DICE Midwest 2019

Elgie Sims, Jr.

Illinois State Senator, 17th District

SEN. ELGIE R. SIMS, JR. is serving his first term as State Senator for Illinois’ 17th Senate district, which includes portions of the South Side of Chicago, Chicago's south suburbs, and Will and Kankakee counties. He previously served nearly six years as the State Representative of Illinois’ 34th House district.Sims2018. An attorney and second-generation small business owner, Elgie's commitment to hard work began at an early age while working in his family's business, where he learned that "nothing in life is given; it must be earned." Throughout college and during his time working in Springfield, he often commuted from downstate Illinois to help run his family's business on Chicago's South Side, he did the same while putting himself through law school. Elgie continues to make a positive impact on every community he is a part of. As he was always taught: “to whom much is given, much is required.” He remains active in many civic organizations whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the communities they serve. As a community leader, he has worked to provide scholarships and books to children in need and worked to make our communities safer.

Erin Braddock Guthrie

Senior Director, Cloud & AI Strategy
Microsoft

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.

Rafal Rak

VP, Portfolio Management
Digital Realty Trust

Rafal Rak is Vice President of Digital Realty and serves as the company’s Portfolio Manager for Midwest and West regions. In this capacity, he has overall responsibility for strategic planning, development, operations, leasing and financial performance of 48 buildings with 9.2 million rentable square feet. Digital Realty is a leading global data center Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with 215 properties in 14 countries and 36 markets representing 34 million square feet in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. Digital Realty is the 8th largest publicly-traded REITs in the U.S. with a market capitalization of approximately $27 billion, a member of the prestigious S&P 500 and has been recognized by the EPA as one of the top 100 largest buyers of renewal energy.

Tyler Diers

Director, Legislative Relations
Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Tyler tracks and engages on a broad swath of legislation of importance to Chamber members, including emerging technology issues. He works closely with the Chamber President and CEO and the various executive directors of Chamber's policy councils to help ensure the competitiveness of Chamber members at the Illinois capitol. In addition, he is the editor of the Chamber’s weekly Government Affairs Report. Tyler comes to the Illinois Chamber of Commerce from the Senate Republican staff where he was a legislative analyst. Tyler graduated cum laude at Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.

Michael Reever

Senior VP, Strategy & Government Relations
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Michael is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Government Relations for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He previously worked as Assistant Legal Counsel for Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton, and Chief of Staff to state Representative Ann M. Williams. He has volunteered on numerous campaigns at the City and State level, including serving as a volunteer election law attorney during two election cycles for the Democratic Party of Illinois. He is a veteran, and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Reserves after 8 years of service as a Sergeant (E-5).

Ed Sitar

Manager, Economic & Business Development
ComEd

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.

Michael Pegues

CIO
City of Aurora, IL

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.

Kevin McNicholas

VP, Network Infrastructure & Design
Lucera

Kevin McNicholas is the vice president of network infrastructure and design at Lucera, an industry-leading technology service provider delivering performant, secure and scalable solutions designed to power demanding financial applications. He is a versatile, top-tier commercially astute Information Technology executive with over 20 years of experience including, strategic planning, enterprise architecture, network design, technology delivery and project management, while providing executive leadership to the organization and optimizing capital and operational expenditure.

JP Morgenthal

CTO, Application Services
DXC Technology

 JP Morgenthal is a veteran IT solutions executive and Global CTO, Application Services, DXC. He has been delivering IT services to business leaders for the past 30 years and is a recognized thought-leader in applying emerging technology for business growth and innovation. JP's strengths center around transformation and modernization leveraging next generation platforms and technologies. He has held technical executive roles in multiple businesses including: CTO, Chief Architect and Founder/CEO.  Areas of expertise for JP include strategy, architecture, application development, infrastructure and operations, cloud computing, DevOps, and integration.  JP is a published author with four trade publications with his most recent being “Cloud Computing: Assessing the Risks”.  JP holds both a Masters and Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Hofstra University.

Keith Basil

Senior Principal & Product Manager, Cloud Platform
Red Hat

Keith Basil is focused on leading the product management, positioning, and business strategy for security within the Red Hat OpenStack Platform product. Within Red Hat, he is leading a compliance driven approach toward addressing cloud infrastructure security. Compliance frameworks of interest include: FedRAMP, ANSSI, ETSI and the work being done by the Cloud Security Alliance. Prior to Red Hat, Keith was instrumental in the design of a secure, high-performance cloud architecture that provided compute, storage and application hosting services for US public sector civilian agencies and contractors. His past experience in this area has accelerated Red Hat’s OpenStack Platform security awareness and feature positioning worldwide. Working upstream in open source communities, he is a frequent speaker at conferences and has helped co-author and organize the effort to publish the OpenStack Security Guide.

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.

John Brooks

Director, Data Center & Server Services
Walgreens

Stephan Abraitis

VP, Data Centre Infrastructure & Strategy
Royal Bank Of Canada

Stephan Abraitis is the Vice President of Global Data Centre Infrastructure and Strategy (DCIS) at RBC. His responsibilities include 22 data centres, 54 compute sites, and over 50 critical back office facilities supporting RBC globally. Stephan leads a global team supporting data centre strategy, operations, engineering, data centre services, migrations and incident command & control. Stephan joined RBC in 2009 to lead the design, build and operation of RBC’s Enterprise Data Centres. The $1 Billion program included upgrading most of RBC IT facilities infrastructure. Since then, Stephan was successful in developing a world class operation supporting data centres in regions where RBC operates. Prior to RBC, he worked at American Express Canada as Chief Engineer, moving into a leadership role in their Real Estate division. His career started with 13 years in data centre engineering for TD Canada Trust. Stephan is an avid Martial Artist who enjoys donating his time instructing children and adults alike in the arts, self-discovery and self-improvement. Stephan lives in Woodbridge Ontario with his wife Leyla, their young children Theseus and Thea.

Sohail Zakaria

Principal Azure Global Black Belt, Intelligent Cloud
Microsoft

Sohail Zakaria has 20+ years of success strategizing, implementing, and leading teams at the brink of change and modern growth. He has a history of leveraging existing and emerging technologies, uncovering opportunities, and directing trailblazing strategies to improve overall delivery of product from idea to consumer. Zakaria is an expert in designing/simplifying solutions & implementing Application, Infrastructure, and Operation services for Large-scale enterprises to Start-ups. With a proven track record with a growth mindset providing unity, influence, collaboration, consistency, problem solving, and support to increase organization efficiencies he has excelled with competencies in Digital Strategy & Transformation, Datacenter Migration, Cloud & DevOps Architecture, Certified Scrum Master & Product Owner, Client Relationship Management & Retention, Budgeting & Financial Planning, Technical Planning & Execution, Business & Technology Alignment, Cost Control & Operational efficiency and Development & Empowerment of Technical Teams.

Sean Farney

VP, Data Center Strategy - Americas
JLL

Sean is the Vice President of Data Center Strategy for the Americas, charged with developing deeper client relationships, broader industry awareness, and enhanced partner collaboration by evangelizing JLL’s broad facility management, sustainability, commissioning, capital market, colocation and cloud advisory services. He works with clients to fully leverage the firm’s capabilities to maximum digital infrastructure value, minimize facility risk and drive data center innovation. Sean has also led Digital Transformation strategic programs at two Fortune 500 companies, executing global data center consolidation and cloud migration, and initiatives that resulted in reduced time-to-revenue. He is active in the industry, participating in panels, roundtables, podcasts, and other speaking events. Sean publishes regularly on such venues as Data Center Frontier, Data Center Dynamics, Mission Critical Magazine, and Data Centre Magazine.

Angela Imming

Director, Technology & Innovation
City of Highland

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.

Vijay Vuppala

Infrastructure Architecture Lead
Dentons

Michael Bahr

Head of Infrastructure, Data Center & Networking
DRW Trading Group

Damon Boyd, II

Senior Manager, Engineering - CRE
W.W. Grainger

Damon joined Grainger in 2013 as an Infrastructure Engineer in the Data Center Engineering Department, and has since taken on the role of Global Standards and Critical Space Manager. He has acquired a BS of Electrical Engineering in 1999. He also has a plethora IT certifications varying from network design to data center integrated systems. At Grainger Damon’s primary responsibility has been focused on the reliability, sustainability, and optimization of Grainger’s facility operations. Prior to joining Grainger, Damon has worked for Motorola, Fermi National Laboratory, Caterpillar, and Microsoft which has built a unique range of skill sets that has built the foundational strategic mindset needed to expand mission critical support.

Joel Sprague

Systems Engineer
Cisco

Joel Sprague has spent more than two decades in the IT industry with a specialization in data center and private cloud environments. Joel's experience encompasses anything from small SaaS providers to designing and managing private clouds for Fortune 100 companies. Joel currently uses this experience to help solve problems for clients in the Chicago area, specializing in legal, financial and manufacturing verticals.

Matt VanderZanden

COO
STACK Infrastructure

Matthew VanderZanden is the Chief Operating Officer of STACK Infrastructure and represents the voice of the end user, driving STACK’s relentless focus on continually innovating its business around the needs of enterprise and hyperscale clients. He heads development and location strategy, product development, marketing, and strategic partnerships. Mr. VanderZanden brings end-user expertise, having spent most of the previous 10 years scaling Facebook’s (now Meta’s) worldwide data center footprint. As Director of Global Data Center Site Selection, Mr. VanderZanden built Facebook’s location strategy program and has deep experience in data center and other critical infrastructure development, government relations, incentives, and location strategy. Before joining Facebook, he practiced real estate law at Paul Hastings, an international law firm, and remains licensed to practice law in California. Mr. VanderZanden received a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Economics, with distinction, from the University of Washington.

Peter Feldman

Chairman & CEO
Digital Crossroads

Peter Feldman has 30+ years of data center development, operations, management and design experience, with a focus on implementing energy-efficient technology. He has held CEO, CTO, president and founding roles at several successful startups including the Telx group, a national leader in data center colocation services. Peter has additional expertise in optical and wireless network engineering, IT infrastructure management and cogeneration. Prior to founding DataGryd, he served as the technical and business development interface with United Technologies Power for their hydrogen and natural gas fuel cell technology and CCHP micro-turbines, and worked with AMSC (formerly American Superconductor), a developer of superconducting cable, SMES and transformer technology for data centers. Peter holds several industry-related patents and is an active member of a number of professional trade organizations, including the IEEE, Open-IX, iMasons, AFCOM, the Green Building Council and the Cloud Computing Council. He’s given presentations at many industry events, including Interop New York, Green Data Center Conference & Exhibition, 7×24 Exchange, and IMN’s Financing, Investing & Real Estate Development for Data Centers Conference, PTC in Hawaii and for Data Center Dynamics conferences.

Daniel English

President & Co-Founder
Legacy Investing

Daniel English is the President and Co-Founder of Legacy Investing, an investment firm focused on technology impacted real estate. Legacy has completed >$3B in transactions across 19M SF in data centers, e-commerce industrial assets, and life science buildings. Prior to co-founding Legacy Investing, Daniel was a tech start-up executive with leadership roles across M&A, corporate development, strategy, and product management. Daniel studied engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and Economics and Finance at Emory University.

Phillip Koblence

Co-Founder & COO
NYI

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.

Timothy Doherty

CEO
Digital Fortress

Sean Khurana

President & COO
Cavern Technologies

Sean Khurana is President and Chief Operating Officer of Cavern Technologies. Sean oversees daily operations and ongoing development initiatives to maintain and expand Cavern’s position as a leading data center solutions provider. Sean is dedicated to leading innovation in the industry and providing customers with product and service offerings that are second to none. Mr. Khurana has a strong background in leading major business initiatives for large startups and Fortune 500 firms. His expertise in building businesses around new products, technologies, and customer segments are valuable assets. Most recently, Khurana was Senior VP for Avatron Park, a mega startup theme park based in Atlanta, GA. Prior positions included VP, Product Marketing for Cablevision in New York, NY, and VP, Strategic Programs and Business Operations for Sprint-Nextel, in Overland Park, KS. Sean also served as Chief of Staff, reporting directly to the Sprint CEO. Mr. Khurana holds an MBA in Strategic Management and Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also has an MS in Civil/Environmental Engineering from North Carolina State University, and an MS in Physics, as well as a BS in Civil Engineering, from Birla Institute of Technology and Science. Sean is actively involved as a community leader, serving as a Board Member for the Johnson County Community College Foundation and earning recognition on the Kansas City Civic Council as a Kansas City Tomorrow Nominee.

Eli Scher

Chairman
Open IX Association

Eli D. Scher is the founder of New Continuum Holdings Corporation, and serves as its Chairman and CEO. Mr. Scher is also the co-founder of United Internet Exchange, LLC and serves as its CEO. He is an entrepreneur with a broad array of investing and operating experience. Prior to New Continuum, he worked as an analyst at prominent New York hedge funds where he analyzed corporate securities. Previously, Mr. Scher co-founded and served as CEO of GSME Capital Partners, a private, early stage investment partnership, and GSME Acquisition Partners I, a publicly traded acquisition vehicle. Additionally, he was Chief Financial Officer and director of MCG Group a Shanghai-based LED-advertising company, and was the co-founder, President and CFO of Fundamental Films. He currently serves as on the board of directors of HMMI, a specialized manufacturer of extremely large and complex steel components. Eli serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Open-IX Association and previously served as the Chairman of the Data Center Committee. Mr. Scher received his AB from Princeton University.

Jen Herson

President
Data Canopy

Jennifer Herson has more than a decade of experience in high tech marketing and operations. Jennifer is creative and versatile, having contributed directly to the success of a variety of organizations, including small startups, mid-sized firms, and multi-national enterprises. A communication specialist, with an eye for design, Jennifer has developed highly effective marketing content and campaigns for a variety of channels in the B2B high tech space. She approaches every challenge with a can-do collaborative spirit to deliver superior quality and results. Jennifer is a member of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Alumni Association Board of Directors. She is also an avid O's fan and can often be found cheering them on with her husband and son.

Rashad Kawmy

Partner
Boundary Street Capital

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.

Jennifer Curry

Senior VP, Global Cloud Services
INAP

Jennifer Curry leads INAP’s global cloud services group. She is responsible for the architecture, infrastructure engineering and technical support of the company’s cloud and hosting solutions, including bare metal, private cloud, managed hosting, third-party managed cloud and business continuity. A tech thought leader committed to INAP’s mission of empowering IT transformations, Ms. Curry has 18 years of experience in the industry, with eight years leading teams in the hosting and cloud space. She most recently served as INAP’s vice president of hosting and managed services. Prior to INAP, Ms. Curry held several senior positions in the data center and telecommunications industries. She served as vice president of cloud at Zayo Group, vice president of systems engineering, implementations and IT at Latisys, and senior manager of software at Level 3 communications. Ms. Curry holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

Mike Whitman

Head of Critical Facilities Services
Serverfarm

Data Center / Computer Operations specialist with experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, telecom, healthcare and ISP. – ITIL v2.0 Certified. Experienced in running multiple sites across time zones. Specific project activities have included process improvement, data center remodeling, energy efficiency and data center infrastructure hardening. Prior to joining ServerFarm, Whitman worked as a VP of Facilities Operations for Canara, Inc. as well as for Thomson Reuters and CBRE.

Thomas Dakich

Senior Manager
Digital Crossroads

As a practicing attorney for more than 32 years, Tom’s practice has centered on the development of telecommunications and data centers. Tom has closed more than $500 million in transactions, including the sale or merger of companies on every continent (except Antarctica). Tom has represented and been a part of the legal and development teams that own urban data centers throughout the world, including the Quinby Building in Los Angeles, GNO TeleHouse in London, various entities in Indianapolis and 15 W. 37th Street in Manhattan, New York. Tom is typically tasked to resolve specific problems, ranging from labor stoppages in Eastern Europe, to raising money for companies, to infrastructure and data center management issues in North America. His past clients include multinational corporations, foreign governments, and small businesses within specific industries. He uses his legal background to develop creative solutions to unique problems. He has an unusual breadth and depth of substantive legal experience, including 20 years of experience serving as the Secretary and General Counsel for TK6, Inc./CES International, Inc. and 4 years of experience serving as General Counsel and minority shareholder of GEMCO Constructors, LLC. Tom resides in Indianapolis and has worked from offices in London, Sydney, Tampa, Chicago, San Francisco and New York. He graduated from Wabash College and the Indiana University School of Law.

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.

David McCall

VP, Innovation
QTS

David believes good relationships and purpose affects one's life at every moment. He has been able to realize his calling to create teams that simplify and enhance people’s interactions within the world of technology. In the industry since 1997, his career has been anything but typical leading IT and technical teams in Hyperscale, Cloud, Hybrid IT, and Colocation. In his spare time, David enjoys boardgames with friends, family time with his wife and three teenage daughters, and perfecting how to grill.

Nate Olson-Daniel

VP & Technical Fellow
LightEdge Solutions

As one of the early contributors at LightEdge, Nate helped to build LightEdge’s first generation DSL network and pioneered IP Wide Area Networks before MPLS was a standard. Currently, he helps develop revenue streams with LightEdge’s sales and engineering teams by providing presales support and some implementation. He also works continuously on product development and improvement. His areas of expertise are Cisco UCS, routing and switching, voice, data center, security, advocacy, cloud network and security and disaster recovery. He’s used his expertise to design and build enterprise, data center, and service provider networks. Nate has held a key role in the development of all business systems to support these networks, including product collateral, billing systems, data collection systems, monitoring systems, ticketing systems, customer portal, and operational support systems. Nate has also managed and mentored regional Sales Engineers on designing, pricing, and selling Cloud IT solutions.

Crystal Lee Delany

Senior Asset Manager
Digital Realty Trust

Stacy England

VP, Operations
Data Holdings

Mr. England brings nearly 25 years of experience in the Information Technology, Critical Facilities, Operations and Management arena. Mr. England is passionately involved in all aspects of the business including operations of multiple data centers, Security, compliance with SSAE 16 controls, PCI, HIPAA-Hitech, Leading pre- and post-sales direction, initiatives, and support. Working closely with business partners and the executive team on executing all efforts related to operation, sales, marketing, operations, technical, and business directives.

Juan Vasquez

Director, Design & Construction
CyrusOne

Alex Smith

Vice Chair, Data Center Advisory Group
Cushman & Wakefield

Alex is one of the DCA Group’s truly national players, crisscrossing the country every year for site selection, advisory, and transactional work for his mission critical clients. Alex joined the firm in 2000 and was immediately drawn into work servicing the telecommunications boom by representing tenants in the acquisition of mission critical data centers and telecom facilities. In 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016 Alex was the top producing broker in Chicago and the Midwest for C&W including ranking number 11 in the entire company. He is the youngest Vice Chair in the company.

Joseba Calvo

Managing Partner
EPI LATAM LLC

Joseba has over 15 years of experience in the international mission critical industry, in various senior management positions with multinational companies. He also co-founded a company which was bought over by a Fortune 500 company. He is a focussed dynamic executive and entrepreneur with a proven track record in management, business development and establishing new ventures in different geographies. His strong technical background and keen awareness of business and personal dynamics in different cultures make him a very effective result oriented business manager.

Otto Nichols, III

Executive VP & Shareholder
Clayco

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.

Eric Closson

Associate
Corgan

Eric Closson is an Associate at Corgan, a global architecture and interior design firm, where he specializes in data center design and has a strong background in site master planning, programming, and collaborative building design. During his tenure with the firm, Eric has been instrumental in the design of over seven million square feet of data center projects for a wide range of clients nationally. He is passionate about working in partnership with his clients and developing a clear focus for the design of highly effective and innovative environments.