Nomad Futurist

In this fascinating #NomadFuturist podcast, recorded at Data Center World in Orlando, Florida, Phil and Nabeel learn about the extraordinary journey of Bill Kleyman, Master of Ceremonies for the event and EVP of Digital Solutions at Switch Data Centers. This journey about technology, life, determination, and optimism starts with a small boy in the Ukraine whose first experience of tech was learnin...

This engaging #NomadFuturist podcast takes listeners on an exciting ride with Phill Lawson-Shanks, a fearless IT innovator whose insatiable curiosity, daring, and ability to see patterns led him to insights and accomplishments that have helped advance the world of IT and critical infrastructure—including the development of some of the earliest instances of edge and cloud computing as well as advan...

Tim Crawford discovered the world of computers in the 1980s through exposure to AutoCAD while designing circuit boards in high school. What else can this computer do? he wondered. He became fascinated by the art of the possible for the computer and switched to studying computer information systems which helped launch a journey that led to his becoming a strategic CIO and sought-after global adviso...

Betting on Change With a background in music and real estate and a love of flying and surfing, Avner Papouchado breaks any preconceptions one may have about data center executives. Hear this entertaining #NomadFuturist podcast to learn about his journey from music to opportunistic real estate to the world of data centers and his current role as CEO of ServerFarm. Hailing from a family of real esta...

Few people in this world are destined to be reborn – let alone more than once! The Nomad Futurists planned to fly out together for an AFCOM Chicago event on June 28 th  but found themselves immersed in a completely unexpected sequence of events. This riveting #NomadFuturist podcast is an incredible true story about tennis, cricket, community, friendship, superheroes and ultimately, hope. Hear...

Being a successful serial entrepreneur requires a combination of abilities and character traits: Innate curiosity, the ability to assess risk, the ability to identify opportunities, the desire to meet customer needs and an informed fearlessness that leads to decisive action. In this #NomadFuturist interview with Anthony Wanger we get a rare window into the thought process and trajectory of a dynam...

Being true to your lights can lead to a successful career. In this #NomadFuturist podcast, Phil and Nabeel interview Sagi Brody, the Chief Technology Officer for Webair, a leading Cloud and IT Infrastructure solutions provider headquartered in New York. Brody was a natural tinkerer from childhood, moving from Lego to disassembling and reassembling his first Gateway computer at the age of thirteen....

How does a Music Education major end up becoming an internationally recognized leader in datacenter efficiency? In this #NomadFuturist podcast Kevin Kent takes us on an important environmental journey across the United States and around the world. Music and arts were a big part of Kent’s childhood and he studied music education in college. He soon realized he would face a life of limited...

Why does one go from being a highly successful video game executive to becoming a catalyst for the use of technology in supporting emotional, psychological and spiritual wellbeing? In this engaging #NomadFuturist podcast, Nichol Bradford, Co-founder of TransformativeTech.org, shares her deeply personal journey.  “I grew up as a little black girl in Texas in the 80’s and was interested in Star...

How does a successful CEO create value for both customers and investors? Raul Martynek, CEO of DataBank, shares his twenty-year journey and his modus operandi with Phil and Nabeel in this #NomadFuturist podcast. Martynek discusses his accidental entry into the world of Critical Infrastructure. After majoring in political science, he spent his first years out of college trying to find his way. His...

In this time of digital acceleration, the digital divide is growing. Tune in to this #NomadFuturist podcast and learn how David Neeman and James Patrignelli, agents for good, are stepping up to the problem. David Neeman worked for ten years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan DA’s office, motivated by a desire to help people, especially young people. During his tenure he became deeply aware...

How does a financier and entrepreneur view the critical infrastructure space? In this #NomadFuturist podcast, Peter Hopper who specializes in providing advisory services and investment capital for the telecommunications and critical infrastructure industries shares his love and enthusiasm for this space. After college, Hopper did a stint trading foreign exchange before making the switch to telecom...

Tune in to this #NomadFuturist podcast to learn what it takes to run mission critical facilities at a time when the data center industry is in flux. Chris Wade is our first speaker with extensive experience working at the foundational layer of physical infrastructure.  From architecture to climate-controlled technologies to nuclear power plants to data centers, Wade shares the thirty-year jou...

What does it take these days to be innovative in the world of technology? Is there a “superpower” that can cut through the increasing complexity of the IT infrastructure landscape, connecting the dots between technology and business? In this generous and insightful #NomadFuturist podcast, technology industry analyst Charles Araujo shares his story and thoughts about the current state of IT and the...

In this engaging #NomadFuturist podcast, Peter Hannaford recounts an entrepreneurial journey that spans multiple locations—England, Nigeria, France—and tracks the development of computing and the data center industry over a fifty-year period. A child of the 60’s, Hannaford grew up in London, left school early and jumped into the workplace. His first job at a bank led to an opportunity to become a...

Problem-solving, critical thinking, risk management, adaptability…In this fascinating #NomadFuturist podcast, Lee Kirby, our first guest with a military background explains with great clarity, why the skills learned in the military can lead to success in the critical infrastructure industry.  A retired Colonel and technology industry leader, Kirby grew up on a farm in east Tennessee but left...

How did the Internet come into being and for what purpose? What were the early problems that led to its development? What were the fundamental concepts that allowed it to evolve over time into what it is today, a technology that impacts every aspect of our lives? Nomad Futurist is honored to feature Dr. Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the Internet. Cerf played a key role in leading the d...

Smarak (Marc) Bhuyan was destined to follow a career in tech having come from a long line of engineers tracing back to his great grandfather in Orissa (now Odisha). In this #NomadFuturist podcast, Bhuyan shares the serendipitous journey that has led him to his current position managing AI/ML hardware deployments for Google.  Bhuyan initially studied computer science but after a brief stint as...

This fascinating #NomadFuturist podcast provides insights into the thinking of Yuval Bachar, a visionary technologist whose career has been driven by curiosity, a fearless engagement with current challenges and possibilities, and a relentless quest to push the barrier of existing conditions to address the needs of the future. Many companies including Juniper Networks, Cisco, Facebook, LinkedIn and...

What does it take for someone who has won the corner office to walk away from it all, move to Hawaii, re-invent themselves, and launch a podcast that celebrates leaders' life stories in the technology space? In this inspiring #NomadFuturist podcast, technologist and futurist Nabeel Mahmood speaks with co-host Phillip Koblence about the physical and emotional journey that took him from the athletic...

In this Nomad Futurist podcast, Luke Norris outlines his exciting journey as a tech wunderkind who jumped into the world of IT and networking while in high school to becoming the founder of Faction, a leading multi-cloud services provider. Norris worked at several companies while still in his teens and ended up at Silicon Graphics during the height of the dotcom boom. After securing CSSP...

In this #NomadFuturist podcast, Eli Scher talks about how his background as an investment banker propelled him into the world of IT. After an initial stint working in structured finance, Scher decided that he wanted to get closer to operations. “When you get out from behind a spreadsheet you see what’s happening in the real world.” The real world included five years in Shanghai, China developing m...

Dave Temkin was a precocious nerd with a natural passion for tech who got in on the ground floor of internet technology and networking as a high school junior by parlaying his curiosity and can-do approach into a series of jobs that led to success. In this #NomadFuturist podcast, Temkin shares a career trajectory that has encompassed work in networking, critical infrastructure, disaster recovery,...

In this inspiring #NomadFuturist podcast, Cole Crawford talks about his journey from being an antisocial, nationally ranked, competitive tennis playing Goth kid to becoming the CEO and founder of Vapor IO, the world's first true edge computing company. Crawford got his first exposure to Linux at age 15 and was immediately hooked. “Linux was my religion for a decade.” Quickly realizing th...

As a trailblazer, I believe: “A title does not define... it keeps one in a box, and I like to say that I do not have boxes... because I am ultimately a child of our universe.”  Transmute the now and transcend tomorrow. Dominique Luchart is a multi-faceted creative force, a prolific writer, director and producer. She is also an Author, Futurist, and Speaker. As an innovator, she changes the wa...