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Event Host

DataBank

DataBank

8375 Dominion Parkway – Plano, TX – DataBank’s newest Uptime Certified TIER III Data Center, and the third in the Dallas area, is open for business in Plano, TX. The 144,000SF facility provides over 72,000SF of raised-floor space for build-to-suit client deployments. Our Plano data center is located near Legacy Park and offers network availability to multiple dark fiber providers with redundant backbone connectivity, public cloud on-ramps, access to Peering Fabrics and blended-bandwidth solutions to meet any business requirement. Diverse utility feeds provide more than 40MW of power, and the total footprint of the facility can be expanded to 265,000SF. Security measures include full perimeter fencing, round-the-clock on-site security personnel and dual-factor authentication (card and biometric) on exterior entry and all data center entrances.

Presented By

Speakers and Panels

Gertrude Van Horn

Gertrude Van Horn

CIO

NCH Corporation

Ellen Barker

Ellen Barker

CIO

Texas Instruments

Valerie Freeman

Valerie Freeman

CEO & Advisory Council Leader

The Imprimis Group

Shaunna Black

Shaunna Black

Managing Partner

Venture Pacific Group, International

David Herr

David Herr

CTO

Dallas Mavericks

Lisa Danzer

Lisa Danzer

Data Strategist

Pure Storage

Nancy Green

Nancy Green

Global Practice Lead, Healthcare & Strategy

Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson

CIO & Digital Leader, North America

Schneider Electric

Michelle Johnson

Michelle Johnson

CIO

The Freeman Company

Melvin Greer

Melvin Greer

SVP, Chief Data Scientist

TeleElevate Innovation Lab

Dave Crowley

Dave Crowley

Founder

Telcopedia Consulting

Michael Brady

Michael Brady

CIO

USAA

Chris Gates

Chris Gates

CTO

Allstate

Sherif Mityas

Sherif Mityas

Chief Experience Officer

TGI Fridays

Barry Shurkey

Barry Shurkey

CIO

NTT Data

Dalia Powers

Dalia Powers

CIO, Digital & Technology Enterprise Services

CBRE

Neelu Sethi

Neelu Sethi

CIO

Reddy Ice

Robert Goldstein

Robert Goldstein

Assistant VP, IT

Mr. Cooper

Robert Goldstein

Robert Goldstein

Assistant VP, IT

Mr. Cooper

Michael Foust

Michael Foust

Chairman

Bridge Data Centres | DataBank | Vantage Data Centers

John Regan

John Regan

Chief Investment Officer

Carter Funds

Jason Reed

Jason Reed

Chief Acquisitions Officer

Carter Validus

Jonathan Schildkraut

Jonathan Schildkraut

CFO, Compass Quantum & SVP, Development

Compass Datacenters

Anthony Wanger

Anthony Wanger

Founder & CEO

Regnaw Capital

John Sheputis

John Sheputis

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Primary Digital Infrastructure

Chris Crosby

Chris Crosby

CEO

Compass Datacenters

Corey Welp

Corey Welp

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty

Jonathan Lin

Jonathan Lin

VP, Corporate Development and Strategy

Equinix

Clint Heiden

Clint Heiden

CRO

QTS

Jared Day

Jared Day

President & CFO

Compass Datacenters

Arman Khalili

Arman Khalili

Partner

Blackstart Infrastructure Partners

Michael Lahoud

Michael Lahoud

Partner & COO

Stream Data Centers

Ryan Oro

Ryan Oro

Senior VP, Revenue

EdgeCore Internet Real Estate

Ab Atkins

Ab Atkins

Senior VP, Development

KDC Real Estate Development & Investments

Pete Marin

Pete Marin

President & CEO

T5 Data Centers

Kemal Hawa
Moderator

Kemal Hawa

Partner

Kirkland & Ellis

Emily Naughton
Moderator

Emily Naughton

Partner

Mayer Brown

Dave Crowley

Founder

Telcopedia Consulting

An Industry Technology Consultant, C-Level Executive, Board Member, Innovator and Investor with a history of leading strategic teams to including: renewable energy, hyper-scale land developer, network infrastructure (Terrestrial/Submarine Cable Systems, Metro/Long Haul Dark Fiber, Lit Services); content distribution networks; data center relations and design, as well as internet peering/transit. With over 30 years’ experience, David embodies a unique industry perspective and can articulate an in-depth knowledge of network design, architecture, capacity management, traffic engineering, deployment, scheduling and support for some of the world’s largest network infrastructures. David managed a $1B annual network infrastructure budget spanning the globe with multiple investments in subsea and terrestrial fiber projects valued in excess of $6.6B over the term while at the same time achieving $4.7B in cost reductions over that same term. He is a motivational, results-oriented leader with a record of directing top-level international teams to grow and deliver business worldwide. Highly regarded by partners, customers and executive teams, David is known as a creative problem solver, skilled leader, key adviser and astute business development strategist supporting hundreds of billions in revenue globally.

John Regan

Chief Investment Officer

Carter Funds

John Regan serves as the Chief Investment Officer and has been in the technology and facilities infrastructure space for over three decades. In his most recent role as SVP of Acquisitions and CTO for Landmark Dividend, he executed on over a $1 billion in Digital Infrastructure acquisitions.

Prior to Landmark, Mr. Regan worked with Carter Validus (CV) Advisors where he was instrumental in the development and execution of the CV Mission Critical REIT I & II data center platforms from inception. Mr. Regan made CV’s first acquisition in July 2011. By October 2017, pipeline development and management led to closing of over 50 deals, amassing $2 billion of data center assets totaling more than 4.5 million square feet. Mr. Regan is a data center industry leader frequently speaking and moderating at conferences across the U.S. having a number of articles published by and about him.

Mr. Regan’s experience spans over 35 years within information technology, facilities infrastructure, business development, sales and acquisitions serving in various leadership positions while also providing advisory services and consulting for multiple startups. Mr. Regan served in leadership positions for 18 years with PWC, LLP as National Director of Data Center Services, National Director of Network Services, and Director of Infrastructure Delivery.

In these roles, Mr. Regan led technology and facilities infrastructure engineers and project managers through the execution of more than 26 million square feet of real estate projects spanning renovations, restacks, retrofits, consolidations, new builds and the merger of technology and facility infrastructure of Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse.

Mr. Regan achieved recognition by ComputerWorld for PWC as the number one Green IT organization worldwide in 2010 after the completion of a state-of-the-art Tier III LEED Gold-certified data center and driving other conservation practices organizationally. Mr. Regan is also an expert in BCDR having developed and executed a multi-tiered program creating PWC’s firm-wide Disaster Recovery program.

Mr. Regan has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from St. Leo University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Mr. Regan holds several certifications in the infrastructure space having achieved Accredited Tier Specialist (ATS), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) credentials. He holds multiple certifications and various systems designations through Digital Equipment Corporation, Research Triangle Institute, and NCSU.

Jason Reed

Chief Acquisitions Officer

Carter Validus

Jason C. Reed brings more than 20 years of real estate experience in complex global real estate transactions, law and management to Carter Validus. As Chief Acquisitions Officer and Senior Vice President, Data Center Investment Management, Mr. Reed provides the strategic vision to turn business goals into actionable plans with appropriate risk management. As acting Principal of Longview Real Estate Advisors, a full service advisory firm to the data center and telecommunications industry with a focus on mission critical real estate assets, he was responsible for the firm’s acquisitions, leasing and management strategy. Formerly the Senior Vice President, Global Real Estate at Equinix, Inc., Mr. Reed was accountable directly to the Chief Development Officer and Real Estate Committee of the Board of Directors for the allocation and investment of $2 billion annually across 22 countries and 44 metropolitan areas. Notably while at Equinix, Mr. Reed successfully implemented a global real estate administration program with coordination across several stakeholder groups including the regional Presidents, Tax, SEC accounting and Audit.

Prior to Equinix, Mr. Reed served in various roles at Level 3 Communications, most recently as Vice President, Global Real Estate and Facilities, where he was responsible for the strategic planning, investment and management of 23 million square feet of global real estate consisting of over 10,000 properties across North America, EMEA, and Latin America.

Mr. Reed received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, followed by earning his Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation at the University of Denver.

John Sheputis

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Primary Digital Infrastructure

John Sheputis is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at Primary Digital Infrastructure, an independent data center investment platform. From 2019 through 2023, John was a Managing Director at GI Partners where he led the technology real estate acquisitions and headed the Essential Tech + Science Real Estate Fund. Prior to GI Partners, Mr. Sheputis was President of Infomart Data Centers. In 2018, the Dallas Infomart was acquired by Equinix and the remaining Infomart assets and operations were acquired by IPI Partners to be the initial properties for STACK Infrastructure. Prior to Infomart, Mr. Sheputis was Co-Founder and CEO of Fortune Data Centers. Mr. Sheputis received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA and an MS Engineering from Northwestern.

Chris Crosby

CEO

Compass Datacenters

Chris Crosby is a recognized visionary and leader in the datacenter space and has served as founder and CEO of Compass Datacenters since 2011. Chris has over 25 years of technology experience and over 15 years of real estate and investment experience. Previously, Chris served as a senior executive and founding member of Digital Realty Trust. Chris was Senior Vice President at Digital Realty Trust, responsible for roles included global responsibility for corporate development, sales, marketing, design, construction, technical operations and customer service. Prior to the initial public offering of Digital Realty, Chris was founder and managing director of Proferian, which served as an operating platform for the private equity fund, GI Partners, and was rolled into the IPO for Digital Realty Trust. Prior to Proferian, Chris served as a consultant for CRG West, now Coresite. For the first ten years of his career, Chris was active in international and domestic sales, sales management and product development at Nortel Networks, a major supplier of products and services that support the Internet and other public and private data, voice and multimedia communications networks. Mr. Crosby received a B.S. degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. He serves as the Vice Chair of the board for the Masters in Datacenter Systems Engineering degree program at Southern Methodist University. Chris is also active in the Lonestar chapter of YPO.

Corey Welp

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty

Corey Welp is the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner of fifteenfortyseven

Critical Systems Realty ("1547"). Mr. Welp is responsible for defining and implementing

the firm's investment strategy, overseeing portfolio construction, financial modeling, risk

assessment, asset acquisition, and property monetization. He is also actively engaged

in securing debt and equity capital and maintaining investor relations. Under his

leadership, 1547 has successfully completed sixteen data center acquisitions across

eight U.S. states and Canada, deploying approximately $1.2 billion to acquire and

develop assets comprising approximately 1.95 million square feet and 219 Megawatts

of power. With his expertise, strategic vision, and unwavering dedication to excellence,

Mr. Welp continues to lead his Dallas-based team in their commitment to building a

portfolio of world-class data center assets, driving the continued growth and success of

1547.

Prior to founding 1547, Mr. Welp established Oak Star Partners, a consulting firm that

specialized in supporting alternative investment management firms in structuring their

investment offerings and raising capital. Earlier in his career, he held executive positions

in both boutique and major investment management firms, such as Henderson Global,

AIM Investments, and Enterprise Capital Management, where he primarily worked in

investment sales. Through his extensive network, he secured over $4 billion for

investment opportunities across various asset classes, including technology and real

estate.

Mr. Welp graduated from Creighton University with a Bachelor of Science in Business

Administration. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of ColoHouse, LLC, a

national provider of colocation, cloud, managed and bare metal services.

Clint Heiden

CRO

QTS

Clint Heiden joined QTS in 2018 to lead the company’s Hybrid Colocation Sales and Marketing organization. Clint has more than 26 years of sales leadership experience in the data center, telecommunications and internet technology industries.

Prior to joining QTS, Clint served as Chief Commercial Officer for five years at another data center company where he helped sell and deliver more than 80 megawatts of critical capacity to customers. He also previously served as President of Sidera Networks and held senior leadership roles at PAETEC, Cable & Wireless America and UUNET. In these roles, Clint led organizations responsible for over one billion dollars of annual enterprise revenue while at the same time generating significant organic revenue growth.

Clint received his BBA in Computer Information Systems from James Madison University, where he continues to sit on the Board. Clint lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife and four children.

Jared Day

President & CFO

Compass Datacenters

Jared Day has over 20 years of experience scaling high growth businesses. Previously, Jared was the President of Armor Defense, Inc a cloud cyber security company, where he led the organization through a period of rapid growth (5x in four years). Jared served as acting CFO for most of his time at Armor, overseeing the financial management of the company and closing several rounds of debt and equity capital. At Armor Defense, Jared was also responsible for product management, operations, sales, marketing and all administrative functions. Previously, Jared spent eight years as a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group where he specialized in developing growth strategies and execution plans for portfolio companies of several of the world’s largest private equity investors. Prior to BCG, Jared was CFO of FirstDoor, a software-as-a-service company acquired by Infor. Jared began his professional career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Jared received a B.S. degree in Management and Accounting from Washington and Lee University, magna cum laude, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Arman Khalili

Partner

Blackstart Infrastructure Partners

Arman Khalili is the Founder and CEO of Foundation Data Center and is a Board Member of Evocative and brings with him over 25 years of experience in Internet Infrastructure industry.

Prior to joining the company, Arman served as a Principal at Industry Capital a real assets based private equity firm in San Francisco. He was the founder and CEO of CentralColo also known as Element Critical. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Black Lotus, a leader in DDoS mitigation company, which was acquired by Level 3, and was the Founder/CEO of UnitedLayer, the largest privately held colocation provider in San Francisco. He was the founder of Sirius – one of the first ISPs in Silicon Valley, as well as the Co-founder and CTO of MusicBank, the first music subscription company. He has held numerous senior consulting positions at Level3, AT&T and Apple Computers.

Michael Lahoud

Partner & COO

Stream Data Centers

Lahoud is responsible for the implementation of the company’s overall business strategies and go-to-market operations, including the expansion of Stream’s Hyperscale Solutions and Critical Environments practice.

He has more than 13 years of experience in critical systems design and operations, with projects including avionics platforms for $100 million plus military aircraft, solutions architecture supporting a number of global power and cooling product manufacturers, and data center operations.

Additionally, Lahoud has managed Stream’s critical facilities and technology practice since 2010, overseeing business strategy, with an emphasis on managing the data center portfolio and positioning leadership for growing areas of the organization.

He is actively involved in the technology community, serving on the Partner Council of Infrastructure Masons (IM), an organization established to provide infrastructure executives and technical professionals, an independent forum to connect, grow and give back.

Lahoud is also on the Board of Governors for the 7×24 Exchange Lone Star Chapter, an organization that is the leading knowledge exchange in North Texas among those who design, build, use and maintain mission critical enterprise information infrastructures aiming to improve end-to-end reliability.

Ryan Oro

Senior VP, Revenue

EdgeCore Internet Real Estate

Ryan is the Senior Vice President of Revenue for EdgeCore Internet Real Estate. In this capacity, Ryan is accountable and provides strategic direction for the sales, marketing, and product functions of the company. Prior to EdgeCore, Ryan was Vice President and Group Head of the General Management function at CoreSite Realty Corporation where he was a member of CoreSite’s Senior Leadership Team. Prior to CoreSite, Ryan worked in the Financial Institutions Investment Banking Group at Wachovia Securities / Wells Fargo.

Ab Atkins

Senior VP, Development

KDC Real Estate Development & Investments

Some people are happy to run with the herd or even lag behind it. And then there are people like Ab Atkins—those who identify trends and rush in front of the herd. Ab has been identifying trends for nearly 40 years, which helps him lead KDC’s Mission Critical Data Center practice. In his current role, he oversees site acquisition, development, financial analysis, asset management, leasing and disposition of projects. Since he joined the firm in 2007, he’s been involved in 15 ground up greenfield data center projects in Kansas, Texas, and Virginia in addition to office and industrial build-to-suits projects in Texas and Nebraska.

Pete Marin

President & CEO

T5 Data Centers

As President and Chief Executive Officer of T5 Data Centers, Pete is responsible for setting the overall strategy of the firm, maintaining client relationships, capital management, and creating and executing the firm’s vision for growth. Pete has more than 20 years of experience in the data center sector ranging from development, securing debt and equity capital, to tenant representation including site selection and incentives. Pete’s understanding of end-user needs has enabled T5 Data Centers to reduce project cycle-time and cost, which leads to successful relationships, and repeat business.

Prior to T5 Data Centers, Pete served as Executive Vice President at The Staubach Company where he started, managed, and lead the National Contact & Data Center Practice for 13 of his 14 years at the firm and was recognized on a regular basis for his many achievements. Before Staubach, Pete held various sales positions with Trammell Crow, MCI, and 3M Company.

Pete received a B.S. in Finance from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.

Kemal Hawa

Moderator

Kirkland & Ellis

Kemal Hawa is a corporate partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Kemal represents many of the world’s largest private equity firms, infrastructure funds, real estate investors and lenders across a broad range of transactions in the digital infrastructure sector domestically and internationally, including mergers and acquisitions, investments, financing arrangements, joint ventures and development projects.

Kemal counsels clients in complex transactions across the digital infrastructure and telecommunications, media and technology industries. This includes many of the world’s largest data center operators, telecommunications carriers, tower companies, cloud providers, fiber providers, media companies, submarine cable operators, fintech companies, wireless and international carriers, internet service providers, satellite companies, equipment manufacturers and electric utilities.

In addition to M&A and financing transactions, Kemal represents companies in connection with the full spectrum of digital infrastructure transactions globally, including the negotiation of data center leases and colocation agreements, telecommunications master service agreements, licensing deals and other commercial transactions.

Kemal is a frequent author and speaker on digital infrastructure topics and has consistently been recognized as an industry leading attorney in the sector. In 2023, Kemal was named as one of Capacity Media’s “Power 100” – a list of the 100 most influential people in the digital infrastructure sector globally, and was voted “TMT M&A Lawyer of the Year” by an independent panel of judges organized by TMT Finance.

Emily Naughton

Moderator

Mayer Brown

Emily Naughton focuses her practice on transactions in the telecommunications, media and technology space, with an emphasis on cloud computing.  Emily has represented clients in connection with real estate acquisitions, development projects and leases, mergers and acquisitions involving cloud service providers, and telecommunications network infrastructure deals.  Emily has represented some of the world’s largest content providers globally in connection with network procurement and colocation and data center leases involving providers ranging from multinational companies to single facility operators. Emily has experience representing property owners in the acquisition, financing and development of real estate; landlords and tenants in a variety of short- and long-term leases and subleases; and developers on complex land use and permitting matters. Emily has also represented contractors and subcontractors in the negotiation of construction contracts and disputes. In addition to assisting clients on transactional matters, Emily has also regularly advised clients on general governance and operational issues from entity inception to dissolution.

Panelists

Girish Ramachandran

Girish Ramachandran

Chief Technology Architect

City of Dallas

Randy Stroud

Randy Stroud

CISO

Hunt Companies

Romelia Flores

Romelia Flores

Distinguished Engineer & Master Inventor

IBM

Wayne Sadin

Wayne Sadin

COO & CTO

Affinitas Life

Nabeel Mahmood

Nabeel Mahmood

Co-Founder

Nomad Futurist Foundation

Dave Bhattacharjee

Dave Bhattacharjee

Head of Analytics, Commercial Excellence

Thomson Reuters

Edward Buck

Edward Buck

VP, Technology & Service Delivery

VPLS

Paola Saibene

Paola Saibene

VP, Enterprise Risk Management

American Heart Association

Sean Maguire

Sean Maguire

SVP & Global Head of Data Centers

Black Box

Terry Vergon

Terry Vergon

Senior Director, Critical Environments

Alorica

Janna Luther Connor

Janna Luther Connor

Unit Manager Data Centers

BlueCross BlueShield of Texas

Kevin Ooley

Kevin Ooley

President & CFO

DataBank

Raul Martynek

Raul Martynek

CEO

DataBank

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer

Aligned Data Centers

Josh Henderson

Josh Henderson

CTO & Senior VP, Development & Engineering

Ntirety

Jay Battershell

Jay Battershell

Consulting Partner

iTeres Services

Andrew Schaap

Andrew Schaap

CEO

Aligned Data Centers

Derek Garnier

Derek Garnier

President & COO

VPLS

Jason Carolan

Jason Carolan

CTO

CSquare

Shannon Hulbert

Shannon Hulbert

CEO

Opus Interactive

Ryan Barbera

Ryan Barbera

CEO

Data Canopy

Shawn Mills

Shawn Mills

Founder & CEO

Green House Data

Hugh Carspecken

Hugh Carspecken

Ubiquity

Managing Director, Ubiquity Edge

Chris Orlando

Chris Orlando

CEO

ScaleMatrix and DDC Cabinet Technology

Lance Black

Lance Black

Founder, President & CEO

VAZATA

Ryan Sullivan

Ryan Sullivan

EVP, National Head of Data Center Investments

Lincoln Property Group

Jeff Ferry

Jeff Ferry

Board Member & Investor

Elea Digital

Therese Kerfoot

Therese Kerfoot

SVP, Operations & International

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Tina Gravel

Tina Gravel

Senior VP, Global Channels & Alliances

Cyxtera Technologies

Tom Traugott

Tom Traugott

Senior VP, Strategy

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Anthony Bolner

Anthony Bolner

EVP & Partner

Stream Data Centers

Mary Jane Horne

Mary Jane Horne

Senior VP, Network Operations & Engineering

iBASIS

Trey Berndt

Trey Berndt

Executive Vice President

Carrier-1 Data Centers

Christof Hammerli

Christof Hammerli

Managing Director

Cloud Capital, an affiliate of CloudHQ

Chris Curtis

Chris Curtis

Global Head of Data Centers

Prologis

Rob Morris

Rob Morris

CEO

Skybox Datacenters

Bryan Marsh

Bryan Marsh

Managing Director, North America

StratCap Data Centers

Josh Williams

Josh Williams

VP, Sales Engineering

INAP

Peter Cohen

Peter Cohen

VP, Peering, Interconnectivity & Ecosystem

QTS

Lane Anderson

Lane Anderson

EVP, Development & Strategic Procurement

QTS

Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor

SVP, Operations

Evoque

Jay Brummett

Jay Brummett

President

Ares Technology Consultants

Greg Force

Greg Force

President & CEO

Tindall Corporation

Cary Frame

Cary Frame

Chairman

Polargy

Robert Miller

Robert Miller

President

Earthwise Environmental

Dave Meadows

Dave Meadows

Director, Technology

STULZ Air Technology Systems

Tim Gainey

Tim Gainey

Director, Commercial Applications

Tindall Corporation

Romelia Flores

Distinguished Engineer & Master Inventor

IBM

Romelia Flores is an IBM Distinguished Engineer working in IBM’s Global Solution Center (GSC) in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. She is a premier pre-sales expert at designing and architecting system prototypes which address client business challenges and utilize IBM leading-edge technology. Leveraging her Senior Architect and Enterprise Design Thinking Leadership skills she has collaborated with leading clients in the design of Storm Water Management, Edge Computing for Automotive, Cloud Platform Delivery, Warehouse Operations and Hepatitis C Eradication. She is a relentless inventor and driver of innovation for Global Markets holding 61 U.S. Patents and over 15 Patents Pending. She is also a member of the IBM Academy of Technology and the International Women’s Forum.

Wayne Sadin

COO & CTO

Affinitas Life

Across the Marketing, Energy, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Logistics industries, Wayne Sadin has been a CIO/CTO/CDO; a software/SaaS executive; an Independent Director and Advisory Board member; and a consultant to CEOs. He is currently COO & CTO of Affinitas Life, a developer/operator of upscale Senior Living communities. He improves IT Alignment, Architecture, Agility and Ability at firms that have ‘Outgrown their IT.’ His IT teams have delivered profitable new products and transformed organizations (including a project that garnered the cover of “CIO Magazine”). Wayne has managed a changing IT landscape, from mainframes to today’s SMAC-IT (Social, Mobile Analytics, Cloud, Internet of Things) world. He has written and spoken about mobility, Governance/Risk/Compliance, IT/business alignment, customer service, cloud computing. He’s presented at the Financial Services Venture Capital Association, Oracle OpenWorld, European and US Project Leadership Conferences, Motorola Partner Conference, IDC’s Industry Insights and CIO Magazine conferences, and the Echelon One Information Security Summit. Wayne earned BS degrees in Computer Science and Business Administration (summa cum laude) from Boston University; an MS degree in Management of Technology from the University of Texas; completed the ‘Delivering Information Services’ program at Harvard Business School and the ‘Cybersecurity: Technology, Application & Policy’ course at MIT; and was named a “Board Governance Fellow” by the National Association of Corporate Directors He has been recognized by Computerworld as both a ‘Premier 100 IT Leader’ and an Honors Program ‘Laureate.’

Nabeel Mahmood

Co-Founder

Nomad Futurist Foundation

Nabeel Mahmood is a Technologist, Futurist and a Keynote Speaker. His career is driven by one question – what’s next? He is passionate about the power of technology to deliver competitive and transformational change and the need to develop digital leadership that will create the enterprise of the future. He believes strongly in simplification, with a purpose. Nabeel brings 18 plus years of experience leading large-scale global technology organizations through seasons of explosive growth via M&A, global expansion, implementing new business models and technology innovation. His expertise includes leading organizations through transformation changes, connecting IT to the needs of the business, technology innovation, Big Data, Cloud, ERP, IoT, Mobility and Data Centers. He brings a unique blend of experiences spanning the entire breadth of technology from Grid to Chip. At, heart he’s a true technologist and futurist, he is a proven strategist, winsome communicator and leader with extraordinary vision and operational expertise within very large, complex organizations. Nabeel is a strategic CIO identifying opportunities that are being underpinned by emerging technologies. He serves on multiple boards and is an advisor to CIOs and CEO across a number of industries.

Dave Bhattacharjee

Head of Analytics, Commercial Excellence

Thomson Reuters

Dave is the recently appointed Head of Analytics for Commercial Excellence at

Thomson Reuters.  In this role, Dave is responsible for leveraging advanced and

predictive analytics to drive business growth for the company.  Dave has

twenty years of diversified experience in the fields of Data Analytics and

Artificial Intelligence working with the Fortune 500 across a number of

different industries.  Prior to Thomson Reuters, Dave was the VP of Data

Analytics at Stanley Black and Decker. In this role, Dave was the executive

responsible for building an enterprise level advanced data analytics program

focused on predictive analytics for marketing, operations and product

innovation.  His team developed and introduced into the enterprise, the very

first applications of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.  At Cisco

Systems, Dave led the Americas practice for Big Data and Analytics for Cisco

Consulting Services.  In this role, Dave worked with large enterprise customers

in the financial services, retail and public sector on data strategy, Analytics and

IOT applications.  Prior to that, Dave held leadership positions at

PriceWaterhouseCoopers and IBM.  Dave has an MBA from the University of

Texas and a Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering from Arizona State

University.  Dave is an active participant in the Analytics and AI community - he

is a published author and keynote speaker at various AI conferences.  In his

spare time, Dave enjoys outdoor adventures, learning about and exploring

other cultures and travelling overseas with his family.

Edward Buck

VP, Technology & Service Delivery

VPLS

Edward Buck is the Vice President of Technology and Service delivery at VPLS. Ed’s executive responsibility includes the design, delivery, maintenance, operations, and support of all VPLS services. Prior to joining Evocative, Ed was a VP at UnitedLayer a San Francisco based Colocation and Hosting Company.

Ed also founded ASPextra in 2003, a company focused on providing scalable and highly available managed hosting solutions. At ASPextra, Ed built a network and service delivery internet infrastructure compromising of multiple, geographically dispersed data centers serving clients in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Ed was a senior manager at Oracle where his responsibilities included corporate business development, technology acquisitions, and strategic alliances. While at Oracle, Ed was deeply involved in technical evaluation, acquisition, and implementation of Internet and e-commerce technologies that shaped much of the Internet ecosystem in its early years.

Ed is a regular contributor to a number of open-source projects. He received his B.A. from Pomona College.

Paola Saibene

VP, Enterprise Risk Management

American Heart Association

Paola Saibene is the CEO of TXYSAI, a business and technology consulting company. She has 22 years of IT-practitioner experience, having held multiple C-level roles in multi-billion dollar organizations. Paola blends her technology experience with her psychology and literature post-graduate degrees, bringing an ecosystem approach to the evolving digital era.

Janna Luther Connor

Unit Manager Data Centers

BlueCross BlueShield of Texas

Janna Luther Connor has over 25 years of experience within the Facilities Management realm, with specialties in project management, space and move management, tenant management, and data center management. Janna’s career started out within the design/construction/architecture fields with a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University.

She currently manages the structured cabling and building operations projects within the 277,000 sq. ft. corporate data center at HCSC / BlueCross BlueShield of Texas. Janna has been active in USGBC Board, IFMA, BICSI, Texas Tech University Advisory Board, and AFCOM – Dallas/Fort Worth Board.Director- Event Logistics.

Kevin Ooley

President & CFO

DataBank

Kevin Ooley took on the role of President in May of 2017 and has served as the Chief Financial Officer of DataBank since 2011. He has over 20 years of extensive experience in delivering shareholder value through the creation and implementation of growth and operational strategies. Prior to joining DataBank, Ooley served as the CFO for the Thompson Media Group and as a Principal at Lovett Miller & Co., a growth capital private equity firm based in Florida. He was also a Director of Strategy for iXL Enterprises and a Manager in Accenture’s Strategic Services practice. Ooley holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.

Raul Martynek

CEO

DataBank

Raul Martynek joined DataBank in June of 2017 as the Chief Executive Officer. In this role, he provides overall strategic direction of the company and its operations. Raul is a 25+ year veteran in the telecom and Internet Infrastructure sector. He most recently served as a Senior Advisor for Digital Bridge Holdings LLC. Prior to Digital Bridge, he served as Chief Executive Officer for New Jersey-based data center and managed services operator Net Access, LLC. Net Access was acquired in November 2015 by Denver-based data center operator Cologix. Prior to Net Access, he was the CEO of Voxel dot Net, Inc., a global managed hosting and cloud company, which was acquired by Internap Network Services Corp. in early 2012. Mr. Martynek also served as the Chief Restructuring Officer of Smart Telecom, a Dublin, Ireland-based fiber carrier which was acquired by Digiweb in 2009. Before that he evaluated investment opportunities in the telecommunications and Internet sector as a Senior Advisor at Plainfield Asset Management, a $4B hedge fund. Prior to Plainfield, Mr. Martynek spent 13 years with telecom and Internet provider InfoHighway Communications Corp; first as a Chief Operating Officer of Eureka Networks and then as President and Chief Executive Officer of InfoHighway. InfoHighway was acquired by Broadview Networks in 2007. Mr. Martynek earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Binghamton University and received a Master Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer

Aligned Data Centers

With over 30 years of industry experience, Phill has played a pivotal role in shaping the future of data center infrastructure, network architecture, and cloud solutions worldwide.

As Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers, Phill spearheads the identification of emerging trends and technologies, strategically leveraging them to shape Aligned's innovation roadmap. He's instrumental in cultivating a culture of creativity, driving the development of new products and partnerships that ensure the company remains both competitive and highly adaptable in today's rapidly evolving market.

Before joining Aligned, Phill served as Chief Innovation Officer at EdgeConneX, where he was instrumental in developing edge-based network data centers that underpin today’s digital content ecosystem. His career spans senior executive roles at Virtacore, Alcatel-Lucent, SAVVIS (now CenturyLink Technology Solutions), and MCI (now Verizon Digital Media Services), as well as Compaq/HPE.

Phill holds eight active technology patents and serves as a board member for organizations such as Netrality Data Centers, the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), and the Nomad Futurist Foundation. Known for his ability to distill complex technical concepts into actionable strategies, Phill is a sought-after speaker and advisor, recognized for his innovation and commitment to advancing sustainability in the digital infrastructure sector.

Phill’s unique journey—from his early roles in enterprise systems development and digital infrastructure to his leadership in global technology firms—reflects his passion for challenging the status quo and empowering the next generation of technology leaders.

Josh Henderson

CTO & Senior VP, Development & Engineering

Ntirety

Josh Henderson joined Ntirety in January 2021 with over 20 years of large-scale cloud and hosted Infrastructure, managed IT services, network, software development and consulting experience.

Prior to joining Ntirety, he served as CTO and COO for McLane Intelligent Solutions, CTO of Colo and Cloud at Zayo Group, and CTO for Clearview International. His experience across these roles includes high level IT strategy, technology lifecycle management, p&l management, operations, sales and full product life-cycle management in businesses ranging from startup to $2B+ in revenue.

Henderson is an Alumni of Baylor University. He resides in Austin.

Jay Battershell

Consulting Partner

iTeres Services

Jay Battershell is a senior IT executive (Partner, CEO, COO, CIO) and consultant with industry and outsourcing leadership experience across multiple industries including consumer goods, retail, transportation, healthcare and energy. His experience includes businesses of various scope, size and maturity from startups to Fortune 500 firms. He has a solid career and track record of key roles in planning, delivery and selling of vital business solutions (including Infrastructure-as-a-Service Solutions: Colocation, Cloud, and Managed Services and applications including ERP, supply chain, back office, and B2B). He focuses on the transformation of IT capabilities through IT organization change, IT governance and strategic alignment, and IT sourcing solutions.

Andrew Schaap

CEO

Aligned Data Centers

Andrew is a data center, IT, private equity and real estate executive with over 20 years of complex transactional experience and multi-disciplinary senior leadership. As CEO of Aligned, he is dedicated to accelerating business growth by driving the delivery of data center solutions with industry-leading technology and adaptive infrastructure. Since beginning his tenure with Aligned three years ago, Andrew has exponentially grown company revenues, completed several successful capital raisings, and cultivated an ecosystem of innovation that advances Aligned’s commitment to reducing the social, economic and environmental impact of the digital era to position Aligned as the number one performing private data center company in 2019.

Prior to joining Aligned, Andrew held numerous leadership positions over an 11-year period with Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR). Most recently serving as Senior Vice President, he was responsible for global large-scale, client-driven data center builds and was part of the executive leadership team that grew revenue to $2 billion. He also oversaw all major international transactions, including the successful negotiation and execution of projects in Osaka, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney. Prior to Digital Realty Trust, Andrew held leadership roles at Sterling Network Services and Sysix Technologies.

Andrew is the Founder and Board Member of DC Delta, an advisory council comprised of global data center end-users and innovators, connectivity providers and sustainability thought-leaders focused on improving data center efficiency and sustainability. He also sits on the Infrastructure Masons Advisory Council, an organization that provides infrastructure executives and technical professionals an independent forum to connect, grow and give back. Additionally, Andrew serves as a mentor for Great Minds in STEM, an association dedicated to keeping America technologically strong by promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math careers, especially in underserved communities.

He holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Marketing from Cornerstone University, in addition to completing graduate programs in Executive Negotiations and Management Training at Harvard University.

Derek Garnier

President & COO

VPLS

Derek Garnier is a 30-year industry veteran in digital infrastructure, specializing in corporate strategy, and has successfully built, operated, and sold companies.

He was most recently co-founder of Arcadian Infracom, a long-haul fiber optic company operating in the Southwest. Prior to Arcadian, Derek served as President and COO of Evocative Datacenters, the predecessor to VPLS, which he again joins as President and COO.

Derek also served as the CEO of Layer42 Networks, a national network services and colocation provider, which he successfully exited in 2015 through a sale to Wave Broadband. Post-acquisition, Derek continued as Wave’s SVP of Datacenter services. Before his tenure at Layer42 Networks, Derek held management positions at QTS Datacenters and AboveNet Communications through the acquisition of Sitesmith, a global managed services provider of which he was an early employee. Derek began his career as an engineer, serving in the rolefor network and data center provider ISI, later renamed Global Crossing via multiple acquisitions, as well as at network companies MFS Datanet and Cabletron Systems.

Shannon Hulbert

CEO

Opus Interactive

Ms Hulbert is CEO of Opus Interactive. Shannon has led the strategy and vision for the cloud provider since 2011. Prior to cloud, Shannon was in the utility energy-efficiency sector for 8 years. Opus Interactive is a hybrid and multicloud solutions provider with a dedicated FEDRAMP Moderate Ready IaaS/PaaS environment and can be found on the FedRAMP marketplace under OpusGov (OG). OG is housed inside of FISMA High faciliites, operated by screened US citizens. This environment is restricted to US federal, state, local and tribal governments, and their partners - backed by over 24 years of proven reliability in the commercial sector.

Ryan Barbera

CEO

Data Canopy

Ryan Barbera is a senior executive with nearly two decades of experience in his roles across Information Technology firms where he specializes in the direction of business development and strategy. Ryan has years of hands-on experience crafting, fine-tuning, and managing sales staffs. He is dedicated to growing Data Canopy as it expands into new industries and geographies. Ryan has developed several key strategic marketing initiatives and campaigns to cement his reputation as an innovator and expert in advanced technology areas; he is a recognized thought leader on these subjects.

Ryan currently serves on the advisory board for a three-year term with the Howard Tech Council. Ryan is also involved with the Chiro Clin Foundation which is focused on working with organizations and families to help prevent and cure cancer. In his free time enjoys spending time with his family and soccer as both a teammate and fan.

Shawn Mills

Founder & CEO

Green House Data

Shawn Mills is a founding member of Green House Data and a technology entrepreneur. Under his leadership, Green House Data has undergone consistent expansion, growing from a single location to 9 cloud hosting, colocation, and hybrid IT data centers across the US. Shawn has spoken at industry events including Data Center World, the National Center for Super Computing Applications, Cloud Computing Expo, and Datacenter Dynamics, and been recognized by publications including Wired, Fortune, and Hemispheres. When he is not at Green House Data, Shawn is either in the Rockies with his family or with his surfboard searching for waves.

Hugh Carspecken

Ubiquity

Managing Director, Ubiquity Edge

Hugh has nearly 20 years of cross-industry technology experience, from data networking to fiber optics to wireless infrastructure. He spent the early half of his career in Silicon Valley, helping to start and grow several start-ups in Silicon Valley, such as ONI Systems and FiberTower. In these roles Hugh helped bridge the gap between the state of technology its implementation to drive the technology’s adoption in the market. After this, Hugh held a senior leadership role at Fujitsu Network Communications, launching Fujitsu’s multi-technology solutions organization. Applying the lessons learned through these various experiences, Hugh is adapting how data centers will meet the growing and changing requirements of today’s businesses. He received his A.B. and B.E. in Engineering from Dartmouth College and his Master in Engineering Management from the Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business. Hugh, his wife, and his two daughters reside in Dallas, Texas.

Chris Orlando

CEO

ScaleMatrix and DDC Cabinet Technology

Chris leads business and commercial efforts for ScaleMatrix and its various brands and business units. Focused on both strategic direction and overall execution, he credits his nearly two decades of experience across a broad spectrum of positions within the hosting space with helping him anticipate the constant changes which face this ever evolving industry. Prior to ScaleMatrix, Chris served as president of the Complex Drive Data Center Group for four years, and held a number of key leadership positions within the hosting and colocation industry.

Lance Black

Founder, President & CEO

VAZATA

Lance Black is President and CEO of VAZATA, founded by him in 2000. As CEO, Lance plays a fundamental leadership role in investor relations, strategic partnerships, and the day-to-day operations at VAZATA. Under his guidance, VAZATA has developed and been recognized as an innovative, reliable provider in the data center, virtualization/cloud and managed IT services markets. Lance strives to challenge the bounds of technology with products that include VAZATA’s own vStructure™ IaaS platform. His ability to interest and engage visionary IT professionals and industry experts reflects in his 20 years of active, forward-thinking experience in the IT industry. Outside of VAZATA, Lance has served several local charities, nonprofit boards, and has been recognized for his commitment to civic and altruistic work from several organizations over the past 20 years. Lance holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Midwestern State University.

Ryan Sullivan

EVP, National Head of Data Center Investments

Lincoln Property Group

Ryan Sullivan is an Executive Vice President and National Data Center Group Leader with Lincoln Property Company, overseeing Data Center Investments and Capital Markets. Ryan is responsible for broadening the firm’s data center offering, by partnering with Lincoln’s national commercial and industrial platforms to identify and execute on data center opportunities across the country, including new investments, development, leasing and third-party services for institutional investors, data center operators and end users. He also partners with Lincoln’s Investment Management team to source investment capital for data center opportunities.

Ryan has extensive data center investment, development and leasing experience and joins Lincoln from GI Partners, where he led the firm’s real estate development activities, as Director of Investments and Head of Development. Prior to joining GI Partners, Ryan led investment and portfolio management at Landmark Dividend’s Digital Infrastructure Division, prior to its acquisition by Digital Bridge. From 2015 to 2020, Mr. Sullivan oversaw all investment, leasing and development activities for Lincoln’s Data Center business, formerly known as Lincoln Rackhouse. With his leadership and extensive mission critical investment and development experience, he helped build a respectable national data center operating platform of 16 datacenters across 14 markets, totaling over 3 million sq. ft. and 100 MWs of data center capacity. Earlier, he served in development, leasing and portfolio management roles at Digital Realty. Over his 18+ year data center career, Ryan has managed data center and tech/life science portfolios valued at over $7.5 billion in AUM and pursued data center projects in most U.S. and many international markets.

Therese Kerfoot

SVP, Operations & International

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Therese is based in the Company’s Denver office and leads EdgeCore’s day-to-day data center operations and customer-lifecycle activities, from lease execution and move in through expiration and move out, including space build out, on-going support, and incident management. Therese brings significant experience in designing strategy and leading execution and operation of end-to-end service-delivery and customer-support teams, systems, and processes. Therese joined EdgeCore following roles of progressive accountability at CoreSite Realty Corporation, most recently as Vice President supporting and leading the company’s activities around customer-lifecycle management for more than 1,200 customers and $500M+ in annualized revenue. Her responsibilities included a) on-boarding and capacity deployment, b) on-going support via self-service systems (portal management) and a team of Strategic Account Service Representatives, c) capacity and contract management, d) service-processes design and improvement, and e) incident engagement, remediation, and avoidance. Prior to CoreSite, Therese was a Dean’s Research Fellow at the University of Colorado Law School, where she authored and collaborated in authoring works related to cybersecurity, telecommunications, and technology. Therese holds a B.A. in International Business from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Tina Gravel

Senior VP, Global Channels & Alliances

Cyxtera Technologies

An award-winning executive with more than 25 years of experience in the IT outsourcing, cloud,

security and SaaS industries, Tina is SVP of Global Channels and Alliances, Cyxtera. Prior to

Cyxtera, Tina was a Senior Vice President of Global Channels and Strategic Alliances for

Cryptzone, a Cyxtera Business. Before joining Cryptzone, Tina held the role of General Manager

and Vice President for Dimension Data’s Cloud Services Business in the Americas. Tina also

served as Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Nirvanix, leading the company’s

sales, marketing and indirect channel programs. Tina was a member of the original

management team at Terremark, a Verizon company, where she held several leadership roles

over 14 years, including Vice President of Global Channels and Alliances, Managing Partner for

the IT outsourcing (ITO) business, and Vice President of Terremark’s Central Region Sales

operations. Her guidance helped take the company from $400,000 in annual sales in 1999, to

the acquisition by Verizon for $1.4 billion in 2010. Tina also gained additional sales experience

in senior positions at leading IT companies including NetGravity (now owned by Google), SAS,

Sybase (now owned by SAP) and CSC. Tina has also worked as an independent consultant,

helping start up technology organizations to increase their revenue, monetize their intellectual

property assets and obtain funding.

In May of 2018, Tina Gravel Received WoM2M award for achievement in the field of IoT by

Connected World Magazine. In April 2018, Channel Partners Online awarded Tina one of the

highly coveted, “Channel Chief of the Year” awards. In April 2017, Tina received the Cloud Girls

“TrailBlazer Award” for her work in cloud computing and was named one of the “Women in the

Channel 2017” by CRN. In 2016, Tina was included as #18 in CRN’s “100 People You Don’t Know

but Should” List for her work with Cryptzone. In 2013, 2017, and 2018, Tina was included in

CRN’s annual Top 50 "Women of the Channel" list for her successful work in the indirect

channel and with alliances. In 2004, she was a top ten "Women in Black" recipient, an honor

given by the City of Chicago and istreet Magazine, which recognized Gravel’s leadership in the

technology industry. She has had published articles in many publications, serves on the

Advisory Board for Channel Partners Magazine (now a Penton Company) and the Executive

Board of the Illinois Technology Association. Board of Directors for Cloud Girls and Advisory

Board for Alliance of Women in the Channel.Follow Tina on Twitter @tgravel.

Tom Traugott

Senior VP, Strategy

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Tom leads EdgeCore’s strategy, teams, and activities around client leasing and marketing initiatives focused on bespoke client-centric growth solutions for top hyperscale and technology companies globally.

Tom brings to EdgeCore 19 years of experience in wholesale data centers, enabling him with valuable insight into client needs for tailored data center developments and tailored commercial models designed to enable EdgeCore clients to ensure scalability, reduce cost, and maximize flexibility. Supporting these objectives, Tom leverages his experience in site selection, acquisition, development, and leasing supporting hyperscale CSPs and information-intensive businesses, including completion of transactions totaling over 600+ MW and valued at over $1.8B. Prior to joining EdgeCore, Tom worked for Amazon Web Services, where he was accountable for strategy and execution for new and existing regions across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas, along with diligence and strategy for additional regions under evaluation. At AWS, Tom worked in a multi-stakeholder environment executing on accountabilities to scale data center infrastructure planned to exceed $1B in construction investment. Prior to Amazon, Tom was co-practice leader of Cassidy Turley’s (now Cushman & Wakefield’s) Data Center Advisory Practice, focused on end-user representation and capital markets transactions. Tom previously worked with many members of the EdgeCore team at CoreSite Realty Corporation as regional VP of Sales.

Tom holds a B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard College, with honors.

Anthony Bolner

EVP & Partner

Stream Data Centers

Anthony oversees business development and leasing across Fortune 500 enterprise accounts, and is instrumental in guiding the company’s collaborative ecosystem of partnerships, which include brokerage relationships, alliance partners and Stream’s growing channel program.

Bringing more than two and a half decades of technical real estate expertise to the team, Anthony delivers data center and commercial real estate insight to ensure Stream excels at meeting customers’ evolving needs with tailored mission-critical solutions.

Over the years, Anthony has served as an expert panelist and guest speaker for a number of professional data center organizations, including datacenterHawk, Data Center Dynamics, in addition to multiple AFCOM events and panels.

Prior to joining Stream Data Centers in 2007, Anthony was a founding member of the data center solutions group at CBRE, where he specialized in delivering data center services to technical real estate owners and users.

Anthony holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics with an emphasis in Real Estate Valuation from Texas A&M University.

Trey Berndt

Executive Vice President

Carrier-1 Data Centers

Trey comes to Carrier-1 after being a part of the extremely successful CoreXchange/ColoUnlimited team for nearly five years. Rising up from an Account Executive to VP of Sales, he helped to sell out of all available inventory in the Dallas, Texas facilities while maintaining an unheard of 99.5% customer retention rate. Prior to working for CoreXchange, Trey served as the President of Blue Wireless & Data Inc. and in Business Development for DSG Technology. Trey graduated from Oklahoma City University with his Bachelors in Philosophy and Humanities. Trey believes his keys to success are to maintain a cutting edge understanding of the data center industry, always provide the most attentive customer service and to never be outworked. Over the years Trey has worked hard to create a trusted group of partners to not only network with, but to be "go-to" advisors with his client base.

Rob Morris

CEO

Skybox Datacenters

Rob is a leading expert within the data center industry with over a decade of mission critical projects both nationally and internationally. Mr. Morris has directed more than 250 megawatts of development in North America. Previous roles include U.S. Practice Leader for Cassidy Turley’s Datacenter Solutions Group as well as Senior Associate to Cushman & Wakefield’s Datacenter Advisory Group.

Bryan Marsh

Managing Director, North America

StratCap Data Centers

Bryan Marsh is our Managing Director of North America and is responsible for sourcing, analyzing, structuring, financing and executing acquisition, expansion and leasing activities on behalf of the company. With his nearly 40 years of real estate experience, he has been directly involved in approximately $7 billion in commercial real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development, financings and asset management.

Prior to StratCap Data Centers, Bryan was a Vice President at Digital Realty where he served as the company’s Portfolio Manager for its U.S. Central region. In this capacity, he had overall responsibility for the strategic planning, acquisitions, dispositions, development, operation, leasing and financial performance of a portfolio of data centers, internet gateways and powered base buildings valued in excess of $5 billion. His portfolio ranged in size from 40 to 55 buildings and from 5.8 million to 8.1 million square feet with annual operating revenues ranging from $400 million to $600 million.

Prior to joining Digital Realty, Bryan was a Senior Vice President and Partner at Equastone, a private equity firm, where he was involved in the acquisition and asset management of a 4.3 million square foot office portfolio in Dallas valued at over $600 million. At that time, Equastone was the city’s 3rd largest office landlord with 21 buildings spread across most of the city’s major submarkets.

He also was formerly a Vice President with RREEF, a pension fund advisor and investment management firm, where he led an office that managed over 18 million square feet of office and industrial space in Texas and Oklahoma. Bryan personally oversaw a roughly 9 million square foot portfolio valued at approximately $500 million. Bryan has closed real estate transactions in over 250 cities and 15 states during his career. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, and he also served on the Board of Directors of Tech Titans which is the largest technology trade association in North Texas. He has been recognized for each of the past 5 years as a member of the Dallas 500 which is a list of the most powerful and influential business leaders in the DFW metro area according to D CEO Magazine. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a double major in finance and real estate.

Josh Williams

VP, Sales Engineering

INAP

Josh Williams heads the sales engineering team at INAP, delivering application-driven, custom infrastructure and network solutions for clients that balance performance and efficiency. Known for getting in the trenches with all levels of client IT organizations, Williams has more than 16 years of experience architecting complex solutions in the enterprise. His deep IT management and consulting background, paired with INAP’s robust cloud, colocation and network portfolio, generate performant solutions tailored to the unique goals of clients. Williams holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Information Systems from Saint Ambrose University and multiple data center certifications from major technology providers such as VMware, Cisco, and EMC.

Peter Cohen

VP, Peering, Interconnectivity & Ecosystem

QTS

Peter Cohen is a renowned peering and interconnection expert who has worked with ISPs, datacenters and OTTs around the globe for 20+ years. For the past seven years’ Cohen oversaw peering and interconnection at Netflix for much of North America. Prior to this, Cohen held network and peering leadership positions with Amazon, Tata, Telia, and Switch and Data (acquired by Equinix).

At QTS, Cohen advises customers and prospects on peering and interconnection and leads QTS’ strategy to broaden and diversify the distribution of peering and network resources including initiatives to create new Internet nexus points globally.

Cohen holds a B.S. in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an avid traveler, cook, golfer and tennis player. He lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and their two boys.

Lane Anderson

EVP, Development & Strategic Procurement

QTS

With more than 25 years of experience in mission critical construction and design, Lane Anderson has an extensive background in MEP projects and design and construction leadership. Having delivered over 3.5 million square feet of data center projects, Lane is well versed in designing for efficiency to pursue low PUE facilities and has strong expertise in building design and construction teams.

At QTS, he is responsible for Corporate Development, Construction, Design and Strategy, as well as Strategic Procurement.

Mark Taylor

SVP, Operations

Evoque

With a data center career spanning two decades, Evoque’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Mark Taylor, is involved with building, maintaining, and operating all Evoque's existing data centers. His leadership is rooted in integrity, accountability, and operational excellence, helping him deliver highly available and impeccably run data centers for Evoque across the USA.

Greg Force

President & CEO

Tindall Corporation

Greg Force joined Tindall Corporation in 1988. He was named CEO in 2018 after serving as President and COO for 14 years. Greg is a civil engineering graduate of Lehigh University and obtained his MBA from Georgia College & State University. He is a registered professional engineer in ten states and has held positions in engineering, sales, and project management. Before becoming a corporate member, Greg was the Vice President and General Manager of the Virginia Division. Greg has been actively involved in the Precast, Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) for over three decades, serving as Chairman of the Board in 2012, Chairman of Design Handbook Committee for the 7th Edition, Chairman of the Parking Structures Committee, and a member of the Technical Activities Council. Greg remains active on several technical committees, and he is presently the Chairman of Research and Development Council, as well as a member of the PCI Foundation Board of Trustees. He is a Fellow of PCI and ASCE and was named a Titan of the Industry by PCI in 2014. Greg was the recipient of the Mario J. Bertolini Leadership & Innovation Award in 2018.

Cary Frame

Chairman

Polargy

Cary runs Polargy, sometimes into the ground, but most times to good success. He shows up for work mostly because he likes inventing things, with that he is trying to change the way data centers are built. He is particularly keen on figuring new ways to bring speed to the construction equation. For example, after two years of development Polargy launched its structural ceiling system with speed as must have. Today, builders are installing 75,000 square feet in a quick 8 days. On the personal side, Cary is easily distracted by shiny objects. However, when you’re talking to him you will have his full attention; he won’t be checking his text messages.

Robert Miller

President

Earthwise Environmental

An industrial water treatment expert, Robert Miller is the founder, owner, and President of

Earthwise Environmental. Robert Miller is a Certified Water Technologist (CWT) who has over 30

years of onsite experience with HVAC and water systems for mission critical facilities. As a CWT,

Robert Miller is a recognized authority on Legionella testing, management, and control methods.

Forward-thinking in the water treatment industry, Robert Miller started Earthwise in 1995 to go

beyond the business model of hazardous chemical manufacturing and sales. Earthwise is a full

water solutions partner for data centers, hospitals, universities, manufacturers, and food &

beverage companies with onsite maintenance needs. Robert Miller created the Earthwise

Standard of Care to guarantee quality technical service and encourage continuous improvement

for customer facilities nationwide.

Robert Miller is a member of the Association of Water Technologies (AWT), the American Society

of Heating, Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Engineering (ASHRAE), and Cooling Technology

Institute (CTI).

Dave Meadows

Director, Technology

STULZ Air Technology Systems

David C. Meadows II has worked in data center cooling since 1999.  He is currently the Director of Technology with STULZ USA, a manufacturer of precision air conditioning, humidification, and dehumidification products specifically designed for the data center.  Previously David has served as both the Design Engineering Manager and the Applications Engineering Manager at Stulz.  David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.  David is also a graduate of the United States Navy Nuclear Power School.

Moderators

John Arcello
Moderator

John Arcello

Advanced Technology Core Market Co-Leader

DPR Construction

Drew Byrd
Moderator

Drew Byrd

Regional Director, Secure Power Division

Schneider Electric

Daniel Gemme
Moderator

Daniel Gemme

VP & General Manager, Global Critical Facilities Group

Turner Construction Company

Whitney Griggs
Moderator

Whitney Griggs

Director, Business Development - Service Providers

Schneider Electric

Martin Herbert
Moderator

Martin Herbert

Associate Principal

HED

Mike Herwald
Moderator

Mike Herwald

Manager, North American Sales

Munters Corporation

Miles Loo, Jr.
Moderator

Miles Loo, Jr.

Vice Chairman, Global Practice Leader – Data Centers

Newmark Valuation & Advisory

Daniel Kennedy
Moderator

Daniel Kennedy

Director, Data Center Engineering & Sales

Tate

Brooke Petosa
Moderator

Brooke Petosa

Senior Associate, Occupier Advisory Group (OAG)

Cushman & Wakefield

John Arcello

Moderator

DPR Construction

John is a mission critical Project Executive and Central Region leader for the Advanced

Technology Core Market at DPR Construction, one of the top technical builders and #3 ranked

data center and telecommunications contractor in the U.S. (ENR 2017).

With 17 years of industry experience, John has built data centers for industry leaders such as

Equinix, Digital Realty, Facebook, Ebay, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. He serves as

Project Executive on several of DPR’s mission critical projects in Texas and his extensive

technical expertise includes project evaluation, scheduling, project logistics, cost control,

subcontractor management and strategic planning.

He holds a Bachelors degree in Construction Management from Michigan State University and is

a USGBC LEED 2.2-Accredited Professional.

Drew Byrd

Moderator

Schneider Electric

Drew Byrd has over a decade experience in buildings, power and infrastructure technology. In his time with Schneider Electric he has held a variety of leadership roles focused towards building management systems, energy management, business strategy, urban infrastructure, integrated facility services, IoT and mission critical power. He currently serves as Regional Director for Schneider Electric’s Secure Power Business overseeing sales for 15 states across the south and south eastern US. As a leader within Schneider Electric Drew is passionate about serving clients and partners with a comprehensive approach to solving IT, Data Center and Commercial/Industrial challenges with a broad portfolio of technology, capabilities and expertise. As the world-wide leader in critical power and cooling, Schneider Electric places the customer first in terms of understanding unique needs as the basis for design and delivery of solutions.

Whitney Griggs

Moderator

Schneider Electric

Whitney brings over 20 years of experience in the data center industry, spending the last 9 years as an Account Executive dedicated to the Service Provider segment for key strategic colocation accounts. Recently, she has assumed a new position as Director of Business Development for the Service Provider segment where she will be leading the new business initiatives across North America for Schneider. Whitney is located in Atlanta, GA, is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and married with 3 children.

Martin Herbert

Moderator

HED

Martin Herbert, PE, LEED AP BD+C, is an Associate Principal with HED and leads

the firm’s mission critical mechanical engineering group. Martin has provided

design solutions for some of the world’s largest data center providers, as well as

for enterprise data center customers in the financial, pharmaceutical, and retail

industries. Martin also has an extensive knowledge of sustainable design

practices and has worked on multiple LEED Gold, Silver, and Uptime certified

projects. He is a graduate of the University of Texas, where he received his

degree in Architectural Engineering.

Miles Loo, Jr.

Moderator

Newmark Valuation & Advisory

Miles Loo Jr., CRE, FRICS, joined Newmark Valuation & Advisory in 2017 in the Downtown Los Angeles office, where he serves as Vice Chairman and the Global Lead for Newmark Valuation & Advisory’s Data Centers & Life Science group. Miles is well recognized as the industry’s leading appraiser of data center properties. His experience includes advising private equity funds, institutional investors, large pension funds, Fortune 500 companies, cloud companies and Global IT conglomerates on investments in all types of data centers, including mission critical, disaster recovery data centers, colocation facilities, carrier hotels, internet gateways and life science properties. These assignments have involved data centers owned and/or operated by Fortune 500 companies across numerous industries as well as Uptime Institute Site Certified Tier III and Tier IV facilities; U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Platinum, Gold and Silver buildings; and state and federal disaster recovery data centers. Miles has led valuations of large individual and portfolio valuations spanning multiple countries across six continents (NA, EMEA, APAC, LATAM and African regions) and has consulted on a number of the world’s largest data centers.

Daniel Kennedy

Moderator

Tate

As Tate’s Director of Data Center Engineering and Sales, Daniel Kennedy leads the data center division in

both a sales and product development capacity.  With more than 14 years of industry experience, Daniel

uses his vast knowledge of data center disciplines, cooling technology, and IT infrastructure, to develop

relationships and present to Fortune 100 companies. An established thought leader in the data center

industry, he speaks on wide-ranging industry topics at events world-wide and his research has been

compiled into several whitepapers focusing on the subject of raised floors in data centers. Daniel hold

an MBA from George Mason University in Virginia and a degree in Electrical Engineering from Cedarville

University.

Brooke Petosa

Moderator

Cushman & Wakefield

As a Senior Associate within the Occupier Advisory Group (OAG) at Cushman & Wakefield, Brooke Petosa focuses on identifying and delivering data center representation services to client services. She is a seasoned telecom and data center professional, with years of contract negotiation experience. Her expertise in this area has led to her inclusion in Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Data Center Advisory Group, which falls under the OAG umbrella.

A results-driven sales professional with a demonstrated talent for developing new business and driving revenue in the data center industry, Brooke has an in-depth understanding of telecom services and networking technologies leveraged by enterprise clients. Her strong communication skills and collaborative leadership style benefits clients and partners in negotiating complex commercial real estate transactions.

Summary

DICE South | Data Center Investment Conference & Expo, South

Join us for our annual Data Center Investment Conference & Expo (DICE) South in Dallas! 

With 40.2 MW of net absorption reported in H2 2018, Dallas is the third-largest data center market in North America behind Northern Virginia and Silicon Valley. 

The Dallas data center market is already home to 2.99 MW SF of commissioned data center space. With 570 MW of additional capacity in planning stages, there is a strong inclination toward growth, with a high demand from enterprise tenants.  

Why Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)?

Favorable Business Climate: DFW has expanded by 5.7% in the last year, putting the region in the top ten best economy in the US. 

Tax Incentives: The state grants tax breaks for large enterprise and colocation users.

Reasonable Power Costs: electricity is relatively inexpensive in the region, at 4.5 cents/kWh in 2018.

Strong Power and Fiber Infrastructure: The regional infrastructure is both dense and diverse, with “Telecom Corridor” headquartered north of Dallas.

Topics will Include: 

1. How will increased power density and cooling capacity impact site selection?

2. As end-user demands shift, how will the growing use of outsourced IT services drive demand for off-premise data centers and onto the cloud? 

3. How will the Internet of Things and AI impact data center demand?

4. With deployments becoming more dense and compact, what are hyperscalers and cloud providers doing to be more sustainable?

5. What do the growth of micro data centers, 5G and Edge Computing innovations mean for today’s data center requirements?

6. Will Dallas start to gain hyperscale projects in a market historically driven by service providers and enterprise users? 

Who Attends?

Our Bisnow DICE Events bring together those with the following backgrounds:

-Developers

-Investors

-Data Center Operators

-CRE Brokers

-Colocation, wholesale and cloud providers

-Enterprise end-users of Information Technology, Business Operations and Analytics

-Telecom/Fiber Companies

-Economic Development Associations

-Engineers

-Architects

Join us for this full-day premium event on August 20, 2019, to network with the leading owners, developers, investors, end users and major players in DFW's booming data center market. 

Share your comments, post your photos and ask questions using #BisnowDICE on Twitter and Instagram, and follow us at @BisnowDallas on Twitter for more local news.

For questions, recommendations or press inquiries, please email Adam at Adam.Knobloch@bisnow.com 

Venue

DataBank
8375 Dominion Pkwy
Plano, TX 75024


Parking is free

Floor: 1st and 2nd floor

Nearby Accommodations:
Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel
6007 Legacy Dr, Plano, TX 75024
(469) 925-1800

NYLO Dallas Plano Hotel
8201 Preston Rd, Plano, TX 75024
(972) 624-6990

Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center
7121 Bishop Rd, Plano, TX 75024
(972) 473-6444

PARKING UPDATE
Please note parking for this event is off-site. Shuttles will be available to take you to and from the event space throughout the duration of the event.
Address for parking:
JCPenny Parking Garage SOUTH (top level ONLY)
6501 Legacy Dr
Plano, TX 75024

Agenda

Time Activity
12:30 PM
1:25 PM
Networking, Breakfast & Registration
1:25 PM
1:30 PM
Welcome to DICE South 2019!
1:30 PM
2:20 PM
State of the Market: Capital, Development and DFW's Data Center Boom

• Moderator: John Arcello, Advanced Technology Core Market Co-Leader, DPR Construction
• Chris Curtis, Senior VP, Development & Acquisitions, Compass Datacenters
• Christof Hammerli, Digital Infrastructure, Landmark Dividend
• Raul Martynek, CEO, DataBank
• Ryan Sullivan, Managing Director, Lincoln Rackhouse
• Bryan Marsh, VP, Global Asset Management, Digital Realty Trust

2:20 PM
3:05 PM
The Day After Tomorrow: Data Center Construction, Design, Planning and Today's Evolving Workforce

• Moderator: Daniel Gemme, VP & General Manager, Global Critical Facilities Group, Turner Construction Company
• Lane Anderson, VP, Development & Strategic Procurement, QTS
• Trey Berndt, Executive Vice President, Carrier-1 Data Centers
• Tim Gainey, Manager, Business Development - Commercial Applications, Tindall Corporation
• Kevin Ooley, President & CFO, DataBank
• Chris Orlando, CEO, ScaleMatrix

3:05 PM
3:25 PM
Morning Networking Break
3:25 PM
4:05 PM
The Last Mile: 5G, Data Center Interconnectivity, Peering and Life on the Edge

• Moderator: Whitney Griggs, Account Executive, Data Center Solutions, Schneider Electric
• Peter Cohen, VP, Peering, Interconnectivity & Ecosystem Development, QTS
• Mary Jane Horne, Senior VP, Global Network Services, INAP
• Sean Maguire, Senior Director, Strategic Engagements - MRT
• Nabeel Mahmood, Member, Board of Directors, United Security Bank

4:05 PM
4:45 PM
Modernizing Infrastructure & Operations: Optimizing Site Reliability and Sustainability

• Moderator: Daniel Kennedy, Director, Data Center Engineering & Sales, Tate
• Jay Brummett, Senior Director, Data Center Facilities, DataBank
• Janna Luther Connor, Unit Manager Data Centers, BlueCross BlueShield of Texas
• Therese Kerfoot, Senior VP, Customer Lifecycle & Operations, EdgeCore Internet Real Estate
• Dave Meadows, Director, Industry, Standards & Technology, STULZ USA

4:45 PM
6:00 PM
Networking Luncheon
5:15 PM
6:00 PM
Lunch & Learn Workshop: Data Center Cooling & Efficiency of Tomorrow

• Moderator: Mike Herwald, Manager, Sales - North America, Munters Corporation
• Cary Frame, CEO, Polargy
• Phill Lawson-Shanks, CDO, Aligned Energy
• Robert Miller, President, Earthwise Environmental
• Mark Taylor, Director, Data Center Operations, Evoque Data Center Solutions
• Terry Vergon, Senior Director, Critical Facilities, Alorica

6:00 PM
6:45 PM
The Now & Future of Cloud Migration, Hybridization & Managed Services

• Moderator: Brooke Petosa, Senior Associate, Occupier Advisory Group (OAG), Cushman & Wakefield
• Ryan Barbera, CEO, Data Canopy
• Jay Battershell, CEO, McLane Intelligent Solutions
• Lance Black, Founder, President & CEO, VAZATA
• Shannon Hulbert, Co-Founder & CEO, Opus Interactive

6:45 PM
7:30 PM
Next-Gen Applications: AI, IoT, Data Security & Beyond

• Moderator: Martin Herbert, Associate Principal, HED
• Romelia Flores, Distinguished Engineer & Master Inventor, IBM
• Girish Ramachandran, Chief Technology Architect, City of Dallas
• Paola Saibene, VP, Enterprise Risk Management, American Heart Association
• Randy Stroud, CISO, Hunt Companies

7:30 PM
9:00 PM
DICE South Post-Event Cocktail Reception: Cocktails & Hors d'Oeuvres!