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Developing South Florida: How Strategy and a Latin American and Caribbean Gateway Are Driving Returns

Bob DeSantis

Bob DeSantis

CEO

365 Data Centers

John Regan

John Regan

Chief Investment Officer

Carter Funds

Chris Torto

Chris Torto

CEO

Ascenty

Michael Sevret

Michael Sevret

President

South Reach Networks

Frank Louthan
Moderator

Frank Louthan

Managing Director, Equity Research

Raymond James

Bob DeSantis

CEO

365 Data Centers

Bob DeSantis is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur who has held senior leadership positions in public and private, competitive and regulated companies within the communications, technology, and energy industries. He has been a leader in acquiring, building and growing businesses and arranging for their initial public offerings and other strategic events. Bob’s expertise spans strategy, operations, finance, corporate law, real estate, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to becoming the CEO of 365 Data Centers, Bob was the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Xand, which became the leading, privately owned, data center, managed services and cloud services operator in the Northeast prior to its sale to Tierpoint. His previous technology and communications experience includes serving as President and COO of cloud operator Flexisphere, CFO of DSL.net, a nationwide internet service provider, CFO of Electric Lightwave, a metro and long haul fiber business, Executive Vice President of core optical switch manufacturer Tellium, and CFO of Frontier Communications (f/k/a Citizens Communications) during that company’s transformation from a diversified utility to one of the nation’s largest telecommunications companies. Bob started his career as a Tax Specialist at KPMG and then as a Tax Attorney with GTE Corp. He broadened his professional expertise by serving as President & COO of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the overseer of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and was named by CPA Magazine as one of the top 100 most influential practitioners. Bob holds both BSE and MS degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) and a Juris Doctorate degree from Boston College Law School. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the Bars of several state and federal courts.

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.

Chris Torto

CEO

Ascenty

Chris is a U.S. citizen permanently residing in Brazil since 1989.He was the founder and CEO of Vivax, the second largest cable TV carrier in Brazil, that he started in 1995.He led Vivax's IPO in 2006 on the Bovespa stock exchange, and the company was later acquired by NET Serviços in 2007.Chris was also the CEO of Voyager Inc., an Internet company that went public in 1999 on the NASDAQ stock exchange (acquired by a U.S. telecom group in 2000).Chris holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Maine and an MBA from Harvard University.

Michael Sevret

President

South Reach Networks

Michael is the President of South Reach Networks where he will be overseeing the strategy, growth and market expansion. Michael brings 20 years of successful telecommunications experience. Michael was a Principal Executive and Board Member of Cross River Fiber heading up sales and business development (January 2012 through February 2018). Cross River Fiber was successfully acquired (majority stake) in 2014 by Ridgemont Equity Partners.

Prior to joining Cross River Fiber as a partner in January 2012, Michael was the Regional Vice President of Sales for Cablevision Optimum Lightpath where Michael was responsible for the overall sales initiatives, establishing P&L responsibility, maintaining and growing sales revenues accountable for leading the New Jersey’s sales efforts.

Prior to joining Optimum Lightpath in 2008, through a successful acquisition and transition Michael was the Vice President of Sales & Business Development and a key Executive with 4Connections LLC. 4Connections was an entrepreneurial niche NJ Based CLEC & telecommunications start-up that constructed, owned and operated its own independent Dark Fiber network assets. Michael’s leadership and vision at 4Connections helped elevate the firm to become a widely recognized and respected company in the industry.

Michael started his career directly of out college as account executive at MCI Worldcom in 1999 with a direct sales role handling global enterprise & national accounts. Michael has achieved incredible results and success since then. He is a highly recognized sales leader and has held sales and executive positions at MCI WorldCom, TelCove, 4Connections, Optimum Lightpath and Cross River Fiber. Michael has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Western New England University where he also played football. In addition, Michael has been the face to many of the industry’s keynote conferences, panel speaking roles and round table discussions and has been quoted numerous times in the media, press releases and on local TV.

In 2010, Optimum Lightpath senior management and marketing nominated Michael as a candidate submission being recognized as a potential nominee for NJ BIZ TOP 40 under 40.

Michael is a father of 4 children and is very active in his local community in NJ where he and his family live. Michael is on the board of trustees for the Wayne Hockey Club and is head hockey coach for the Wayne Hockey Club and the NJ Bandits travel hockey association. Michael also donates his time as a coach and volunteer with various sports programs for his children and charity venues.

Frank Louthan

Moderator

Raymond James

Frank Louthan has been a publishing analyst in the telecommunications services sector since 1999 and joined the Raymond James telecom team in 2001. Prior to moving to Raymond James, Mr. Louthan worked at one of Wells Fargo Securities’ predecessors, where he primarily covered rural carriers as well as early CLECs and broadband carriers that emerged in the wake of the Telecom Act of 1996. Prior to that, Mr. Louthan covered IT services firms, and before coming to Wall Street he held operations and finance positions with Delta Air Lines. Within the industry, Mr. Louthan has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Telecommunications and the Internet, and has been recognized in The Wall Street Journal Best on the Street survey, as well as by Forbes and Bloomberg Markets for stock-picking awards. He has also been recognized numerous times in the StarMine Analyst Awards, receiving the Analyst Award for Excellence and recognition for stock picking. Mr. Louthan frequently presents at telecommunications industry and regulatory conferences. Mr. Louthan received his MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen School, and a B.A. degree in economics and business from the Virginia Military Institute.

Innovation in Efficiency: Cloud Migration Operation and Sustainability Shaping South Beach

David McCall

David McCall

Brand Evangelist

QTS Data Centers

Jeff Burges

Jeff Burges

President & Founder

DataSite

Vinay Nagpal
Moderator

Vinay Nagpal

CEO | Executive Director & Founding Member

IG Group | IEIC

Phillip Marangella

Phillip Marangella

CMO

EdgeConneX

Michael Ortiz

Michael Ortiz

CEO

Layer 9 Datacenters

David McCall

Brand Evangelist

QTS Data Centers

David is an experienced public speaker and data center evangelist with over 25 years in

the IT/Data Center industry. He has held a variety of roles, from leading national product

and solution engineering teams to hosting the QTS Experience podcast.

David is passionate about using technology and data for the greater good. He believes

that data centers can help humanity prosper, nurture our planet, and safeguard a future

for upcoming generations. He is committed to fostering a community that brings

together a diverse range of users, thinkers, and implementers of technology for

enriching conversations, shared laughter, and immersive experiences into the inner

workings of our digitally connected world.

David is a visionary who is eager to leverage the far-reaching implications of our

interconnected digital lives. He is a respected industry professional known for his

Jeff Burges

President & Founder

DataSite

Jeff Burges is the President & Founder of DataSite; a wholesale data center space and network services provider. DataSite provides mission critical data center facility environments coupled with best-in-class facility operations. The company’s data center services solve complex real estate challenges for technology intensive users in the corporate enterprise, managed services and content delivery networks industries and beyond. DataSite currently owns and operates world-class U.S. based facilities in Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boise, Idaho.

Mr. Burges has owned and managed over 21 million square feet of commercial real estate, valued at over $2.5 billion. These portfolios consisted of data centers, telecom hotels, bio-technology labs as well as traditional office and industrial properties throughout the United States. Through his 32 year career in commercial real estate, Mr. Burges has gained a deep understanding of the property and critical infrastructure needs of the most discriminating technology companies, while simultaneously honing his real estate skill set. This combination enables DataSite to provide its clients with broad and uniquely valuable data center solutions.

In 2003, Mr. Burges founded BURGES property + company with a specific strategy to purchase empty, undervalued and misunderstood data center properties as property investments. In 2008, Mr. Burges launched DataSite as the logical next step in providing the worldwide IT community best-in-class data center space by the kilowatt.

Giving back to the industry and community is very important to Mr. Burges. Thus, Mr. Burges has served as an Officer on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Chapter of NAIOP; the Commercial Real Estate Association. He is a regular speaker and mentor to students and faculty at UCSD, San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. Mr. Burges, his wife and children are avid supporters of the MARSOC Foundation (Marine Special Operations Command) at Camp Pendleton, California. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management Consulting.

Vinay Nagpal

Moderator

IG Group | IEIC

26+ years of global experience in Data Center & Connectivity industry specializing in Product & Business Management Vinay Nagpal is an industry leader and visionary with global experience developing products and solutions in wholesale and retail colocation data centers with a strong focus on connectivity, subsea and terrestrial fiber. Currently, he is the President of InterGlobix LLC, a global consulting and advisory firm focused on the convergence of data centers, subsea and terrestrial fiber. Vinay is also the Co-Founder and Member of QTS Richmond NAP, which is a global Internet Interconnection hub in Virginia offering the lowest-latency, highest-capacity subsea connectivity. He is the Founding Member & Executive Director of Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC), an independent global committee that promotes Internet diversity and forming of Internet nexus points. Vinay also serves on the Leadership Board of NVTC Data Center & Cloud Committee, and actively leads Northern Virginia’s data center and connectivity initiatives. Vinay has been involved in the subsea developments in Virginia. He also serves on the Submarine Networks EMEA Customer Advisory Board, LINX NoVA Customer Advisory Board, and NVTC’s Executive Circle. As an active participant in industry forums, Vinay is a member of the PTC Membership Committee, Marketing & Communications Committee and SubOptic Diversity & Inclusion Working Group. Vinay’s past endeavors include being part of the Open-IX Association board to build open standards for data centers and IXPs. As the Vice President of Product Management at Digital Realty / DuPont Fabros (DFT), he led product management of DFT’s Data Center, Connectivity and Managed Services. During his tenure, he developed company’s carrier-neutral data center connectivity and peering services, designed and implemented dark fiber networks and supported customers’ network requirements. His senior-level network-centric positions at Tata Communications, Verizon, MCI, Digex and UUNET allowed his to productize data center and connectivity services across US, Canada, London, Singapore, Australia and India. Vinay holds an MBA in Information Systems, a B.S. in Computer Science, an ITIL certification and a Higher Diploma in Software Engineering. He has authored white papers, blogs, and industry publications on datacenter and connectivity services. He has been invited a speaker to several renowned conferences across the world.

Phillip Marangella

CMO

EdgeConneX

Phillip has over 20 years of international marketing, strategy, and business development experience working in the Data Center, Telecom and Technology sectors for leading service providers. Prior to joining EdgeConneX, Phillip most recently worked for Equinix in various capacities in both marketing and business development. In addition, Phillip had stints at Coresite, Verizon, MCI, Nortel and Globalstar. Phillip was also a partner and founder of a tech consulting firm focused on international technology transfer and venture funding of university developed technology.

Currently serving as the Chief Marketing Officer at EdgeConneX, Phillip is focused on developing, evangelizing and executing the marketing strategy and ecosystem development for the company. Phillip also serves on the advisory boards for Apomaya and Infrastructure Masons.

Phillip holds a Bachelors in Political Science from the University of California San Diego, and a Masters in Multinational Commerce from Boston University.

Michael Ortiz

CEO

Layer 9 Datacenters

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.

Why This Matters

Panel 1 - Developing South Florida: How Strategy and A Latin American and Caribbean Getaway Are Driving Returns

  • How is critical infrastructure impacting investment in the South Florida region?

  • What does the increase in hyper-scale development mean for data center investment long term?

  • How has the growth in Latin America impacted the Florida region? Are deals being done due to the high level of connectivity?

  • What market incentives does South Florida have for data centers? How much of an influence does the de-regulation of power have?

  • How are end users driving regional demand? How has this impacted cloud providers?

Panel 2 - Innovation In Efficiency: Cloud Migration Operation and Sustainability Shaping South Beach

  • How has network and connectivity demand in South Florida impacted capacity demands from migrating companies to the South Florida region?

  • How does further investment in digital infrastructure impact operator strategies for cooling and efficiency?

  • What role does sustainability play in the future of South Florida expansions? How are facilities in the region adjusting for efficiency?

How You'll Do More Business: Learn how data center deals can be done in the South Florida market. Find investment opportunities due to changes in end-user preferences, which trends are leading to consistent growth for expansion, and which development opportunities are driving returns.  

Who You'll Meet: Directors of Strategy, developers, CEOs, VP of construction and development, investors, GC's, architects, lenders, engineers, director of operations, providers, end-users, and owners.

Why You Should Attend: To learn about leading trends scaling the South Florida region, how providers are investing with returns in mind, and network with other leaders in the region scaling the data center market.  


What You Get: Access to two panels of live content, panel replays on-demand, and live chat with Q&A. 

Agenda

Time Activity
5:00 PM
5:45 PM
Panel 1: Developing South Florida: How Strategy and The Caribbean Are Driving Returns
5:45 PM
6:30 PM
Panel 2: Innovation in Efficiency: Cloud Migration Operation and Sustainability Shaping South Beach

Sponsors

Discussion Details

How You'll Do More Business: Learn how data center deals can be done in the South Florida market. Find investment opportunities due to changes in end-user preferences, which trends are leading to consistent growth for expansion, and which development opportunities are driving returns.  

Who You'll Meet: Directors of Strategy, developers, CEOs, VP of construction and development, investors, GC's, architects, lenders, engineers, director of operations, providers, end-users, and owners.

Why You Should Attend: To learn about leading trends scaling the South Florida region, how providers are investing with returns in mind, and network with other leaders in the region scaling the data center market.  


What You Get: Access to two panels of live content, panel replays on-demand, and live chat with Q&A.