Opening Keynote

Updates on the Illinois Incentive Package and Future Opportunities for Data Center Development

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  Michael Pegues

  Michael Pegues was appointed by Mayor Richard C. Irvin as Chief Information Officer for the City of Aurora, Illinois in June 2017. As an Aurora native, he began his career working in various IT Support roles for AT&T and Pepsi-Co in the Greater Chicago Area. Pegues has worked for the US Department of Defense as a civilian Automation Management Officer at US Army Garrison in Vicenza, Italy. Additionally, he has held various senior IT positions in Hewlett-Packard France, Vodafone Hungary and Morgan Stanley in Budapest, Hungary and New York, NY. Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from DeVry University and an Executive MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management from Central European University Business School from Budapest, Hungary. Michael is a proud Veteran of the US Army.

  City of Aurora, IL

  CIO

  1

  Michael Pegues

  CIO

  City of Aurora, IL

State of the Midwest Market

Regional Activity and Future Outlook in Chicago and the Midwest

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  John Day

  Chief Commercial Officer

  CleanArc Data Centers

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  Phill Lawson-Shanks

  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.

  Aligned Data Centers

  Chief Innovation Officer

  Phill Lawson-Shanks

  Chief Innovation Officer

  Aligned Data Centers

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  Phillip Koblence

  Phillip Koblence is a strategic executive and thought leader in the data center and network space. He co-founded NYI (www.nyi.net) in 1996 and has successfully navigated through an ever-shifting infrastructure landscape, growing the company from a single data center in Lower Manhattan to a robust network with executional capabilities in key national and international markets. His leadership, focus on customer experience, and ability to cut through complexity and hype, has positioned NYI as an industry leader in high-touch infrastructure solutions. Phillip is also CEO of Critical Ventures, a consulting agency offering a range of services to help clients, owners and investors optimize the value of critical infrastructure assets. Phillip sits on the DE-CIX North America Advisory Board as well as on the Board of OIX (formerly Open-IX). Phillip is Co-Founder of the Nomad Futurist Foundation and Podcast, designed to demystify the world of critical infrastructure and inspire younger generations to join the industry. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been profiled by Data Center Knowledge, TheWHIR, MSPMentor, and NJ BIZ. He has an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

  NYI

  Co-Founder & COO

  Phillip Koblence

  Co-Founder & COO

  NYI

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  Avner Papouchado

  Avner Papouchado has been the guiding force behind ServerFarm since its inception. Known for his intense business acumen, Papouchado has a proven track record of successful real estate investments. He has served as Red Sea Group’s North American CEO since 1993 and is an active member of the executive management team responsible for the company’s worldwide investment strategy. A certified pilot, Papouchado received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the New School for Social Research in New York.

  ServerFarm

  CEO

  Avner Papouchado

  CEO

  ServerFarm

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  Sean Reynolds

  Sean Reynolds is a Managing Director with JLL and is the co-leader of the Midwest Chicago Data Center Services. Focusing exclusively in tenant / user representation, Sean assists his clients in data center and office strategic real estate planning, acquisition and disposition of real estate assets, financial analysis, lease and MSA analysis, and market valuations. Specialties Data Center and Office Specialist. Years of experience ​ 15 years Experience Sean started as an Associate at The Staubach Company in 2000 and worked his way to Principal in 2007. Sean has been a consistent leader within Jones Lang LaSalle and has been recognized globally five of the last seven years. Sean’s list of clients includes Comcast, Walgreens, Computer Associates, Huron Consulting, UAL, Roosevelt University, Karbal Cohen Economue Silk & Dunne, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Williams Lea, the Chicago Housing Authority, Geneva Investment, Kovitz Investment Group and the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Key transactions Comcast (portfolio) Williams Lea (portfolio) Chicago Housing Authority (portfolio) UAL - 130,000 s.f. Cancer Treatment Centers - 90,000 s.f. DuPage Technology Park - 72,000 s.f. Walgreen's - 50,000 s.f. TCF Inventory Finance - 45,000 s.f. ASCP - 32,000 s.f. Karbal Cohen Economue Silk & Dunne - 16,000 s.f. Quad Graphics - 15,500 s.f. Computer Associates - 2,000 s.f. Awards Jones Lang LaSalle – “Top Gun” 2006 & 2011 & “Top Achiever” 2005, 2007 & 2010 Education B.A. Economics – University of Iowa Affiliations Completed Data Center Dynamics Course- “Design Awareness” Illinois Real Estate Licensed Broker Jones Lang LaSalle –Multiple public speaking engagements, seminars and publications regarding data center trends and real estate strategies​

  JLL

  Regional Director

  Moderator

  Sean Reynolds

  Regional Director

  JLL

Construction & Development:

Building Trends Across Regions of the Midwest States Amidst Chronic Supply Chain Challenges

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  Kristen Bejarano

  Kristen has been in the construction industry for over 20 years, working for a large General Contractor on various commercial projects including technical design-build federal projects, hotels & casinos, hospitals, prisons, stadiums and ultimately finding her passion with datacenters. You’ll often hear her refer to the book Ready Player One as it helped spark her interest into data centers many years ago. She recently made the switch to the Owners side and has filled the role of VP of Construction for Prime Data Centers. She has found the datacenter community to be incredibly inclusive and has enjoyed working alongside other innovative people. Kristen looks forward to seeing how datacenters evolve to address the various demands of the industry. Outside of work, she spends her free time with her family, going mountain biking, and doing charity work with her daughter through National Charity League.

  Microsoft

  Director, Global Supply Chain - AMER Region

  Kristen Bejarano

  Director, Global Supply Chain - AMER Region

  Microsoft

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  John Diamond

  VP, Engineering

  Evoque Data Center Solutions

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  Joshua Fluecke

  Josh Fluecke is a Principal and co-director of Syska Hennessy Group’s Critical Facility Practice. He has Over 20 years of experience managing numerous hyperscale, colocation, and critical facility projects throughout all stages of site selection, design, construction, testing and commissioning, and completion. He is a Registered Professional Engineer licensed in California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri. Josh is also a board director for Chicagoland’s Electric Association and Past-Chairman for the Electric Association’s Consulting Electrical Engineers Division. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from The University of Illinois at Chicago.

  Syska Hennessy Group

  Principal

  Joshua Fluecke

  Principal

  Syska Hennessy Group

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  Kurt Lindorfer

  Kurt’s professional engineering career spans over 40 years. His expertise includes structural engineering design for Mission Critical Facilities such as Data Centers, Health Care Facilities such as Hospitals and Clinics and Life Sciences Facilities such as Biopharmaceutical Pilot Plants and Production Facilities around the United States and the World. His area of expertise is in designing buildings to be occupable after natural disasters including Tornados, Hurricanes and Earthquakes. He has been the structural engineer of record for conventional “fixed Base Buildings” ranging from 1-23 stories, “Base Isolated Buildings” ranging from 1-5 stories, and the retrofit and new construction of buildings incorporating Fluid Viscous Dampers ranging from 1-22 stories. He has published numerous papers on passive energy dissipation and presented the findings at various conventions in Boston, San Francisco and Milan. For over 23 years as the Founding Principal at PARADIGM Structural Engineers, Kurt spends most of his time developing new leaders at PARADIGM and mentoring staff in Chicago and San Francisco.

  PARADIGM Structural Engineers

  Founding Principal

  Kurt Lindorfer

  Founding Principal

  PARADIGM Structural Engineers

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  Dave Rooke

  Currently serving as a project manager in Mortenson’s Chicago office, Dave Rooke brings a meticulous attention to detail that has enabled him to successfully lead the construction of some of our most challenging data center projects, including multiple projects with QTS Data Centers in Chicago, and currently on the DeKalb Data Center. Dave has spent his career cultivating best-in-class strategies to develop meaningful partnerships with customers and teams and is known for leading his teams to develop innovative solutions, promote lean principles, embrace safety, and deliver high-quality facilities that exceed expectations. Dave holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Structural Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Outside of work he loves spending time with his wife Carolyn and their two young children. Dave enjoys sports and outdoor activities including, hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting.

  Mortenson Construction

  Project Manager, Data Centers

  Dave Rooke

  Project Manager, Data Centers

  Mortenson Construction

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  Matthew O'Hare

  Matthew brings to the table an extensive background of over 27 years in the data center industry, encompassing diverse roles such as an IBEW member, technical systems designer & implementation specialist, construction team project executive, CEO of a communications systems design firm, and a co-founder/partner of a data center construction startup. In his present capacity, Matthew orchestrates the expansion and enhancement of assets within the Element Critical portfolio, overseeing everything from financial management, land development and general construction down through the commissioning of critical environments. His insights have been sought after in industry leading publications (BICSINews, Mission Critical Magazine) and has participated in forums and round-table discussions hosted by various thought leaders such-as Bisnow. Notably, Matthew currently holds the position of Vice President on the AFCOM Chicago Chapter Board and has previously led as its President, underscoring his commitment to advancing the field.

  Element Critical

  Director, Design & Construction

  Moderator

  Matthew O'Hare

  Director, Design & Construction

  Element Critical

Edge-to-Cloud Operations and DCIM:

Optimizing Operations for Efficiency and Sustainability

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  Geoff Hubbard

  Geoff Hubbard is an IT Professional with 12 years of experience in Network Engineering and Data Center Operations. He is currently the Data Center Operations Manager for the Advanced Technology Center at World Wide Technology.

  World Wide Technology, Inc.

  Manager, ATC Data Center Operations

  Geoff Hubbard

  Manager, ATC Data Center Operations

  World Wide Technology, Inc.

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  Mohammed Alrob

  Mo Alrob is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Microsoft, focused on Operations and Safety. Mo is responsible for the uptime, safety, and efficiency of Data Centers in the Chicago Metro. Mo graduated from Purdue University with a mechanical engineering degree and received his MBA from Louisiana State University.

  Microsoft

  Sr Mechanical Engineer

  Mohammed Alrob

  Sr Mechanical Engineer

  Microsoft

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  Rod Elder

  Global Principal

  Equinix

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  Dave Meadows

  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.

  STULZ Air Technology Systems

  Director, Technology

  Dave Meadows

  Director, Technology

  STULZ Air Technology Systems

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  Kevin Lynch

  Kevin Lynch brings over 20 years of professional experience in the Data Center Industry, specializing in Data Center Operations and project management. He specializes in energy efficiency and system optimizations. He has managed deployments for data center and IT infrastructure ranging from tier 1 to tier 4. He has facilitated more than 125 IT projects yielding over 130,000,000 Kwh saved. Those projects have utilized over of $9,000,000 in incentives for large IT customers while coordinating between customers, engineers, and utilities to reduce project ROIs by an average of 33%. He is currently CoreSite’s Senior Data Center Operations Manager for CH2 a spectacular Tier 3, 169,000 sq, foot 18MW right in the heart of the south loop.

  CoreSite

  Senior Data Center Operations Manager

  Kevin Lynch

  Senior Data Center Operations Manager

  CoreSite

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  David Klein

  David Klein is the CEO and founder of DHK Storage, Inc, designer and manufacturer of the ChilliRack® and ChilliAire™ data center cooling systems. David currently has 32 patents awarded for the ChilliRack® system in 17 countries. Over the past 27 years working on networks and data centers, he has achieved numerous Cisco, Juniper, and VMware certifications.

  ChilliRack

  Founder & CEO

  David Klein

  Founder & CEO

  ChilliRack

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  Joe Reele

  Joe is Vice President, Solution Architects at Schneider Electric, responsible for bringing together the full suite of our products and services to provide complete solutions for our customers. Joe has more than 22 years of experience in strategic planning, business development, operations management, and system engineering strategies.  Joe started his career with the U.S. Air Force Nuclear program and then lead one of the world’s largest financial data center portfolios. Joe provides strong technical and business leadership skills with the proven ability to analyze an organization’s business requirements, identify deficiencies and potential opportunities, and develop innovative solutions to meet the customer’s business objectives.

  Schneider Electric

  VP, Solution Architects

  Moderator

  Joe Reele

  VP, Solution Architects

  Schneider Electric

Site Selection & Tax Incentives

Bringing on New Capacity in a Constrained Environment

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  Chris Curtis

  Global Head of Data Centers

  Prologis

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  Josh Grodzin

  Josh has worked in the field of Economic Development for over twenty years. For the past eleven years, Josh has been the Director of Business Development and Marketing for Elk Grove Village, IL. Josh is responsible for coordinating all aspects of Elk Grove Village’s economic development program. This includes business retention, expansion, and attraction activities. Josh is also the Interim Executive Director of Next Level Northwest (NLNW). NLNW is a not-profit business accelerator. Josh grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Josh has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from DePaul University and a Masters in Urban Planning and Policy from the University Illinois at Chicago. Josh and his wife Beth live in Evanston, IL with their two sons Zev and Asher.

  Elk Grove Village

  Director, Business Development & Marketing

  Josh Grodzin

  Director, Business Development & Marketing

  Elk Grove Village

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  David Horowitz

  David is Senior Vice President, Director of Sales for T5 Data Centers. David is responsible for overseeing business growth and promoting the T5 Data Centers global portfolio and full services capabilities. David’s role includes developing the go-to-market strategy for new markets and leading the national sales team with its strategic initiatives. David has led multi-market searches for some of the world’s largest companies and has closed over 300 megawatts and over $1 billion of data center real estate transactions. Prior to joining T5, David spent 10 years managing data center practice groups for commercial real estate firms. David’s experience covers; site selection, advising clients on strategic acquisitions and risk considerations, supply and demand market analysis, business development and client management, Build-to-Suit/Developments and negotiating complex lease transactions. David holds a Business Degree from the University of Kansas and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. Outside of the office, David is an avid golfer, reader and BBQ enthusiast. David is passionate about mentoring the younger generation and leveraging his network to help others. He is involved in several charitable organizations including the Healthy Schools Campaign and The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. David currently lives in Chicago, IL with his wife and two children.

  T5 Data Centers

  Head of Leasing

  David Horowitz

  Head of Leasing

  T5 Data Centers

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  Judy Ring

  Judy Ring is a Business Recruitment Executive for Xcel Energy. has worked for Xcel Energy for 19 years. In her current role in Economic Development, Judy works to locate businesses in one of the 8 state Xcel Energy Serves. Judy has worked in National Accounts, Demand Side Management and other areas of the company. Judy has an MBA from Concordia College and an BAS in Energy Management from Bismarck State University. Judy lives in Minneapolis with her husband. In her spare time she follows professional sports, the WNBA being her favorite. She is a runner and competes in Triathlons.

  Xcel Energy

  Business Recruitment Executive

  Judy Ring

  Business Recruitment Executive

  Xcel Energy

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  Ed Sitar

  Ed Sitar (pronounced “sitter”) is the Senior Manager of Economic Development at ComEd, where he oversees the company’s strategy and efforts to recruit and retain large business customers and grow jobs and investment in key industries across northern Illinois. Ed is a 29-year veteran of the company, where he has worked closely with development partners to leverage ComEd’s reliable, affordable, and clean energy services to secure major business investment wins for the region. During his tenure with ComEd, he has been a part of the company’s competitive business attraction efforts, helping prospective customers’ to navigate a decision to expand or grow in Illinois amid a changing regulatory climate (prior to the industry’s deregulation in 1997, and on to Illinois’ nation-leading CEJA law). He has also shaped commercial energy efficiency policies and programs to serve the needs of ComEd’s large customers and helped support development projects with commitments to create 250,000 jobs over the last decade.

  ComEd

  Manager, Economic & Business Development

  Moderator

  Ed Sitar

  Manager, Economic & Business Development

  ComEd

Innovations around Designing a Network Architecture for Today’s Dynamic Needs

How Are Providers and Enterprises Building and Designing their Infrastructure for Current and Future Workloads?

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  Nina Bhatti

  Nina Bhatti is Director of Product Management for Cloud and Compute at Target. She has over 15 years of experience in IT. For a majority of that time, she has been a Cloud Consultant developing strategy and architecture for digital transformation and hybrid cloud across dozens of organizations. Ms. Bhatti holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Information Technology both from Northwestern University. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, especially her 3 year old son.

  Target

  Director, Product Management - Cloud Compute

  Nina Bhatti

  Director, Product Management - Cloud Compute

  Target

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  Ben Scudder

  Ben has a deep understanding of system and application architecture that has been built over many years of running large transformational projects across both on-premise and cloud infrastructures. Helping customers relate their key business challenges back to the financial and technical solution is one of his passions. Currently, he is one of the lead architects advising one of Google's most strategic customer relationships where he regularly works alongside C-level executives to help shape the future of product development to ensure it aligns with the needs of our customers.

  Google

  Senior Cloud Architect

  Ben Scudder

  Senior Cloud Architect

  Google

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  Bill Kleyman

  Bill Kleyman is an award-winning data center, cloud, and digital infrastructure leader. He was ranked globally by an Onalytica Study as one of the leading executives in cloud computing and data security. He has spent more than 15 years specializing in the cybersecurity, virtualization, cloud, and data center industry. As an award-winning technologist, his most recent efforts with the Infrastructure Masons were recognized when he received the 2020 IM100 Award and the 2021 iMasons Education Champion Award for his work with numerous HBCUs and for helping diversify the digital infrastructure talent pool. As an industry analyst, speaker, and author, Bill helps the digital infrastructure teams develop new ways to impact data center design, cloud architecture, security models (both physical and software), and how to work with new and emerging technologies. You can read more of Bill’s contributions as a contributing editor in Data Center Frontier, Data Center Knowledge, InformationWeek, ITPro Today, and others. Twitter: http://twitter.com/quadstack http://linkedin.com/in/billkleyman https://www.billkleyman.com

  Apolo.us

  CEO & Co-Founder

  Moderator

  Bill Kleyman

  CEO & Co-Founder

  Apolo.us

Future Drivers of Demand

What Major Trends Will Shape The Industry and How to Prepare for It

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  Erin Braddock Guthrie

  Erin Braddock Guthrie the Senior Director of Cloud & AI strategy at Microsoft. Prior to her current role, she held a role as the Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) for over two years. Guthrie also served as the regional general manager for Uber Midwest in Chicago where she partnered with cities and regulators to create safe, positive experiences for customers and residents. From 2013 to 2017, she was a client engagement manager and partnership portfolio manager at McKinsey & Company in Chicago. Previously, Guthrie worked as a product manager MBA intern at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, as an account executive at 4INFO and as a business development manager at Nokia in San Francisco. She received her MBA from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business and Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Stanford University. Erin lives in Wicker Park with her husband and son.

  Microsoft

  Senior Director, Cloud & AI Strategy

  Erin Braddock Guthrie

  Senior Director, Cloud & AI Strategy

  Microsoft

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  Mark Houpt

  Mark serves as DataBank’s Chief Information Security Officer and is responsible for developing and maintaining the company’s security program road map and data center compliance programs. He brings over 30 years of extensive information security and information technology experience in a wide range of industries and institutions. Mr. Houpt holds an MS-ISA (Masters Information Security and Assurance), numerous security and technical certifications (CISSP, CEH, CHFI, Security +, Network+) and qualified for DoD IAT Level III, IAM Level III, IASAE Level II, CND Analyst, CND Infrastructure Support, CND Incident Responder, and CND Auditor positions and responsibilities. Mark is an expert in understanding and the interpretation of FedRAMP, HIPAA and PCI-DSS compliance requirements. He is an active member of ISC2, ASIS International, COMPTIA, IAPP, and ISACA, among other leading national and international security organizations. Mark drives DataBank’s information security and compliance initiatives to ensure that the company’s solutions continuously meet rigorous and changing compliance and cyber-security standards.

  DataBank

  CISO

  Mark Houpt

  CISO

  DataBank

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  Raymond Parpart

  Director, Data Center Strategy & Operations

  University of Chicago

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  Michael Hafner

  Michael has spent 17+ years in the data center industry in various roles centering around data and power infrastructure. Michael has experience working with various entities within the data center industry, from design to project completion, both physically inside and outside the data center space. From the smallest piece of data infrastructure on the data center floor, to large diesel critical power generation, Michael has experience with a wide range of data center infrastructure solutions. Growing up and living in the Chicago southwest suburbs, Michael has been with Rehlko (formerly Kohler Power) since 2021 working on Large Diesel Generator solutions in the mission critical space. With any free time, Michael coaches two little league baseball teams, spends time with family, and pretends to know how to golf.

  Rehlko

  Engineering Solutions - Critical Power & Data Center

  Moderator

  Michael Hafner

  Engineering Solutions - Critical Power & Data Center

  Rehlko