Driving Data Centre Demand: Financing the Future of Digital Infrastructure

Exploring Investment Drivers, Risks, and Emerging Opportunities in the Data Centre Industry

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  James Walsh

  Senior Investment Director

  AustralianSuper

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  Zachary Stephenson

  Principal

  DigitalBridge

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  Richard Revess

  Richard works in Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba)’s project finance team based in London focusing on digital infrastructure, energy transition, and economic infrastructure for the UK and Ireland but also in wider Europe following clients. This has involved arranging and lending to a number of landmark transactions including carbon capture and storage, fibre, data centres, offshore wind and PPPs, under corporate, acquisition and project finance structures. Prior to Helaba Richard worked in KPMG in their advisory and consulting business advising Government and private side clients on project finance transactions.

  Helaba

  Director

  Richard Revess

  Director

  Helaba

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  Scott Burn

  Scott is a Senior Associate in the commercial real estate team at Maples Teesdale. Scott has experience in non-contentious commercial property work including acquisitions, disposals, financings, landlord and tenant work, as well as property management work for a variety of office and shopping centres in the UK with a particular focus on industrial, logistics and data centre assets.

  Maples Teesdale

  Senior Associate

  Moderator

  Scott Burn

  Senior Associate

  Maples Teesdale

Shaping the UK’s Data Centre Design and Construction Pipeline

How Experts Are Navigating Constraints and Innovations in Data Centre Development

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  Paul Finch

  CTO

  Kao Data

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  Oliver Titley

  Customer Solutions Director

  Pure Data Centres Group

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  Christian Goldsmith

  Christian is a seasoned Senior Programme Director in the Data Center Sector at Arcadis, specialising in Delivery Solutions globally. With over 20 years of experience, Christian has honed expertise in Business and Programme Leadership, Major Project Controls, and Cost & Commercial Leadership across various sectors including Technology, Infrastructure, Pharmaceutical, and more. Having obtained an MSc in Major Programme Management from the University of Oxford - Said Business School, Christian brings a unique blend of academic knowledge and practical experience to the professional arena. His prowess lies in orchestrating international major construction and infrastructure programmes, driving excellence through effective leadership and stakeholder consultation.

  Arcadis

  Data Centres Global Solutions Lead

  Christian Goldsmith

  Data Centres Global Solutions Lead

  Arcadis

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  Waleed Zafar

  Waleed Zafar is the Mission Critical Director of XYZ Reality, a leading developer of construction technology solutions that give owners and contractors an accurate and objective way to manage and deliver projects. Waleed joined XYZ Reality as its first employee and has led the deployment of XYZ’s platform across all major projects globally. He partners closely with mission-critical clients to streamline time to market and expedite project delivery.

  XYZ Reality

  Mission Critical Director

  Waleed Zafar

  Mission Critical Director

  XYZ Reality

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  Peter Browne

  Peter Browne is Head of Strategy at Suir Engineering, one of Ireland’s largest specialist M&E services contractors. Headquartered in Ireland and operating across Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Nordic regions, Suir Engineering specialises in delivering engineering excellence to the data Centre, life sciences and energy, power & renewables sectors. With annual revenues of €429m and a workforce in excess of 1,500, Suir is positioned for significant growth across its key markets. A Chartered Construction Manager Peter has over twenty years’ experience in the construction, real estate and engineering sectors. He is responsible for business development, marketing and expansion into new markets. Peter is also an advocate and expert in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) having previously spent 15 years with The McAvoy Group and 4 years with mac-group expanding their offering across the healthcare, education, commercial and aviation sectors. Peter is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building.

  Suir Engineering

  Head of Strategy

  Moderator

  Peter Browne

  Head of Strategy

  Suir Engineering

Operation Data Centres: Optimising Efficiency & Sustainability

Exploring Innovations in Energy Management, Cyber Resilience, and Cost-Effective Sustainability

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  Paul Alexander

  VP, Market Unit Head, Nokia UK&I

  Nokia

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  Derek Allen

  Group Operations Director

  Global Switch

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  George Harold

  George Harold is co-CEO and co-founder of Fexillon, a leading specialist in managing digital building information for the asset lifecycle. Fexillon have been pioneering digital transformation in the built environment for over 25 years across sectors and mission-critical infrastructure, supporting a number of leading blue-chip companies across Ireland, the UK, Europe and the US. The Fexillon Platform and industry experts assist Owner Operators with the delivery and management of Buildings and Infrastructure data, ensuring clients receive the right information at the right time, creating a golden thread of information and approved Digital Building record at handover, ensuring Soft Landings for Facilities Management and providing the foundations to monitor ESG goals on the path to Net Zero.

  Fexillon

  Co-CEO & Co-Founder

  George Harold

  Co-CEO & Co-Founder

  Fexillon

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  Steven Davidson

  Steve has recently joined the RBG team as Sector Lead for Data Centres and mission critical as well as AECA Regional Sub Sector lead for Data Centres and Advanced Manufacturing within the SJ group. With 18 years of experience and a chartered engineer, Steve has led the delivery of numerous diverse and complex projects across the UK, including data centres, commercial spaces, residential developments, and educational buildings. Steve has a proven track record of driving innovative and sustainable engineering solutions tailored to the evolving needs of each project. His dedication to building strong client relationships and achieving successful outcomes through collaborative thinking with the extended design team ensures the delivery of projects on programme and budget. Having made significant contributions to industry discourse through published blogs Steven is particularly focussed on sustainable retrofitting of legacy data centres by unlocking the potential of the existing structure and maximising embodied carbon benefits.

  Robert Bird Group

  Senior Director

  Moderator

  Steven Davidson

  Senior Director

  Robert Bird Group

Powering Data Centres: Managing Energy and Embracing Renewables

Managing Energy Costs and Embracing Renewables for UK Data Centres

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  Tim O’Reilly

  Tim is responsible for power strategy across the Tritax Group – developing and implementing a co-ordinated, resilient and futureproof offering. Tim joined Tritax in January 2022 after 10 years at National Grid working across a number of technical and leadership roles. His project experience spans managing significant asset management portfolios, developing cutting edge and innovative designs for the UK power system, and working on some of the UK’s largest projects. Most recently he was focused on the strategic development of the UK power system to facilitate net zero transition, notably developing in conjunction with government a national charging strategy for EVs and facilitating the connection of the first battery storage portfolios to the transmission system.

  Tritax Group

  Director of Strategic Power

  Tim O’Reilly

  Director of Strategic Power

  Tritax Group

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  Calum Blair

  In his role as Power & Energy Manager, Calum is responsible for securing power and delivering energy solutions for CyrusOne’s data centre developments across Europe. With a background in renewable energy, Calum has worked on a wide range of technologies including wind, solar, combined heat and power, and large-scale battery energy storage systems. He has deep experience in the origination and development of energy projects, managing complex processes across grid applications, land agreements, planning consents, and technical design. In his most recent role at Amp, he played a key role in developing projects post “Ready-to-Build” (RTB) for three of Europe’s largest battery storage schemes. He has worked closely with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to accelerate grid connections and support policy changes that enable faster deployment of critical energy infrastructure.

  CyrusOne

  Power & Energy Manager

  Calum Blair

  Power & Energy Manager

  CyrusOne

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  Stefan Nasstrom

  Stefan Nasstrom is a seasoned professional with a 33-year track record in the energy sector. His expertise spans a broad spectrum, encompassing electric and natural gas commodities in both retail and wholesale energy markets, as well as proficiency in demand-side projects, resiliency solutions and regulatory affairs. In his most recent engagement as the Director, Environmental & Energy Markets for MIRATECH GmbH, Stefan broadened his scope to include resiliency and decarbonization of the grid, showcasing his adaptability to evolving regulatory industry demands. Simultaneously, he supported data center clients in achieving resiliency goals while steering them towards ambitious sustainability objectives. With a wealth of experience spanning multiple facets of the energy and regulatory sector, and a demonstrated ability to navigate complex challenges, Stefan could be a valuable resource in driving innovation and sustainability within the Data Center industry.

  MIRATECH Corporation

  Director, Environmental & Energy Markets

  Stefan Nasstrom

  Director, Environmental & Energy Markets

  MIRATECH Corporation

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  Jonathan Freegard

  Jonathan Freegard has built a distinguished career in online technology since the early 2000s, specialising in offshore markets, high-density compute, and hyperscale deployments. His technical expertise and strategic foresight enable him to anticipate industry challenges, guiding technological innovation and anticipate industry change.

  Wesco Anixter Data Centre Solutions

  Senior Manager, Technical Sales

  Jonathan Freegard

  Senior Manager, Technical Sales

  Wesco Anixter Data Centre Solutions

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  Katie Williams

  Katie specialises in advising on a wide range of development, financing and M&A mandates across the energy and infrastructure markets and has acted on a variety of transactions including project development, project finance, acquisition finance, acquisitions, disposals and joint venture arrangements. Katie has over a decade of experience advising sponsors, lenders and government institutions in Europe, Asia and Africa, with a particular focus on renewables, data centres and the energy transition.

  Ashurst

  Partner

  Moderator

  Katie Williams

  Partner

  Ashurst