AI Data Centers | Kisaco Research

AI Data Centers

AI Data Centers

Author:

Matt Pfile

CEO
Crane Data Centers

Matt Pfile is the founder and CEO of Crane Data Centers Inc., a data center developer and operator with a strong commitment to sustainability, customer centricity, and innovation. He has over 25 years of experience in telecom engineering, critical infrastructure acquisition, corporate banking, management consulting, and commercial negotiations. Prior to Crane, he spent 12+ years at Google leading over $5B of global infrastructure acquisitions and led the entry of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) into Australia and Japan, data center site selection strategy, third-party data center leasing, utility interconnections, and land acquisitions across the Americas and Asia. He received a degree in finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

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Matt Pfile

CEO
Crane Data Centers

Matt Pfile is the founder and CEO of Crane Data Centers Inc., a data center developer and operator with a strong commitment to sustainability, customer centricity, and innovation. He has over 25 years of experience in telecom engineering, critical infrastructure acquisition, corporate banking, management consulting, and commercial negotiations. Prior to Crane, he spent 12+ years at Google leading over $5B of global infrastructure acquisitions and led the entry of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) into Australia and Japan, data center site selection strategy, third-party data center leasing, utility interconnections, and land acquisitions across the Americas and Asia. He received a degree in finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Author:

Michael Bahr

Head of Infrastructure, Data Center & Networking
DWR

Mike Bahr joined DRW Holdings in 2013 and has built co-locations and stand-alone data centers for trading firms all over the world. Mike is also in charge of all MEP designs for all company offices globally. Mike also is co-founder of a start-up, Co-Low.com, a true subscription based colocation/data center finder for all IT needs. Mike lives in Crown Point, IN with his wife Colleen and his four children.

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Michael Bahr

Head of Infrastructure, Data Center & Networking
DWR

Mike Bahr joined DRW Holdings in 2013 and has built co-locations and stand-alone data centers for trading firms all over the world. Mike is also in charge of all MEP designs for all company offices globally. Mike also is co-founder of a start-up, Co-Low.com, a true subscription based colocation/data center finder for all IT needs. Mike lives in Crown Point, IN with his wife Colleen and his four children.

Author:

Bernie Malouin

CEO
JetCool, A Flex Company

Bernie Malouin is CEO of JetCool, A Flex Company.

Dedicating over 15 years to cooling innovation, Dr. Bernie Malouin is at the forefront of revolutionizing liquid cooling solutions in high-power electronics for data centers. He began his career at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he pioneered and patented microconvective liquid cooling technology—a breakthrough that enhances cooling efficiency by directing fluid jets at processor hotspots, setting a new standard for thermal management.

As the founder of JetCool, Malouin collaborates with chipmakers, OEMs, and hyperscalers to advance high-performance computing and AI workloads. In November 2024, JetCool was acquired by Flex, a global manufacturing and supply chain solutions provider, to bolster its data center and power portfolio.  Following the acquisition, Malouin leads JetCool’s liquid cooling initiatives within the Communications, Enterprise, and Cloud (CEC) division. In this capacity, he continues to drive the industry toward greater efficiency, resiliency, and environmental sustainability.

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Bernie Malouin

CEO
JetCool, A Flex Company

Bernie Malouin is CEO of JetCool, A Flex Company.

Dedicating over 15 years to cooling innovation, Dr. Bernie Malouin is at the forefront of revolutionizing liquid cooling solutions in high-power electronics for data centers. He began his career at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he pioneered and patented microconvective liquid cooling technology—a breakthrough that enhances cooling efficiency by directing fluid jets at processor hotspots, setting a new standard for thermal management.

As the founder of JetCool, Malouin collaborates with chipmakers, OEMs, and hyperscalers to advance high-performance computing and AI workloads. In November 2024, JetCool was acquired by Flex, a global manufacturing and supply chain solutions provider, to bolster its data center and power portfolio.  Following the acquisition, Malouin leads JetCool’s liquid cooling initiatives within the Communications, Enterprise, and Cloud (CEC) division. In this capacity, he continues to drive the industry toward greater efficiency, resiliency, and environmental sustainability.

Author:

Marc Hourican

CTO
CleanArc Data Centers

A technical leader, Marc has led the design and construction of large-scale data center projects across the United States as well as in the Middle East and Asia. His projects have included greenfield, brownfield, build to suite, and adaptive reuse projects for colocation, corporate, and hyperscale data center customers.

Before joining CleanArc, Marc held leadership positions at leading data center consultancy firms Orchard Green Associates, Smith Engineering, PLLC and Syska Hennessy Group. Marc takes pride in understanding the technical and cultural nuances required for project execution across geographies. At CleanArc, he takes a collaborative and comprehensive approach to project management and execution, bridging the gaps between infrastructure and design/construction teams as CleanArc works to deliver best-in-class reliability, sustainability, supply chain management and capital efficiency during the entire data center life cycle. Marc holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MS in Real Estate from the NYU Shack Institute of Real Estate.

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Marc Hourican

CTO
CleanArc Data Centers

A technical leader, Marc has led the design and construction of large-scale data center projects across the United States as well as in the Middle East and Asia. His projects have included greenfield, brownfield, build to suite, and adaptive reuse projects for colocation, corporate, and hyperscale data center customers.

Before joining CleanArc, Marc held leadership positions at leading data center consultancy firms Orchard Green Associates, Smith Engineering, PLLC and Syska Hennessy Group. Marc takes pride in understanding the technical and cultural nuances required for project execution across geographies. At CleanArc, he takes a collaborative and comprehensive approach to project management and execution, bridging the gaps between infrastructure and design/construction teams as CleanArc works to deliver best-in-class reliability, sustainability, supply chain management and capital efficiency during the entire data center life cycle. Marc holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MS in Real Estate from the NYU Shack Institute of Real Estate.

Author:

Jason Carolan

Chief Innovation Officer
Flexential

Jason Carolan leads Flexential’s customer-driven innovation and advisory programs office, providing leading insights to product and technology evolution in a dynamic industry. Operationally, Jason keeps grounded by leading our information technology and security teams, enabling new products and services. He and his team are responsible for developing insights on what’s next on the horizon to further position the company to empower enterprise's hybrid IT journeys. He joined the company in 2011 and has held various roles in product, operations and technical management.

Jason has more than 25 years of experience in leadership positions in product architecture, software engineering, technical sales and support across a variety of companies, including Sun Microsystems, where Jason was honored as a Distinguished Engineer, VMware and the Mayo Clinic.

Jason was the lead author of “Building N1 Grid Solutions,” one of the first books highlighting the combined use of virtualization and automation. He also has several patents in networking, data center resource management, virtualization and security.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Luther College and a master’s degree from Western Governor’s University.

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Jason Carolan

Chief Innovation Officer
Flexential

Jason Carolan leads Flexential’s customer-driven innovation and advisory programs office, providing leading insights to product and technology evolution in a dynamic industry. Operationally, Jason keeps grounded by leading our information technology and security teams, enabling new products and services. He and his team are responsible for developing insights on what’s next on the horizon to further position the company to empower enterprise's hybrid IT journeys. He joined the company in 2011 and has held various roles in product, operations and technical management.

Jason has more than 25 years of experience in leadership positions in product architecture, software engineering, technical sales and support across a variety of companies, including Sun Microsystems, where Jason was honored as a Distinguished Engineer, VMware and the Mayo Clinic.

Jason was the lead author of “Building N1 Grid Solutions,” one of the first books highlighting the combined use of virtualization and automation. He also has several patents in networking, data center resource management, virtualization and security.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Luther College and a master’s degree from Western Governor’s University.

Author:

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer
Aligned Data Centers

Phill has more than 25 years of experience identifying new opportunities for further growth of leading data center infrastructure, network architecture, and cloud solutions in the U.S. and abroad.

As Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned, Phill is responsible for the management of revenue generation and profitability objectives, as well as championing key innovation, technology, and sustainability strategies aimed at maximizing new business development.

Prior to joining Aligned, Phill served as Chief Innovation Officer at EdgeConneX, where he was instrumental in driving strategies focused on creating the next generation of network edge-based data centers for the digital content ecosystem. Throughout his career, Phill has also served in numerous senior executive-level positions at Virtacore, Alcatel-Lucent, Savvis (now CenturyLink Technology Solutions), and MCI (now Verizon Digital Media Services). He currently holds eight active technology patents and serves on the Board of Directors for Netrality Data Centers as well as the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) Advisory Board.

 

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Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer
Aligned Data Centers

Phill has more than 25 years of experience identifying new opportunities for further growth of leading data center infrastructure, network architecture, and cloud solutions in the U.S. and abroad.

As Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned, Phill is responsible for the management of revenue generation and profitability objectives, as well as championing key innovation, technology, and sustainability strategies aimed at maximizing new business development.

Prior to joining Aligned, Phill served as Chief Innovation Officer at EdgeConneX, where he was instrumental in driving strategies focused on creating the next generation of network edge-based data centers for the digital content ecosystem. Throughout his career, Phill has also served in numerous senior executive-level positions at Virtacore, Alcatel-Lucent, Savvis (now CenturyLink Technology Solutions), and MCI (now Verizon Digital Media Services). He currently holds eight active technology patents and serves on the Board of Directors for Netrality Data Centers as well as the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) Advisory Board.