The State of the Data Center Market

What Opportunities Remain in the West and Beyond?

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  Jonathan Atkin

  Jonathan Atkin is a Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets. His focus areas include communications, internet and data infrastructure as well as cloud computing and telecom services. During the last six years, Jonathan has received the #1 ranking from Institutional Investor in the Communications Infrastructure sector. He has also received #1 rankings from Thomson Reuters in Telecom Services and Real Estate Equities, a #1 ranking from the Wall Street Journal in Internet Services, and a #1 ranking from the Financial Times in Telecom Services. Before joining RBC, Jonathan was a senior consultant at BIA Companies focused on wireless strategy and valuation, worked in corporate strategy at Daimler-Benz AG, and was a policy analyst with the United States Congress. He has an MBA from Columbia University and BS and MS degrees in engineering from Stanford University. He is a two-time finisher of the Ironman triathlon.‎

  RBC Capital Markets

  Managing Director

  Jonathan Atkin

  Managing Director

  RBC Capital Markets

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  Kevin Imboden

  Global Director, Market Research & Intelligence

  EdgeConneX

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  Mike Michalik

  As the CIO and CTO, Mike is responsible for Evoque’s technology strategy, execution, and day-to-day management.

  Evoque Data Center Solutions

  CIO & CTO

  Mike Michalik

  CIO & CTO

  Evoque Data Center Solutions

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  Kemal Hawa

  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.

  Kirkland & Ellis

  Partner

  Moderator

  Kemal Hawa

  Partner

  Kirkland & Ellis

Construction and Design with Speed in Mind

Reinventing Solutions to Meet Demand

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  Shannon Hulbert

  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.

  Opus Interactive

  CEO

  Shannon Hulbert

  CEO

  Opus Interactive

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  Cory Keller

  VP, Operations

  Truebeck Construction

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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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  Jacob Rose

  Jacob Rose is the Datacenter Infrastructure Architect for Linkedin. Over the past 12 years there he has seen server growth from hundreds to over a hundred thousand, space from hundreds of kilowatts to hundreds of megawatts and a nearly unrecognizable datacenter landscape become the norm. He currently focuses on technical assessment of space, leasing strategy and negotiation, and creation of new technologies to support Datacenter deployments and operations. He is a multiple patent holder and multiple dog owner.

  LinkedIn

  Data Center Architect

  Jacob Rose

  Data Center Architect

  LinkedIn

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  Cary Frame

  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.

  Polargy

  Chairman

  Moderator

  Cary Frame

  Chairman

  Polargy

Developing for Tomorrow's Density Requirements

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  Ajay Garg

  Ajay Garg leads a worldwide team of sales and marketing for Intel DCM. Intel DCM provides real time device level management across a wide range of data center devices such as servers, switches, PDUs to improve Data center efficiency and agility to constantly changing workloads, helping data center operations to better contain costs. Ajay has been in the Software technology industry for the last 15 years and has worked at Intel since 1999. He has diverse experience in the field of Product Sales and Marketing, Innovative Product development and R&D in various divisions within Intel. He has done extensive work in partner ecosystem development programs and successfully completed business contracts with over 100 technology companies during his tenure at Intel. Ajay has expertise in exploring new ideas and converting them into products and develop a suitable business models in multiple regions for new product. He has 6 patents in area of networking and security. Ajay earned his Masters of Science and Technology from OHSU and Masters in Computer Science and a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.

  Intel Corporation

  Director, Data Center Management

  Ajay Garg

  Director, Data Center Management

  Intel Corporation

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  Jeff Ivey

  VP, Data Center Construction

  Crusoe

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  Nabeel Mahmood

  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.

  Nomad Futurist Foundation

  Co-Founder

  Nabeel Mahmood

  Co-Founder

  Nomad Futurist Foundation

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  Chris Pruitt

  Senior Director, Operations - Silicon Valley

  CoreSite

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  Eric Jensen

  As General Manager/Vice President of Data Aire, Eric’s goal is to serve the project delivery process first and foremost. By understanding the drivers for each of the various stakeholders, Data Aire can help achieve customers’ goals. Eric seeks to build a strategic partnership vs. inserting the company’s products at a transactional level. In his role as National Sales Director for Data Aire’s parent company, Construction Specialties for 11 years, Eric improved key account development from 10-30% and was instrumental in reorganizing the sales and product management teams across multiple business units for a collaborative and scalable sales approach. Eric takes great pride in people development -- nurturing a diverse team as they grow in their career.

  Data Aire

  VP & GM

  Moderator

  Eric Jensen

  VP & GM

  Data Aire

Future-Proofing Data Centers Today for the Cooling Strategies of Tomorrow

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  Mukul Anand

  Senior Director, Application Engineering

  Nortek Data Center Cooling

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  Marc Bhuyan

  Product Manager

  Google

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  Edward Buck

  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.

  VPLS

  VP, Technology & Service Delivery

  Edward Buck

  VP, Technology & Service Delivery

  VPLS

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  Keith Dunnavant

  Responsible for data center product sales in the Americas 27 years of HVAC engineering and sales experience, including extensive work with custom air-handling solutions that has utilized air-to-air energy recovery, dehumidification, precision air conditioning and evaporative cooling. 17 years experience in Data Center Cooling. Previous positions include working as regional sales manager and national commercial sales manager for Munters/Des Champs Technologies and as an applications engineer for Diversified Control Systems. Hobbies include running, hiking/mountaineering, kayaking, and adventure travel.

  Munters Corporation

  VP, Sales - Americas

  Moderator

  Keith Dunnavant

  VP, Sales - Americas

  Munters Corporation

Hyperscale Data Center Development: Exploring Tomorrow's Landscape

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  Lindsey Bruner

  An accomplished executive, Lindsey brings together expertise in project development for both data centers and renewable energy. Lindsey led the advancement of several hundred megawatts of data center pipelines across the US and Europe, and her renewable energy development experience extends to the US, Canada and parts of South America. Prior to joining CleanArc, Lindsey served as Vice President of Project Development at CyrusOne, a leading global data center developer and operator specializing in delivering state-of-the-art digital infrastructure solutions across the globe. At CyrusOne, she led the global Project Development team and was responsible for the strategy, execution, and delivery of the company’s organic data center development projects. Prior to this role, Lindsey served as CyrusOne’s Senior Corporate Counsel of Real Estate & Construction, working alongside the company’s U.S. and global site selection and construction teams in all aspects of site selection and development. Previously, Lindsey served as Senior Attorney for the Americas division of RES Group, the world’s largest independent renewable energy company, where she represented the organization in various matters related to the development and construction of utility scale renewable energy projects. Lindsey began her career as an attorney in private practice focused on commercial and industrial real estate. Lindsey holds an AB in English from Duke University, a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology.

  CleanArc Data Centers

  COO

  Lindsey Bruner

  COO

  CleanArc Data Centers

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  Jeffrey Moerdler

  Jeff heads our Real Estate and Communications practices in New York and has significant experience in general commercial real estate law. Jeff’s general real estate practice includes acquisitions, sales, development, leasing, and borrower’s side financing. He also has a particular focus on real estate challenges facing communications, technology, and energy companies, and represents property owners and telecom companies in telecom real estate matters, such as data center leases. His clients include both large national companies and smaller, local clients. He is frequently invited to speak on real estate, data center, and telecom topics. He also writes for several industry publications, and he is regularly quoted in national media. Jeff was a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and led many of its major real estate and telecom transactions.

  Mintz

  Member

  Jeffrey Moerdler

  Member

  Mintz

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  Ward Pendarvis

  Director, Real Estate & Business Analytics

  Quantum Loophole

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  Brett Stuckey

  Brett Stuckey has worked for Turner Construction since 2009. In 15+ years at Turner, Brett has held a variety of roles and built projects in multiple market segments, including aviation, commercial, higher education, sports, and light industrial. Brett recently took the position of Regional Sustainability Manager for Turner’s Northern California Region, and works with preconstruction and project teams to implement measures to reduce carbon, waste, and water consumption on our jobsites. Turner has been the #1 Green Contractor according to ENR since 2007, and was selected as a USGBC Leadership Award recipient in 2024.

  Turner Construction Company

  Regional Sustainability Manager

  Moderator

  Brett Stuckey

  Regional Sustainability Manager

  Turner Construction Company