Explore the Agenda

7:00 am Registration, Networking & Morning Coffee

7:55 am Advancing Data Centers Opening Remarks

8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Unlocking Growth Through Land & Power

8:10 am Keynote Panel Discussion: Defining Owner Requirements to Enable Scalable, Future-Ready Data Center Delivery

Partner & Data Center Construction Lead, Microsoft
Senior Director of Design & Construction, Equinix
Senior Manager of Data Center Operations, Google
  • Establishing clear performance, density, and resilience standards to guide consistent design decisions across expanding portfolios
  • Balancing speed to market with long-term scalability to ensure technical standards support both immediate deployment and future growth
  • Aligning commercial, operational, and engineering priorities internally to reduce friction and maintain certainty across multisite programs

8:40 am Aligning Site Strategy, Land Economics & Utility Infrastructure to Enable Scalable Data Center Development

Project Director of Data Center Solutions, Black & Veatch
  • Adapting campus design to regional land availability, permitting complexity, and brownfield constraints to manage development risk and control upfront capital exposure
  • Forecasting utility capacity and substation infrastructure years in advance to align transmission-level supply with long-term data center growth
  • Integrating grid studies, electrical distribution strategy, and overall site planning to deliver scalable, reliable power at gigawatt scale

9:40 am Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments

Track 1: Innovating Design Standards

Maintaining Momentum from Design to Build

10:20 am Panel Discussion: Exploring Early Design Engagement & Evolving Delivery Models to Improve Collaboration & Reduce Delivery Risk

Vice President of Data Center Project Delivery, HDR
Director & Head of Global Systems, Bryden Wood
Partner & Data Center Construction Lead, Microsoft
Vice President of Design & Engineering, Sabey Datacenters
  • Engaging architects, engineers, contractors, and key end users earlier in the project lifecycle to surface constraints sooner and reduce downstream coordination risk
  • Evaluating design-build and integrated delivery models to accelerate decision-making and improve accountability between design and construction teams
  • Structuring contracts, incentives, and risk allocation to support early collaboration and reduce cost and schedule exposure as scope evolves

10:50 am Using Early Feasibility Studies & Upfront Design Decisions to Validate Infrastructure Choices & Preserve Flexibility Under Uncertainty

Director & Head of Global Systems, Bryden Wood
  • Aligning end users, architects, engineers, and builders around shared density assumptions and delivery constraints enabling faster front-end decision-making and reducing late-stage redesign
  • Designing adaptable power, cooling, and structural frameworks allowing evolving density and technology requirements to be absorbed without rework or capacity loss
  • Assessing emerging power supply and infrastructure technologies at the front-end improving feasibility clarity and reducing the risk of stranded or incompatible systems

11:20 am Managing Late-Stage Design Changes to Minimize Cost Impacts & Maintain Delivery Schedules

Director of Mechanical Engineering, Equinix
  • Establishing clear change management processes to efficiently capture, approve and document scope changes
  • Assessing downstream schedule and procurement impacts of design changes to make informed trade-offs under delivery pressure
  • Coordinating end users, architects, engineers, and delivery teams around locked decisions to maintain momentum and protect critical path schedules

Track 2: Engineering for Building Systems

Maximizing Cooling Efficiency

10:20 am Panel Discussion: Evaluating Different Liquid Cooling Architectures to Match Rack Density Requirements & Evolving Equipment Form Factors

Sector Lead of Mission Critical, HED
COE of Continuous Improvement & Innovation, Compass Datacenters
  • Comparing liquid-to-chip, rear-door, and immersion cooling approaches to match rack density requirements
  • Evaluating liquid cooling architectures against rack layouts, power ranges, and equipment form factors to avoid redesign and support future scalability
  • Comparing the cost, efficiency, and constructability of different liquid cooling solutions to select approaches that balance performance with deployment practicality

10:50 am Audience Discussion: Transitioning From Air to Liquid Cooling to Support High-Density Loads

  • Identifying the performance and density drivers pushing facilities beyond the limits of air-cooled systems to inform when liquid cooling becomes necessary and guide peers in planning upgrades efficiently
  • Exploring rack-level liquid cooling to address point heat loads while maintaining legacy air infrastructure to enable higher densities without full system replacement
  • Defining hybrid strategies that balance air and liquid-cooled systems to allow flexible integration and minimize operational risk during transitions
  • Preparing operations teams with targeted training and processes to manage parallel air and liquid systems and ensure safe, reliable facility performance

11:20 am Scaling CDU-Led Liquid Cooling and Heat Exchange Systems to Support Higher AI Densities While Preserving Long-Term Operability

Senior Manager of Facilities Engineering, Google
  • Designing CDU-led liquid cooling systems to manage higher AI thermal loads, enabling sustained high-density rack deployments
  • Integrating CDUs and heat exchangers into white space layouts to simplify access and redundancy, reducing maintenance risk as liquid cooling scales
  • Sizing liquid loops and heat exchangers for future density growth to increase design flexibility, supporting heavier AI deployments over time

12:20 pm Networking Lunch Break

Improving Sustainability & Environmental Compliance

1:20 pm Setting Water-Positive Design Standards Amid Constrained Resources to Enable Sustainable Data Center Development

Vice President of Design & Engineering, Sabey Datacenters
  • Applying adiabatic and advanced water treatment technologies to lower operational water use
  • Integrating alternative water sourcing and reuse strategies into cooling design to reduce environmental impact and maintain operational viability where municipal supply is constrained
  • Selecting site-specific cooling approaches based on climate and regulatory pressure to enable viable deployment without overcommitting to a single solution

1:50 pm Case Study: Integrating Environmentally Conscious Energy Sourcing & Solutions to Reduce Emissions & Strengthen Power Resilience

Sector Lead of Mission Critical, HED
  • Prioritizing fuel cells over fossil fuel generation to reduce local emissions while maintaining reliable on-site power capacity
  • Using natural gas as a transitional source to enable near-term delivery while preserving optionality for future nuclear or zerocarbon power
  • Evaluating nuclear and advanced generation options within phased power strategies to support long-term capacity needs and meet customer sustainability expectations under grid and policy uncertainty

Ensuring Power Availability Under Constrained Infrastructure

1:20 pm Case Study: Optimizing Power Generation Equipment Selection & Sizing to Accelerate Deployment

Vice President, Salas O’Brien
  • Selecting appropriately sized generation equipment to balance immediate capacity needs with future scalability and avoid over- or under-provisioning
  • Comparing generation technologies and configurations to improve deployment speed while maintaining reliability and operational efficiency
  • Aligning equipment selection with installation and commissioning timelines to support earlier energization and operational readiness

1:50 pm Deploying On-Site Power Generation to Reduce Grid Dependency & Maintain Continuous Data Center Operations

COE of Continuous Improvement & Innovation, Compass Datacenters
  • Integrating on-site generation into early power planning to reduce reliance on utility timelines and mitigate the risk of delayed grid availability
  • Designing facilities with on-site generation as a core power source to maintain operational continuity during grid instability or outages
  • Incorporating on-site generation into overall electrical design to improve resilience, flexibility, and long-term power security across the facility

2:50 pm Afternoon Refreshments & Networking

Streamlining Approvals Through Community & Government Buy-in

3:30 pm Fire-Side Chat: Proactively Managing Community & Economic Engagement to Build Trust & Align Data Center Development with Local Priorities

Senior Director of Project Management - Americas, EdgeConneX Inc.
  • Engaging communities prior to permit submission to address misinformation early and reduce the risk of approval delays
  • Using early acoustic and environmental analysis to guide equipment selection and design decisions and minimize objections while meeting local ordinance
  • Integrating community needs and quantified economic benefits into project planning to positively shape public perception and deliver lasting local value

4:00 pm Aligning Design Standards with Local AHJ & Community Expectations to Reduce Approval Risk & Maintain Project Schedules

Senior Director of CSA Design Operations, Aligned Data Centers
  • Reviewing regional AHJ and community requirements and engaging authorities early to align interpretations and adapt design standards before compliance issues emerge
  • Integrating permitting and entitlement considerations into early planning to reduce approval uncertainty and protect delivery timelines
  • Standardizing flexibility within design frameworks to accelerate approvals while maintaining consistency across multi-region portfolios

4:30 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

4:40 pm End of Day One