Nomad Futurist

From surfboard to snowboard to board of directors, Quantum Loophole’s CEO Josh Snowhorn has always been able to catch the next wave. Join this highly entertaining Nomad Futurist podcast to hear the story of a passionate industry leader, innovator and sports enthusiast who finds exciting synergies that keep him at the forefront of the critical infrastructure industry. Snowhorn grew up as a sci...

In this insightful Nomad Futurist interview, we hear about the remarkable career of Stephen Scott, currently CEO of Datalec, a UK based datacenter construction company. With expertise across engineering, sales, management and finance, Scott provides a unique, decades-long perspective on the evolution of the industry and its future direction. Scott served as an officer in the Royal Navy where...

In this unusual Nomad Futurist podcast, Nabeel and Phil chat with Rob Shanahan whose phenomenal journey as a rock and roll photographer, drummer, and keynote speaker shines a light on the importance of being oneself, having an open heart, and fearlessly connecting with others in the pursuit of one’s dreams. Shanahan grew up in Minnesota where he got his first drum kit at age 10 and his first camer...

In this fascinating Nomad Futurist Podcast, Tom Brennan, the Americas Executive Director of CREST, a cybersecurity company, speaks with Nabeel Mahmood and Phil Koblence about his life as a public interest technologist. Brennan has been intrigued by technology ever since he was a child growing up on Long Island. His early exposure to computers dates to his grandfather bringing home two Te...

Can one still pursue a technology career without having technical education? In this engaging Nomad Futurist podcast Allison Boen, President of Alcatex Data Center Services and a certified DCEP, shares her dynamic career journey from a girl with a business administration degree to one of the top 25 women in technology. Boen, the OG of Data Center, did not begin her career in the tech sector. Inste...

In this dynamic Nomad Futurist podcast, Dean Nelson, an alum of Sun Microsystems, eBay and Uber, and Founder and Chairman of Infrastructure Masons, shares his immense enthusiasm for the digital infrastructure industry that serves as the fundamental underpinning of our modern world. After a brief stint doing temp work out of high school, Nelson got an associate’s degree in electronics from DeV...

In this lively Nomad Futurist podcast, Phil and Nabeel speak with KC Mares whose passionate interest in achieving energy efficiency has fueled a remarkable career in the data center space and beyond. Mares is a dynamic data center leader who has headed major development projects and data center builds for an impressive roster of companies including Google, Equinix and Yahoo. Recently he led design...

For our very first father/son interview, Nomad Futurist welcomes Tony Grayson, a critical infrastructure leader and former Submarine Commander and his son Aiden Grayson, an IT entrepreneur and consultant. Together they offer some unique perspectives on a range of subjects including the Navy, technology, and entrepreneurship. The Graysons comes from a military family. Tony Grayson’s grandfather was...

What does it take to be successful in sales for the IT industry? Tim Arpin, Regional Sales Manager for NY/NJ at Service Express, a data center maintenance company, has a candid conversation with Phil and Nabeel about the world of sales — the good and the bad — and what he loves about providing value through consultative sales for the data center industry. Arpin always had a natural proclivity for...

In this Nomad Futurist podcast, Bill Skinner, Operations Services Manager at Bloomberg LP, shares a dynamic journey highlighted by a commitment to constant learning in the critical infrastructure space — a path that has led him to operationalize training programs at Bloomberg and serve as a data center evangelist within the tech community through his position as President of the NYC/NJ metro chapt...

What’s it like to be a facilities manager running the IT infrastructure of a leading global research university? In this engaging Nomad Futurist podcast, Raymond Parpart, Director of Data Center Operations and Strategy at the University of Chicago shares a journey that led from theater to technology and draws us into the fascinating world of critical infrastructure and supercomputers within a mult...

In this fascinating, wide-ranging Nomad Futurist podcast, Sarah Keller talks about how following a series of interests including business, project management, standards, and data centers led her to becoming Head of Technology Sourcing and Supply Chain at Uber. She shares her insights about the current state of the global supply chain, and her assessments of future challenges in the space. After an...

In this special #NomadFuturist episode recorded at Data Center World on 03/30/2022, Phil and Nabeel invite Bill Kleyman back to the podcast to share his unique perspective on the conflict in Ukraine. Kleyman himself is a refugee whose family left Ukraine around the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Listen to his  first podcast  for details of that extraordinary...

In this upbeat #Nomad Futurist podcast, Ron Vokoun, Director of Critical Facilities for OAC Services, shares his dynamic story with Phil and Nabeel, shedding light on the world of data center construction — from construction management to finding the right skilled trades people, building teams, being an owner’s rep, and advocating for the customer. After an initial attempt at engineering studies a...

In this Nomad Futurist podcast, Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC BLOX shares his enthusiasm for serving locally and connecting globally with Phil and Nabeel. Over the last thirty years, Uphues has been involved with all facets of the communications industry from fiber to hosted applications to data centers and networks. All his experience in finance and in communications led him to where he is today, p...

There are certain individuals in this world who draw people and opportunities to them through some combination of attributes that include likeability, trustworthiness, community-mindedness, and an aptitude for leadership. TJ Ciccone, currently Vice President of Critical Operations for STACK Infrastructure, is one of these individuals. In this #NomadFuturist podcast, he shares with Phil and Nabeel...

Can learning how to write and develop critical thinking skills lead to a successful career in critical infrastructure?  In this #NomadFuturist podcast, we learn how data centers became the perfect space for Michael King, who combined a strong liberal arts background, an early exposure to technology and an openness to new experiences, leading him to his current position as Head of Data Ce...

In this first #NomadFuturist podcast of the New Year, Phil and Nabeel take some time to consider some of the big takeaways from 2021, discussing subjects that range from the ongoing effect of Covid on different industries, the impact of a transformed workplace for both employees and employers, the permanence of disruption, the Great Resignation, technology predictions, and the new Nomad Futurist F...

What does a nuclear power plant and a data center have in common? In this dynamic #NomadFuturist podcast, Michail (Mike) Clutter shares his origin story, his passion for data, and a millennial’s perspective on the data center industry. Clutter’s passion for technology has been a constant throughout his career. He talks about how he took an entrance exam for the US Navy on a lark and ended up doing...

In this lively #NomadFuturist podcast recorded at Data Center World 2021, Phil and Nabeel speak with Dennis Hahn, a cloud and data center subject matter expert and conference speaker. Hahn recounts the varied career path that led him to become Senior Analyst, Data Center Storage at OMDIA—one that encompassed mechanical, industrial and software engineering, plastics design, strategic planning, proj...

In this lively #NomadFuturist podcast, Michael Butigian and Jim Lubratt, award winners at Data Center World 2021, share their respective career journeys in the world of critical infrastructure and HVAC, and their common passion for leaving behind a better world.   Their journeys reveal some commonalities. Both men were athletes in college, Butigian playing basketball and Lubratt playing hocke...

Jezzibell Gilmore is passionate about the internet as a vehicle for communication and collaboration. In this inspiring #NomadFuturist podcast, she shares an inspiring and entrepreneurial story that took her from fine arts to technology and the co-founding of PacketFabric. Gilmore hails from Beijing, China where one side of her family was deeply rooted in theater and the performing arts, and the ot...

Jane Hsieh finds meaningful connections everywhere — among different groups and generations of people, as well as connections between art, fashion, industrial design, engineering, marketing, sales, and customers around the world.   In this inspiring #NomadFuturist podcast, recorded at Data Center World 2021, Hsieh shares her journey to becoming Sr. Director of Sales for Aligned Data Centers a...

As a boy, Levy was enchanted and fascinated to see new buildings being constructed which ultimately led him to study engineering. In addition to his interest in how things “worked,” Levy was highly creative as a young person—playing guitar, painting, and drawing cartoons. He also designed packaging for toys manufactured at his parents’ toy factory as well as decorated stands for toy fairs. Levy ta...

During his university years, Ivo A. Ivanov was a radio DJ host. Now, two decades later, he is the CEO of DE-CIX International, the world’s leading Internet Exchange. How did this happen?   In this #NomadFuturist podcast Ivanov shares his fascinating journey with Phil and Nabeel.    Ivanov hails from Bulgaria where he began his law studies before moving to Germany. As a student in th...