases, leading to the acquisition of Telx by Digital Realty for $1.9 billion. Prior to Telx, John was Vice President of Real Estate and Data Center Logistics at Exenet Technologies, where he was responsible for the complete ownership of a multi-country facility build-out. Earlier in his career, John was Vice President of International Operations & Real Estate at The Matlen Silver Group, where he opened operations in India and Trinidad.

John earned his Masters of Real Estate at New York University and lives with his wife in North Branch, NJ

Brigitte is a Customer Success Manager at ALICE Technologies, where she works alongside

enterprise contractors, developers, and infrastructure teams across Europe to optimize

project delivery through AI-driven simulation and generative scheduling. Drawing on a strong

foundation in project controls, cost engineering, and field management, Brigitte helps major

capital project teams evaluate complex scheduling scenarios, mitigate execution risks, and

drive efficiencies across every phase of the project lifecycle.

Prior to ALICE, Brigitte served as Construction Consulting Manager at Exponent, managing

a US$7.5M advisory portfolio. There, she led program documentation governance,

compliance risk assessments across thousands of project packages, and multi-year process

optimization initiatives for major electric utilities. Earlier in her career at Skanska USA

Building, she managed foundation phases, site logistics, and quality assurance programs as

an Assistant Superintendent and Project Engineer on complex $100M+ commercial and

institutional developments while driving regional construction software enablement.

Brigitte is a frequent industry speaker and author on project controls, data-driven closeout

analytics, and construction technology, presenting at events such as AACE International,

CMAA, and the Society of Construction Law. She holds an MBA from Rotterdam School of

Management, Erasmus University, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering (High Distinction) from

Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Brigitte is a Certified Cost Professional (CCP), Certified

Construction Manager (CCM), Project Management Professional (PMP), and former

President of the AACE Boston Chapter.

A Chartered Construction Manager with more than a decade of mission-critical experience, Chris harnesses his passion for technology, innovation, and digital delivery through Design for Manufacture and Assembly, together with his knowledge of the entire project lifecycle on major projects.

As sector lead Chris engages with clients, consultants, and development managers to add value and de-risk projects through early engagement, ensuring they can be delivered at pace and scale with greater certainty to meet ever-increasing needs of safety, schedule, sustainability, and cost.

Simon has considerable risk and insurance experience in the construction sector both globally and in the UK which has been gained from nearly 35 years in the industry. Prior to taking on the position of Business Leader, Simon has managed the delivery of service for major contractors and projects with complex and demanding requirements. His knowledge and ability to manage both the strategic and operational delivery of service are recognised within the insurance industry. Simon’s role now includes the responsibility for the Construction and Infrastructure and the provision of technical and broking support to the Aon network globally. Also included as part of Simon’s team is Aon’s surety offering for both construction and commercial risks.

John Delargy is the Director of Enterprise Sales for the UK and Ireland at Procore Technologies, where he leads the business in driving digital transformation across the construction sector’s largest companies. With over 15 years of experience as a senior leader in the technology sector, John specializes in helping teams scale operations, improve productivity, and navigate complex market challenges. At Procore, John partners with major construction, engineering, and development firms across the UK and Ireland, to accelerate the adoption of technology that connects project teams, data, and processes.  

Jean-François Berche is the Chief Technology Officer at GreenScale, guiding the company’s technological vision towards infrastructure that is scalable, efficient, and above all, sustainable. He focuses on developing data centres capable of supporting the complex needs of AI-driven workloads, while ensuring GreenScale leads in technology integration within the energy ecosystem.

Jean-François previously held senior roles at Microsoft and AWS, where he was instrumental in expanding the cloud infrastructure to meet the growing demands of AI. His extensive work in site selection, colocation, and cloud region expansion at Microsoft and AWS positions him to drive GreenScale’s technological capabilities to the pinnacle of what is possible.

His passion for sustainability in technology is well-aligned with GreenScale’s mission. Outside of work, Jean-François remains committed to exploring how technology can positively impact society through sustainable and innovative practices.

Christian Goldsmith is a transformative leader in the global digital infrastructure sector, with over 25 years’ experience driving growth, innovation, and operational excellence across data centres, cloud, and technology-enabled real estate. Renowned for his strategic vision and commercial insight, Christian has orchestrated multi-billion-dollar programmes for hyperscale, colocation, and next-generation GPU-as-a-Service platforms, delivering resilient, future-ready assets for institutional investors, private equity, and leading operators.

Holding an MSc in Major Programme Management from Oxford’s Saïd Business School, Christian blends advanced academic perspective with hands-on leadership in scaling data centre businesses, navigating complex regulatory and supply chain environments, and pioneering ESG and AI-driven transformation. He excels in forging high-value partnerships, structuring investment vehicles, and enabling rapid portfolio expansion in Europe and globally.

At Arcadis, Christian leads international teams to deliver gigawatt-scale developments integrating cutting-edge engineering, sustainability, and digital innovation. As a trusted advisor to boards and C-suite stakeholders, he brings a unique ability to unlock new markets, optimize performance, and create lasting enterprise value.

A regular speaker at Global Data Center conferences and industry forums, Christian is passionate about shaping the future of digital infrastructure—advancing the role of data centres as critical enablers of urban resilience, investment returns, and technology leadership. He is now exploring board and executive opportunities with high-growth businesses and investment platforms at the forefront of cloud, colocation, and AI infrastructure.

Thomas Amram is Technical Director and Head of Energy Strategy at WSP. With 15 years' experience in the power sector, he works with policy-makers, regulators, developers, investors, utilities and large energy users to shape energy and infrastructure strategies in an increasingly constrained and rapidly evolving electricity system. His experience spans power markets, regulations, network planning and power system strategy, with a particular focus on how growing demand can be accommodated while maintaining reliable and efficient system operation. He advises organisations across the energy ecosystem on the challenges and opportunities created by electrification, including the rapid growth of data centres.

Graham Scandrett is an experienced business leader with extensive expertise in power generation solutions, helping organisations secure resilient, efficient, and flexible energy infrastructure across a wide range of sectors. Known for building strong relationships and taking a collaborative approach, Graham combines industry knowledge with strategic insight to help customers navigate evolving energy demands, enhance operational resilience, and support their long-term sustainability goals. He is passionate about delivering practical solutions that create lasting value while enabling businesses to operate with confidence in an increasingly complex energy landscape.

Shashank Krishna leads Greenberg Traurig’s London Energy Practice, advising on high-value energy and infrastructure transactions across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He has worked on transactions worth nearly US$100 billion across almost 50 jurisdictions, with particular experience in energy transition, renewables and strategic infrastructure. His practice is especially relevant to the rapidly growing data centre sector, where access to power, energy infrastructure and investment are increasingly critical to development. Recognised by The Legal 500 UK, Shashank advises on complex cross-border investments, joint ventures and major project developments.

Eddie is a dual-Chartered Engineer and Director at IN2, with 15 years’ experience leading their London office and delivering sustainable MEP design across the UK. He works various sectors, with a particular emphasis on Data Centres and mission critical environments.

Kathryn is a Partner in Trowers & Hamlins' Construction team. Specialising in non-contentious projects, with experience of contentious matters, she advises clients throughout the lifecycle of construction and engineering projects, experienced in procurement methods and drafting and negotiating core and ancillary construction documents such as building contracts, professional appointments, development agreements, collateral warranties/direct agreements, bonds, guarantees and documents to meet third party requirements. Kathryn specialises in data centres, complex and digital infrastructure projects, technology/energy efficiency and energy management schemes, renewable energy, development of logistics and distribution facilities, as well as the development of luxury residential and commercial apartments, new hotels and upgrades, retrofits and refurbishments of commercial, residential and change of use. Kathryn acts for a range of clients, including investors, corporates, banks, developers, operators/owners, private individuals, contractors, and construction professionals, advising on management of contractual and legal issues that arise in construction aspects of projects and transactions, including real estate (acquisitions, disposals, landlord/tenant), retail/leisure, corporate, energy, financial services, and technology/ communications.