DICE Southwest '19

Mark Bauer

Managing Director
JLL

Mark Bauer has been involved in commercial real estate for over 25 years and has specialized in the data center and colocation industry for the past 15 years. Mark has served as broker to tenants, landlords, buyers and sellers, as well as serving as national consultant to a number of brokers, clients and data center developers across the United States. Mark’s experience includes an in-depth knowledge of the data center and telecommunications industries that assists clients with their mission-critical primary data center and disaster recovery needs. Mark has established himself as a master leader and recognized expert in his field and is a Managing Director and National Director at Jones Lang LaSalle and is a leader in their Data Center Solutions (DCS) group that focuses on globally representing companies with their real estate planning and the execution of mission-critical data center relocations and expansions.

David Dunn

COO
H5 Data Centers

David Dunn is COO of H5 Data Centers. Mr. Dunn has nearly 15 years of experience managing significant growth and delivering outsized returns on investment in the Internet infrastructure space. Mr. Dunn most recently served as vice president at the Zayo Group where he was responsible for managing the wavelength and mobile infrastructure business units. Prior to Zayo, Mr. Dunn was senior vice president at CoreSite where he held leadership roles in mergers & acquisitions, leasing, marketing and strategy. Before joining CoreSite, Mr. Dunn held roles at several private equity firms including The Carlyle Group and J.E. Robert Companies. Mr. Dunn earned a B.S. in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Arman Khalili

Founder & CEO
Foundation Data Centers

Arman Khalili is the Founder and CEO of Foundation Data Center and is a Board Member of Evocative and brings with him over 25 years of experience in Internet Infrastructure industry. Prior to joining the company, Arman served as a Principal at Industry Capital a real assets based private equity firm in San Francisco. He was the founder and CEO of CentralColo also known as Element Critical. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Black Lotus, a leader in DDoS mitigation company, which was acquired by Level 3, and was the Founder/CEO of UnitedLayer, the largest privately held colocation provider in San Francisco. He was the founder of Sirius – one of the first ISPs in Silicon Valley, as well as the Co-founder and CTO of MusicBank, the first music subscription company. He has held numerous senior consulting positions at Level3, AT&T and Apple Computers.

John Regan

Carter Funds
ACCI Fund CIO

John Regan serves as the Chief Investment Officer and has been in the technology and facilities infrastructure space for over three decades. In his most recent role as SVP of Acquisitions and CTO for Landmark Dividend, he executed on over a $1 billion in Digital Infrastructure acquisitions. Prior to Landmark, Mr. Regan worked with Carter Validus (CV) Advisors where he was instrumental in the development and execution of the CV Mission Critical REIT I & II data center platforms from inception. Mr. Regan made CV’s first acquisition in July 2011. By October 2017, pipeline development and management led to closing over 50 deals amassing $2 billion of data center assets totaling more than 4.5M sf. Mr. Regan is a data center industry leader frequently speaking and moderating at conferences across the U.S. having a number of articles published by and about him. Mr. Regan’s experience spans over 35 years within information technology, facilities infrastructure, business development, sales and acquisitions serving in various leadership positions while also providing advisory services and consulting for multiple startups. Mr. Regan served in leadership positions for 18 years with PWC, LLP as National Director of Data Center Services, National Director of Network Services, and Director of Infrastructure Delivery. In these roles Mr. Regan led technology and facilities infrastructure engineers and project managers through the execution of more than 26,000,000 square feet of real estate projects spanning renovations, restacks, retrofits, consolidations, new builds and the merger of technology and facility infrastructure of Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse. Mr. Regan achieved recognition by ComputerWorld for PWC as the number one Green IT organization worldwide in 2010 after completion of a state of the art Tier III LEED Gold certified data center and driving other conservation practices organizationally. Mr. Regan is also an expert in BCDR having developed and executed a multi-tiered program creating PWC’s firm-wide Disaster Recovery program. Mr. Regan has a Bachelor’s in Accounting from St. Leo University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Mr. Regan holds several certifications in the infrastructure space having achieved Accredited Tier Specialist (ATS), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) credentials. He holds multiple certifications and various systems designations through Digital Equipment Corporation, Research Triangle Institute, and NCSU.

Lane Anderson

Executive VP, Development & Strategic Procurement
QTS

With more than 25 years of experience in mission critical construction and design, Lane Anderson has an extensive background in MEP projects and design and construction leadership. Having delivered over 3.5 million square feet of data center projects, Lane is well versed in designing for efficiency to pursue low PUE facilities and has strong expertise in building design and construction teams. At QTS, he is responsible for Corporate Development, Construction, Design and Strategy, as well as Strategic Procurement.

Michael Higgins

Senior VP, Data center Services
INAP

Mike Higgins is responsible for driving INAP’s top line growth through customer acquisition and retention. Mr. Higgins leads INAP COLO’s sales, solutions engineering and client account teams including overseeing the customer experience from initial solution design through onboarding and post-sales account management. He is a seasoned executive with extensive business development, financial analysis, product management and leadership experience in the data center and telecommunications industries. Mr. Higgins most recently served as INAP’s senior vice president of marketing and customer service, where he led marketing activities, communications, public relations, branding and strategic planning. Previously, he held the position of senior vice president of business development, where he drove technical customer solutions and customer retention strategies. In addition, Mr. Higgins also served as INAP’s senior vice president of data center services and was responsible for colocation product management and data center design and engineering. In this role, he led the data center expansion strategy which doubled the size of INAP’s data center footprint across the nation. He joined INAP in January 2004 as vice president of financial planning and analysis. Prior to INAP, Mr. Higgins held numerous leadership roles in business operations, business development and finance over an 18-year career span at MCI, most recently serving as vice president of business operations. Mr. Higgins holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Bridgeport and a B.S. in Accounting from Villanova University.

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer
Aligned Data Centers

Phill has more than 25 years of experience identifying new opportunities for further growth of leading data center infrastructure, network architecture, and cloud solutions in the U.S. and abroad. As Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned, Phill is responsible for the management of revenue generation and profitability objectives, as well as championing key innovation, technology, and sustainability strategies aimed at maximizing new business development. Prior to joining Aligned, Phill served as Chief Innovation Officer at EdgeConneX, where he was instrumental in driving strategies focused on creating the next generation of network edge-based data centers for the digital content ecosystem. Throughout his career, Phill has also served in numerous senior executive-level positions at Virtacore, Alcatel-Lucent, Savvis (now CenturyLink Technology Solutions), and MCI (now Verizon Digital Media Services). He currently holds eight active technology patents and serves on the Board of Directors for Netrality Data Centers as well as the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) Advisory Board.

John Major

Principal / Director, Science & Technology
Page

As a Principal at Page and Director of the Science and Technology sector, John has managed the design of over 30 data centers. Serving as Project Director for Mission Critical projects, John’s projects have accounted for more than $5 billion in construction throughout the United States and internationally. He is an expert in the design of mission critical facilities, secure compartmentalized information facilities (SCIFs), EMP shielding and the latest in data center cooling technologies including liquid immersion cooling. He is a founding board member of the 7X24 Exchange Central Texas Chapter, which supports the growing network of mission critical professionals and facilities in the Central Texas region.

Don Mitchell

Manager, Data Center Division
Victaulic

Don Mitchell is the Data Center Division Manager for Victaulic, aligning global business unit resources with data center and IT industry needs for zero impact fire suppression, as well as innovation in cooling solution designs.  Mitchell has over 15 years of experience in holistic data center solution development, including hyper-scale, enterprise, and hybrid cloud solution environments. Prior to joining Victaulic, Mitchell held leadership roles with Eaton, Schneider, APC, and served as an officer in the naval nuclear submarine program.   He has been an active participant and contributor in 7x24 for over 10 years, as well as various other IT Industry organizations.   Don has earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA, and a MS in Information Technology, as well as a variety of industry and military certifications.

Cindy Joos

Senior Director, Customer Operations & Success
NTT Global Data Centers Americas

Chris Orlando

CEO
ScaleMatrix and DDC Cabinet Technology

Chris leads business and commercial efforts for ScaleMatrix and its various brands and business units. Focused on both strategic direction and overall execution, he credits his nearly two decades of experience across a broad spectrum of positions within the hosting space with helping him anticipate the constant changes which face this ever evolving industry. Prior to ScaleMatrix, Chris served as president of the Complex Drive Data Center Group for four years, and held a number of key leadership positions within the hosting and colocation industry.

Brian Pate

Director, Client Relations
Constructiv

Before joining Constructiv, Brian spent the lesser part of a decade working for a large energy management organization focused on enterprise, colocation and cloud infrastructure deployments. Brian has been involved with numerous large-scale projects, including the design and build of complex power and cooling systems for the largest hyperscale cloud providers in the world. Brian’s natural approach includes a deep understanding of the client’s business along with the physical and technical requirements for their data center operations.

John Riotte

Manager, Data Center Security
Facebook

John, a native New Yorker, spent 20 years in the military after completing high school. His career deployed him to numerous overseas assignments and locations where he developed force protection, operations, security, and resourcing experiences. After his military career, John conducted security, threat, risk, and vulnerability assessments and analysis for water, power, and business clients. John has been an instructor, trainer, and material developer for 20(+)years. John was a lead instructor with the Department of Energy National Training Center in Vulnerability Assessments, Physical Security Systems, Performance Testing, Tabletop Exercise developments, and Active Shooter training. John is currently a Data Center Security Manager for the Los Lunas, New Mexico Facebook Data Center. In his off time, John enjoys the outdoors.

Ryan Sims

Senior Project Manager
Swanson Rink

As a Senior Project Manager on Swanson Rink’s Mission Critical projects Ryan Sims is responsible for managing the design process and coordinating with the Owner and construction team to help successfully deliver projects with no downtime to operations. Mr. Sims has a passion for the data center industry and helps work with clients to find solutions in challenging situations. He is a key team member for Swanson Rink, a Denver and Phoenix based consulting engineering firm providing design services across the US for mission critical companies.

Bhu Virdi

Director, Solutions Architecture
Flexential

Bhu is in charge of architecting Hybrid IT Solutions for ViaWest’s strategic customers and prospects. Bhu has been with Flexential for seven years and has over 19 years of experience in IT infrastructure technology. He is responsible for designing hundreds of unique and successful customer implementations of cloud, Disaster Recovery, colocation, customized managed infrastructures, custom networks, and storage environments that have allowed Flexential customers to enjoy high performance, highly available and efficient solutions. Prior to Flexential, Bhu was an IT Manager at Zoll and Watermark Financial Partners. He has a Master’s of Science in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems.

Therese Kerfoot

SVP, Operations & International
EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Therese is based in the Company’s Denver office and leads EdgeCore’s day-to-day data center operations and customer-lifecycle activities, from lease execution and move in through expiration and move out, including space build out, on-going support, and incident management. Therese brings significant experience in designing strategy and leading execution and operation of end-to-end service-delivery and customer-support teams, systems, and processes. Therese joined EdgeCore following roles of progressive accountability at CoreSite Realty Corporation, most recently as Vice President supporting and leading the company’s activities around customer-lifecycle management for more than 1,200 customers and $500M+ in annualized revenue. Her responsibilities included a) on-boarding and capacity deployment, b) on-going support via self-service systems (portal management) and a team of Strategic Account Service Representatives, c) capacity and contract management, d) service-processes design and improvement, and e) incident engagement, remediation, and avoidance. Prior to CoreSite, Therese was a Dean’s Research Fellow at the University of Colorado Law School, where she authored and collaborated in authoring works related to cybersecurity, telecommunications, and technology. Therese holds a B.A. in International Business from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Donald Martinez

Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure & Architecture
Best Western

Robert McClary

VP, Operational Standards
Iron Mountain Data Centers

Jeff Weil

CIO
District Medical Group of Arizona

Jeff is the Chief Information and Brand Officer for District Medical Group (DMG) in Phoenix where he is responsible for Information Technology, Marketing and Facilities. He is an experienced Healthcare IT Executive with over 20 years of experience leveraging the use of technology to meet the needs of Healthcare Organizations in the Acute Care, Academic, Public and Ambulatory domains. He has a wealth of experience in leading teams in the implementation and support of multiple vendor EMRs, Vendor Neutral Archives, Medical Imaging Systems, Ancillary Clinical Systems, Perioperative Systems, Supply Chain Management Systems, Solution Design and Disparate System Integration. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Ramapo College of New Jersey and is a Certified Professional in Health Information Management Systems and a Certified Healthcare CIO. He has been an active member of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society for over 20 years where he currently serves on the board of the Arizona state chapter as President elect. Jeff is also a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, also known as CHIME. Jeff gives back to the community through his service on multiple Boards including Health Current, Consova, Mach 7 Technologies and FC Batavia.

Demetrius Comes

Chief Cloud & Security Officer
GoDaddy

Jason Perez

Director, IT
Charter One

Jess Shoop

Chief Operating & Digital Transformation Officer
Arizona State University

Dr. Jess Shoop leads the Operations and Digital Transformation (ODT) team within the University Technology Office (UTO) at ASU. In her role within UTO Jess aligns with fellow UTO senior executive leadership and executive leadership across ASU to help advance the mission of the university. The ODT portfolio spans across many UTO departments to include all Cloud and Advanced Network Engineering Services (CANES), Strategic Implementation Office (SIO), Experience Center and Learning Space Services (ECLS), IT Service Transformation (IST), Engagement and Consulting Services (ECS), and the Strategic Finance and Business Office (SFBO). Through a transparent and collaborative approach to servant leadership, Jess works with her team to advance the mission of the University. The ODT team provides services that include all network, server, storage, data center, public and private cloud services, identity and access management, enterprise architecture, enterprise systems, project and portfolio management, experience center (help center), desk-side services, customer engagement teams, training and event services, instructional design, classroom support, new construction design, all budget and HR within UTO, and UTO service management systems. Prior to joining ASU, Jess has a proven track record as a senior information technology executive with strong global and regional experiences within multiple sectors like finance/insurance, consulting, and education/healthcare. A recognized technology executive known for designing and enabling the strategic vision to achieve operational goals, Jess offers a unique blend of executive acumen, global leadership, and technology solution development contributing to a successful record of accomplishment through operational improvements and increased efficiency. Jess is an executive that is passionate about transformational change, agile methods, design implementation and execution. Jess achieves her operational successes with key enablers within technology adoption, design innovation, design modeling and data science experience, which shape and guide the implementation of strategic initiatives. Working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, Jess provides a unique lens to innovation and change. Jess is also a recognized scholar and research fellow that specializes in design thinking, quantitative methods, structural equation modeling, knowledge structures, credible leadership and leadership effectiveness. https://weatherhead.case.edu/departments/design-and- innovation/fellows

Josh Williams

VP, Sales Engineering
INAP

Josh Williams heads the sales engineering team at INAP, delivering application-driven, custom infrastructure and network solutions for clients that balance performance and efficiency. Known for getting in the trenches with all levels of client IT organizations, Williams has more than 16 years of experience architecting complex solutions in the enterprise. His deep IT management and consulting background, paired with INAP’s robust cloud, colocation and network portfolio, generate performant solutions tailored to the unique goals of clients. Williams holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Information Systems from Saint Ambrose University and multiple data center certifications from major technology providers such as VMware, Cisco, and EMC.

David Bentler

Manager, Community & Economic Development
Arizona Public Services (APS)

Chris Curtis

Global Head of Data Centers
Prologis

Lori Gary

Director, Economic Development Department
City of Goodyear

Lori Gary was chosen to lead the city of Goodyear’s economic development team in September 2018. She has more than 30 years of economic development experience and holds the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Prior to Goodyear, Lori spent six years with the city of Mesa’s Office of Economic Development. As part of the Mesa team, Lori was responsible for leading redevelopment efforts in Mesa's Fiesta District and business attraction efforts in the medtech / medical devices and technology industry sector. Lori also led a regional economic development organization and managed two municipal economic development departments. Her economic development experience spans three states – Illinois, Tennessee, and Arizona – where she designed and implemented successful economic development programs. Lori holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University and performed her graduate work at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is a past president of Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED), the statewide economic development professional association with over 400 members, and served in various board roles since 1998.

Bryan Marsh

CEO
StratCap Data Centers

Bryan Marsh is our Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for sourcing, analyzing, structuring, financing and executing acquisition, expansion and leasing activities on behalf of the company. With his nearly 40 years of real estate experience, he has been directly involved in approximately $7 billion in commercial real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development, financings and asset management. Prior to StratCap Data Centers, Bryan was a Vice President at Digital Realty where he served as the company’s Portfolio Manager for its U.S. Central region. In this capacity, he had overall responsibility for the strategic planning, acquisitions, dispositions, development, operation, leasing and financial performance of a portfolio of data centers, internet gateways and powered base buildings valued in excess of $5 billion. His portfolio ranged in size from 40 to 55 buildings and from 5.8 million to 8.1 million square feet with annual operating revenues ranging from $400 million to $600 million. Prior to joining Digital Realty, Bryan was a Senior Vice President and Partner at Equastone, a private equity firm, where he was involved in the acquisition and asset management of a 4.3 million square foot office portfolio in Dallas valued at over $600 million. At that time, Equastone was the city’s 3rd largest office landlord with 21 buildings spread across most of the city’s major submarkets. He also was formerly a Vice President with RREEF, a pension fund advisor and investment management firm, where he led an office that managed over 18 million square feet of office and industrial space in Texas and Oklahoma. Bryan personally oversaw a roughly 9 million square foot portfolio valued at approximately $500 million. Bryan has closed real estate transactions in over 250 cities and 15 states during his career. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, and he also served on the Board of Directors of Tech Titans which is the largest technology trade association in North Texas. He has been recognized for each of the past 5 years as a member of the Dallas 500 which is a list of the most powerful and influential business leaders in the DFW metro area according to D CEO Magazine. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a double major in finance and real estate.

Jason Scandrol

Director, New Development
Vantage Data Centers

Jason has worked as an Owner and Contractor in the data center design, construction, and commissioning industry for over 19 years. He serves as Director of New Development for Vantage. Jason and his team are focused on data center development in new markets, expansion of data centers in existing markets, and data center evaluations associated with mergers and acquisitions.

Brad Smidt

Senior VP, Business Development
Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC)

Brad Smidt is the Senior Vice President of Business Development for GPEC. He manages the team that works with companies considering large industrial, office and data center projects in the Phoenix area. During his time at GPEC, Brad has helped more than 150 companies expand or relocate to the Greater Phoenix area. Prior to GPEC, Brad worked in economic development in both the cities of Mesa and Chandler. Brad is a native Arizonan who grew up in Greater Phoenix. His local ties have contributed to his vast knowledge of the area and familiarity with the unique assets of its workforce. In 2008, Brad received the Economic Developer of the Year award from the Arizona Association of Economic Development. Brad is an active member of the Fiesta Bowl Committee, and serves on the University of Arizona Eller MBA Industry Advisory Board. Brad earned a bachelor’s degree in regional development from the University of Arizona. He holds a Certified Economic Developer Certification from the International Economic Development Council.