Guest Intro – Kaylen Bushell | Charting a Non-Traditional Path from Service to Strategy

🎙️ Episode Summary:
How do you go from serving on the high seas to managing high-stakes infrastructure? Meet Kaylen Bushell—a data center strategist whose journey from the U.S. Coast Guard to leading hyperscale initiatives proves that the path to tech infrastructure leadership isn’t always a straight line. In this episode, Kaylen shares how adaptability, mission-driven thinking, and cross-disciplinary fluency helped her translate service experience into technical excellence across some of the world’s most sophisticated data centers.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Military experience cultivates unmatched adaptability and operational discipline, ideal for infrastructure roles.

• The ability to “speak multiple languages”—technical, strategic, operational—is essential for success in complex environments.

• You don’t need a traditional tech or construction background to thrive in the data center space.

• Empathy and curiosity are underrated superpowers in technical leadership.

🧑‍🚀 Guest Bio – Kaylen Bushell:
A Managing Consultant at Avicado, Kaylen supports hyperscale data center clients through strategic advisory, asset management, and operational excellence. Drawing from a foundation in military service and field-level experience at AWS and Meta, she excels in aligning construction and operations to reduce risk and improve lifecycle outcomes.