Schedule

7:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Registration & Breakfast

Check in, pick up your name badge, conference materials and enjoy a hot buffet breakfast.

8:00 A.M. – 8:30 A.M.
Welcome and Opening Remarks

Bob Cassiliano, 7×24 Exchange chairman, will open the conference, provide an overview, review meeting logistics and address general housekeeping items.

8:30 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.
Conference Keynote:
Lessons from a Shark

Kevin O’Leary will take you on a behind-the-scenes look at his two hit shows, Dragons’ Den & Shark Tank. He’ll share entertaining and insightful outtakes from his TV shows – videos you can’t see anywhere else, along with a current economic overview and how it relates to the mission critical industry.

Kevin O’Leary (bio)
Investor on ABC’s Shark Tank & Chairman of O’Leary Financial Group

9:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
Refreshment Break

10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.
Balancing AI Growth and Sustainability in Data Center Construction Operation

With community influence and investor reporting requirements holding increasing sway, as well as AI’s perceived impact on power usage and efficiency, data center sustainability is critical for continued industry growth. This session will discuss the constraints and opportunities on the journey to net zero while facing unprecedented demand for AI. Discover the drivers behind data center efforts to become more sustainable and socially responsible as they rise to the challenge in providing essential digital services supporting local, national, and global communities. Experts will share design, construction, and operations strategies for reducing carbon from a lifecycle perspective and empowering surrounding communities.

Megan Baker (bio)
VP of Engagement
Green Building Initiative

Phill Lawson-Shanks (bio)
Chief Innovation Officer
Aligned Data Centers

Rob LoBuono (bio)
Critical Facilities Leaders, Senior Associate
Gensler

11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
WiMCO^® Panel:
Unleashing the AI Advantage: Outsmart, Outperform, and Outproduce Your Competition

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, leveraging artificial intelligence is no longer optional; it’s imperative for businesses to thrive. This session will explore strategies and real-world examples that demonstrate how AI can offer you a competitive edge.

Moderator:
Juli Ierulli (bio)
Strategic Account Manager – Midwest
Environmental Air Systems, LLC and
Vice President
7×24 Exchange International

Panelists:
Angie Garza (bio)
Director of Advanced Technology and Infrastructure Sourcing
Google

Carrie Goetz (bio)
Principal/CTO
StrategITcom

12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M.
Lunch and Networking

1:30 P.M. – 2:30 P.M.
Panel:
Dirty Insights on Liquid Cooling Commissioning TCS Pipe System and Liquid Cooled ITE

This panel discussion will focus on commissioning and cleaning requirements for TCS pipe system, including integration of liquid-cooled ITE. Presenters will explore the unique challenges of ensuring proper system flushing, cleaning, and water treatment to prevent contamination of TCS piping during both initial commissioning and ongoing additions of liquid-cooled ITE. Best practices for mitigating risks associated with particulate and microbial contamination, maintaining fluid quality, and achieving long-term reliability of liquid-cooled systems in high-performance data center environments will be shared.

Moderator:
Don Mitchell (bio)
OCP Modular TCS Workstream Lead
Open Compute Project and
Mission Critical Division Global Leader
Victaulic

Panelists:
Sam Allen (bio)
Principal Innovations & Technical Director in Mission Critical
Burns McDonnell

Pardeep Shahi (bio)
Senior Mechanical Engineer
NVIDIA

Vali Sorell (bio)
Senior Data Center Design Engineer
Oracle

2:30 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.
7×24 Exchange Traditional Create Your Own Sundae Break

3:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Breakout A:
The Future Speaks: Data Center Young Professionals and Senior Leadership Discuss the Emerging Workforce, Fresh Talent, Big Insights, and Bridging the Gap

Join us for an engaging discussion on the future workforce of the data center industry, featuring insights from a nationwide survey by the Data Center Young Professionals Organization (DCYP). With over 1,000 members across seven regions, DCYP connects young professionals through networking and leadership development, shaping the next generation of leaders. Survey findings reveal career paths, workplace expectations, and challenges defining this emerging talent pool. Microsoft’s Sr. Global Commissioning Director will add an end-user perspective, exploring ways to bridge gaps between young talent and seasoned leaders. Discover strategies to attract top talent, adapt to workforce shifts, and foster knowledge transfer in this evolving sector.

Moderator:
Heather Hartman (bio)
Senior Director, Global Commissioning
Microsoft

Panelists:
Luke Canan (bio)
Client Service Leader
Barge Design Solutions

Sarah Turner (bio)
Account Executive
Zavtek

Breakout B:
Panel: Power Quality Challenges Data Centers Face Today and How to Address These Issues

Modern data centers face critical power quality challenges that threaten reliability, operational efficiency, and sustainability. Issues such as voltage sags and surges, harmonics, power interruptions, transients, low power factor, load imbalances, and backup system failures can lead to downtime, equipment damage, and increased costs. Adhering to the IEEE Color Book and 3000 series standards provides a structured framework for addressing these challenges. These standards guide best practices in power quality monitoring, power conditioning, optimized system design, and energy management. Incorporating advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and smart grids, along with sustainable energy practices, enhances compliance and ensures robust power quality management. By leveraging the IEEE 3000 series and adopting proactive measures, data centers can achieve higher reliability, efficiency, and sustainability in an increasingly digital and demanding landscape

Qais Alsfasfeh (bio)
Engineering Leader
Schneider Electric

William Brown (bio)
Chief Engineer
Schneider Electric

Breakout C:
Implementing SMRs on a Data Center Campus

This presentation explores the potential of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to power a data center campus. As data centers face growing energy demands, SMRs could offer a sustainable and cost-effective solution. We’ll look at how SMRs could be integrated into existing systems, their economic and environmental benefits, and the challenges involved. The session will provide a clear view of how SMRs compare to traditional energy sources and what their future could look like in powering data centers and other industries. Join us for an insightful discussion on this emerging energy solution.

Ben Hoffman (bio)
Head of Commercial Sales, Data Centers
Last Energy

John Sasser (bio)
Chief Technology Officer
Sabey Data Centers

Jimmy Sneed (bio)
Managing Director Critical Facilities
WB Engineers Consultants

4:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
WiMCO Networking Reception

Join the National Women in Mission Critical Operations Committee for a networking reception
SPONSORED BY:

7:00 A.M.- 8:30 A.M.
Breakfast & Registration

8:30 A.M. – 9:00 A.M.
Opening Remarks

Bob Cassiliano will review day one highlights, recognize the conference Corporate Leadership Program sponsors and give a 7×24 Exchange update.

9:00 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
Tuesday Keynote:
Data Centers in the Age of Agentic AI: Preparing for the Future

The market is seeing the fruits of advancements in LLM processing, with a growing number of sophisticated applications. One example is Agentic AI. This AI acts independently and autonomously (with little or no human interaction) to achieve specific goals. Agentic AI will likely be intertwined with the expansion of cloud infrastructure, as these intelligent systems will leverage the power of cloud-based inference models for their operations. Phill will discuss the potential impacts and requirements to support these platforms including data center location, construction, and power density perspective, and how these new deployments may impact existing cloud infrastructure and GPU-cluster pods

Phill Lawson-Shanks (bio)
Chief Innovation and Technology Officer
Aligned Data Centers

10:00 A.M. – 10:30 A.M.
Refreshment Break

10:30 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.
Sustainable Power, Unstoppable Performance: How NOVVA Achieved Uninterrupted Data Center Operations

This presentation will delve into a case study and technical details, highlighting how NOVVA Data Centers is driving innovation, integration, and operational excellence to achieve end-to-end reliability. We will showcase how harnessing the power of building automation controllers is revolutionizing data center operations reliability while reducing downtime, energy and water waste to improve operational sustainability. Throughout the discussion, the speakers will discuss broader trends and future advancements in data center automation.

Jared Coleman (bio)
Automation and Controls Manager, Mission Critical
NOVVA Data Centers

John DeBoer (bio)
Head of Data Center Vertical Market
Siemens

Vanessa Lucero (bio)
Automation Controls Technician
Holbrook Service

11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
The Hidden Power Source: Efficient Use of IT Infrastructure

The digital infrastructure industry is facing explosive growth in power demand to support expanding traditional IT and new AI training and inference infrastructures. The industry has huge opportunities to run the IT infrastructure more efficiently, reducing power demand growth. This panel will discuss strategies and case studies that demonstrate ways to optimize IT infrastructure, including cloud infrastructure, for energy performance. Future energy demand and consumption can be reduced by 25–50% by recovering power capacity and reducing planned demand through deployment of a more efficient IT infrastructure as measured by the work delivered per MWh of power consumed.

Jay Dietrich (bio)
Research Director Energy & Sustainability
Uptime Institute

Steven Earhart (bio)
Principal Site Reliability Engineer
Mastercard

Rich Kenny (bio)
Managing Director
Interact

12:30 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Lunch & Networking

2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.
Panel:
Unleashing AI: Smarter Design, Faster Builds, and Seamless Operations

AI is revolutionizing how we design, build, and manage critical infrastructure, driving efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. Power density and cooling needs of high-performance computing continue to evolve with advances in I.T. equipment. This dynamic environment and the accelerating pace of construction requires adaptive design solutions to keep up. Panelists will explore examples of AI applications in data center design and operation and debate use-cases, suitable applications, and timing for this technology to meaningfully transform the industry.

Moderator:
Fred Miller (bio)
Project Executive – Mission Critical
Gresham Smith

Russ Gibbs (bio)
Vice President of Innovation & Operational Technology
Brasfield & Gorrie

Christopher Markstein (bio)
Strategic Industries Manager
Inductive Automation

Andrew Schlabach (bio)
Controls Engineering Manager
Amazon Web Services

Mike Sewell (bio)
Director of Innovation
Gresham Smith

3:00 P.M. – 3:30 P.M.
Refreshment Break

3:30 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Breakout A:
New Approaches to Satisfy Higher Power Requirements

In this session, the presenter will address the increased power requirements due to new AI workloads and the innovative approaches our data center industry is adopting including microgrids, battery energy storage systems, grid interactions, fuel cells, renewables and nuclear.

Moises Levy (bio)
Managing Director, Research & Market Intelligence
Data Center Dynamics

Breakout B:
Panel: Data Centers and Insurance: ARE YOU REALLY COVERED?

Data centers have unique risk exposures which are becoming increasingly complex as their business, operations, and risk management systems integrate. While data centers today buy a wide range of insurance policies, owners and operators don’t know where coverage gaps and redundancies exist. This panel will discuss the exposures data centers face and the potential value of establishing a standing forum for owners and operators, brokers, and carriers to discuss those exposures; promote deeper understanding of how insurance responds; and develop a data-center specific insurance form that minimizes coverage gaps to help drive coverage efficiencies.

Moderator:
Dennis Cronin (bio)
Board Member, Mission Critical Global Alliance and
Founding Member, 7×24 Exchange International

Panelists:
Tom Finan (bio)
SVP & Senior Cyber Insurance Broker
Willis Towers Watson

Danielle Librizzi (bio)
Head of Professional Liability
QBE

Jason Tugman (bio)
Director of Information Security and Data Security
Eko Health

Breakout C:
Infrastructure Considerations for Hyperscale, MTDC, Wholesale: A Client’s Perspective

This presentation will discuss the real-world technology infrastructure considerations for hyperscale, multi-tenant, and wholesale data centers. This includes lessons learned on incoming duct bank routes, meet me room coordination and layout considerations, data hall connectivity and wrangling multiple networks into a cohesive deployment. We will discuss the impact that the power and cooling spaces and requirements have on base-building network space constraints and coordination efforts. This takes a collaborative design team and an involved client, as well as clearly defined procurement responsibilities

Joseph Ford (bio)
Senior Associate, Technology
Bala Consulting Engineers

Jared Goodman (bio)
Director, Data Center Infrastructure Integrations
Edged Energy

Eric Klaiber (bio)
Associate, Design Center Design Manager
Bala Consulting Engineers

6:30 P.M. – 9:30 P.M.
Sponsored Event
Journey Into the Movies

Click here for a list of partners that made this event possible.

8:30 A.M. – 8:45 A.M.
Opening Remarks

Bob Cassiliano will review highlights from day two and address housekeeping items of interest.

8:45 A.M. – 9:45 A.M.
Wednesday Keynote:
Compare and Contrast US vs International Data Center Design and Construction

Data Center demand continues to grow. The drivers of this demand in recent memory and in chronological order, were virtualization, cloud computing, COVID work from home, and most recently artificial intelligence. This explosive growth in data center demand is not just a United States phenomenon. This growth is worldwide, but many of the same players are driving it in all geographies. The IT equipment around the world is all very similar, but the buildings that house the IT equipment are not the same. The methods by which they are constructed can be radically different. These differences are driven by geography, climate, tradition, laws, codes, and local construction practices. From designing data centers for the US market to designing in the international marketplace with clients including hyperscalers, colocation providers, enterprise users, and governments, the presenter will share a unique perspective on how and why US and International data center design and construction practices are both similar and different.

James Coe (bio)
Senior Principal, Director of Critical Facilities
Syska Hennessy Group

9:45 A.M. – 10:15 A.M.
Refreshment Break

10:15 A.M. – 11:15 A.M.
Panel:
Fluid to Chip Cooling Systems – Can You Handle the Heat?

This session explores the many challenges and nuances of technical cooling systems (TCS) that are becoming prevalent in today’s data center designs. As the data center industry has not executed these at this unprecedented scale, it’s important to understand the WHY behind the many significant design requirements; they are not trivial and can land you in hot water if you’re not careful!

Moderator:
Justin Seter (bio)
Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives
DLB Associates

Panelists:
Michael Beatty (bio)
Global Data Center/MicroE New Construction Team Leader
Nalco

Steve Hansen (bio)
Chief Operating Officer
Legence

David Quirk (bio)
President
DLB Associates

Pardeep Shahi (bio)
Senior Mechanical Engineer
NVIDIA

11:15 A.M. – 12:15 P.M.
Future-Proof Data for AI-Driven Data Center Planning and Operations

Join us for a collaborative deep dive into optimizing AI-driven data centers. Through a real-world case study, presenters will explore T-Mobile’s innovative approach to overcoming challenges like power variability, inefficiencies, and scaling precision data. Learn how cutting-edge energy intelligence and IoT-ready architectures are transforming operations, improving efficiency, and enabling scalable solutions for AI workloads. Gain actionable insights, measurable results, and a vision for the future of data center planning in an AI-powered world.

Mark Chung (bio)
CEO
Verdigris Technologies

John Coster (bio)
Senior Manager Innovation, Strategy & Planning
T-Mobile

12:15 P.M.
Conference Adjourns