Nomad Futurist Nomad Futurist

In this engaging episode of Nomad Futurist, hosts Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence sit down with Ray Sidler, the Chief Executive Officer at DataVerge. With over two decades of experience in data center operations and management, Ray Sidler brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep understanding of the evolving landscape of digital infrastructure.
Sidler discusses his early beginnings in web hosting from a small office in Brooklyn to scaling up to a significant data center facility. He highlights challenges, including power issues and growth pains, as well as humorous anecdotes about their former company name, ColoGuard, which led to unexpected challenges with a similarly named medical product.
“We changed our name, and I guess our marketing got better, our image got better. This was also the same time when Jamestown and Belvedere Capital came into our complex and completely revamped our six million square foot of space.”
Sidler recounts pivotal moments in his career, notably the challenges faced during power outages and infrastructure failures. These critical incidents forced Sidler and his team to innovate and adapt to further evolve their company, which later included rebranding and strategic partnerships that fueled growth amidst industry challenges.

“There hasn't been any outages in quite some time, and the complex has just flourished, and there are thousands of people here, and the ecosystem grew.”
Throughout the episode, Sidler puts a strong emphasis on building long-term client relationships based on trust and reliability. His personal commitment to customer service and responsiveness set a high standard in the industry.

“People can call me at two o’clock in the morning and they know that I will pick up the phone. And the same thing with Ruben (Ruben Magurdumov, COO and Co-Founder of DataVerge). And they’ll email me and I’ll respond to their emails right away. And that's the trust that we've built with the customers and the long-lasting relationships that we have.”
Sidler’s journey serves as a testament to the transformative power of resilience, strategic decision-making, and unwavering commitment to client satisfaction in the data center industry. As the digital infrastructure landscape continues to evolve, these insights are invaluable for professionals and businesses navigating the complexities of the sector. Stay connected with Ray Sidler on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

In the latest episode of Nomad Futurist, Founder and Managing Director of Structure Research, Philbert Shih, shares with Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence a wealth of insights and reflections spanning his extensive career in the data center sector. From entrepreneurial beginnings to navigating industry shifts and embracing digital transformation, Shih’s journey offers invaluable lessons for professionals in the tech industry.
Reflecting on his early days in the dot-com era, Shih highlighted the pivotal moments that shaped his career trajectory:
“Tech journalism, or stories and articles about this burgeoning, emerging, new, exciting technology platform called the internet that is the next industrial revolution. And I thought, wow, okay, that resonates. That makes sense in terms of opportunity and career path.”Shih elaborates on the evolution of the data center landscape, emphasizing the impact of major events and technological advancements:
“The first phase – the dot com, kind of, empty data centers – gave rise to a lot of smart people and fortunate people to get into the sector… Get assets with pennies on the dollars, build those assets over time, monetize them, and continue to help drive sectors, growth, [etc.].”
Later addressing the sector’s response to the global pandemic, Shih underscores the acceleration of digital transformation and its implications for future trends:
“The global pandemic gave rise very quickly to the accelerated adoption of computing… That’s why our branding is all about – our event is called – infra/STRUCTURE. It’s called Structure Research because the physical infrastructure is always going to need to be there.”
Phil Shih’s journey from entrepreneurial beginnings to industry leadership offers a compelling narrative of resilience, adaptation, and innovation within the data center industry. His reflections on past experiences, current challenges, and future trends provide invaluable insights for industry professionals navigating an increasingly complex and dynamic landscape. As the sector continues to evolve, Shih’s vision for the future underscores the critical role of technology, infrastructure, and human connections in shaping the digital economy of tomorrow.

Connect with Phil Shih on LinkedIn to stay up to date on Structure Research and infra/STRUCTURE Summit 2024, taking place at the Wynn Las Vegas.

In this insightful episode of Nomad Futurist, hosts Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence meet with John Bonczek, a seasoned professional with a rich background in sales and data centers, currently at fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty (1547). Bonczek's journey, marked by his sales prowess and his experiences navigating the evolving data center landscape, offers valuable lessons for those in the tech industry.
Reflecting on his early career, Bonczek recounts how he leveraged his sales expertise from the telecom industry to carve a niche in data centers. His ability to create opportunities and build lasting relationships was a significant factor in his success:
"I’ve developed friendships in places like that – dinners, lunches, socials – or just getting out and meeting them at their office and just in person shaking hands. There is absolutely no substitute.”Bonczek also shares his observations on the critical role of partnerships and ecosystems in driving growth and innovation in the data center industry. Moreover, he elaborates on improving the dynamics between internal teams throughout this digital era, via team-building exercises and bonding activities:

“I worked with one of my best friends who was in operations at Telx for a number of years, I was in sales, and we always had healthy tension in the office. We could always laugh it off and have a drink after work.”
Bonczek later discusses the pivotal trend of increasing importance of edge computing and its implications for data center operations:

“It’s going to be tremendously important for the type of tenants that we have there – it’s more of an edge data center. There’s trading applications, financial applications happening in that building.”
This episode highlights Bonczek's deep understanding of the data center industry's dynamics and his forward-thinking approach. His experiences serve as a testament to the importance of adaptability and collaboration in the fast-paced world of technology. Connect with John Bonczek on LinkedIn to stay updated on his latest insights and endeavors.

Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence sat down with Doris Li Yeh, CEO and Founder of Mirapath, a Data Center Critical Infrastructure Total Solution Provider, to discuss her education, travels, how she started her career, and much more. At Mirapath, Doris drives growth strategy for the company with a focus on nurturing relationships, committing to excellence, being driven by results, and striving for innovation and excellence – while having fun and enjoying the journey together.
Yeh is passionate about leadership development, women empowerment, and cutting-edge technology related to platform development in the data center and IoT space. As a founding member and co-chair of the minority women initiative USPAACC-WISE, Yeh channels her passion for empowerment by helping match corporations with minority businesses and helping women own their space and their voice.
“When I talk to women from all different races, even today, they're saying that the job of a woman is actually being a mom. I do think that is our job, but it should be shared equally with the father. Today, we don't think that is what is happening and that representation matters.”Before becoming the powerhouse saleswoman, business owner, and leader, she had a long journey to get to where she is today. As someone who has been in sales for many years in their career, Yeh understands the importance of building positive relationships, having motivation, and how that can impact a customer's perception of the organization.

“I think when you care about the result of your customer, it's not really about the sale. You do get a high from selling, but really, you understand the problem that your customer has and you have pride when you actually solve the problem. I always tell people that if you do that, the money will come because your customer will know that you care and they will keep on coming back.”
Growing up in various different countries, with different cultures and ways of viewing one another, Yeh has developed a deep appreciation for being comfortable with your environment, the people in it, and what that can do for success. As a result, she is a strong believer in finding “your tribe” to thrive.

“Find your tribe, because if you really know what you want and you tell the world what you want, the world is going to help you find your tribe and then you'll be in a safe place where you can continue to grow and flourish. It's where you can do your art, be yourself, contribute, and learn.”
Through many different experiences, obstacles, and big decisions, Yeh is a thriving example of what can come from having a goal, setting expectations, and following through. For more information on Yeh’s amazing journey to get to where she is today, follow her on LinkedIn and listen to this engaging conversation. The story of how Yeh went from Brazil, to America, to creating the successful business she has today is one you won’t want to miss.

This week Nabeel and Phillip had the pleasure of speaking with Grant Kirkwood, a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building and operating both networks and companies. Kirkwood currently serves as the CEO of Contrivian, a new Cloud Service Provider (CSP) focused on transforming the enterprise experience of finding and utilizing connectivity services. Kirkwood joined from north of San Francisco, California to discuss his experience that spans multiple startups, technology evolution, and much more.
After seeing what technology was capable of for communication and learning in the early 1990’s, Kirkwood decided to join the industry himself. He shared that, though he came from a family of scholars, his learning came from real-life experiences and immersing himself in the booming industry of digital infrastructure.
“Everything I've learned has been from running companies, working for companies, learning from people, no formal education at all.”
Kirkwood continuously emphasizes the importance of prioritizing and appreciating the people in a business because at the end of the day, the people matter most. He believes that while technology is an important piece of the puzzle, having an amazing team is what allows a company to do amazing things.

“Ultimately, it's people that matter. Yes, you have to solve technical challenges, but I spend most of my time thinking about how to enable a really high performing team to do great things.”
Learning from within from the beginning of his career, Kirkwood discovered the value of listening to the smartest people in the room as opposed to trying to be the smartest person in the room. As a result, he acquired mentors, one of which taught him the importance of communication.

“The biggest thing that I learned from him is to just communicate to people. These are the facts and you don't need to sugar coat things. You don't need to hide the hard things so that people don't worry.”
Kirkwood gained experience with data centers and the technology space early on in life, learning from within the industry, and breaking things to understand how they work, allowing him to develop a unique perspective that he brings to the table today. While the digital infrastructure looks very different now than it did when Kirkwood started his first business in 1996, he is always thinking about people, the team, and how he can create the best culture possible in his business before technology.

In this episode of Nomad Futurist, hosts Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence talk with Deidre’ (Dee) Smith, a leader in technology and sustainability. Smith brings deep expertise in problem-solving, risk advisory, and technology deployment, and has managed multi-million dollar P&Ls. Committed to sustainability, she promotes responsible AI development for a greener future. Recognized as a visionary, Smith has a proven track record in business growth, major restructuring, and operational enhancement through innovative leadership. Her extensive experience spans digital transformation, entrepreneurship, sales, and technical services, driving successful initiatives from company integrations to strategic partnerships.
Dee joined Nabeel and Phillip from Northern Virginia to discuss her journey from South Africa to America, her entry into the data center industry many years ago, and her current initiatives. Initially a business analyst in financial services, she quickly transitioned to the technology sector, leading to roles in data centers and beyond.
“Coming from Africa, the challenges are a little more complicated because of the power situation. It is difficult and so that was even more interesting for me because the challenges there are not the same necessarily as the challenges one would experience here or in Asia or even in Europe. And having worked on multiple continents, the approaches have some cultural differences.”
Beginning her career in South Africa, Dee was in a constant state of inconsistent power and experienced power challenges such as outages lasting anywhere from 4 to 16 hours. This prevalent issue sparked inspiration that led to the creation of the organization, DS&A, an organization that provided strategic advisory to many companies around the world and in particular, data center education to the African continent. An entire industry was spawned through this training. It also was her inspiration for joining Powering Potential, a non-profit that provides education through technology, using solar power to run computers, in developing countries.

“Powering Potential is an organization that provides laptops, computers, solar power, and we train teachers on how to teach the kids technology skills so that we create digital advocates for our industry going forward, but we also bring more people into the industry. And education is obviously key to building the future.”
Through her work with Powering Potential and transforming companies by training them on diversity, inclusion, and more, Dee has helped shape the industry going forward for the next generation to come. Her introduction into the data industry was influenced by global projects that involved data centers as well as her curiosity for the knowledge people in the industry had to offer.

“I think it's important just to listen to understand because you get so much input and so much information from people. And it was always just interesting to me. You just never run out of stuff to talk about. And it's a constantly changing environment with constant challenges.”
In this episode, Dee Smith shared an abundance of inspirational, eye-opening, and thought-provoking information. Her influence in the industry has provided awareness and resources that are constantly creating change for the better. To learn more about the work she is doing currently, connect with Dee on LinkedIn and listen to the full episode.