Orlando, FL

Data Center World (DCW) is excited to announce that our partners at the Nomad Futurist Podcast — Phillip Koblence and Nabeel Mahmood — will be joining us on the DCW live stage on August 18th to share the Nomad Futurist vision, one that aligns with the goals of AFCOM and Data Center World to develop talent and encourage networking in the critical infrastructure space. Over the course of the conference, co-hosts Phil and Nabeel will be recording their unique brand of podcast interviews to capture the stories and insights of a fascinating cross-section of technology leaders who will be in attendance. The podcasts will be added to the Nomad Futurist website at www.nomadfuturist.com.

As technologists and thought leaders, Phil and Nabeel believe in the power of technology to deliver transformational change. The podcast, which was launched with the goal of demystifying the world of critical infrastructure and attracting newer generations to the space, presents a dynamic and entertaining vision of change, blending technology, economics, demographics, culture, and human psychology. Nomad Futurist is unique in that it avoids any commercial focus on products and services and homes in instead on the passion and excitement and diverse individual aspirations that led to career success and fulfillment. The various episodes raise awareness of the breadth of roles available in the industry, from construction to sales to finance to real estate and more. 

“What the Nomad Futurist podcast is trying to capture—the stories of people and how they fell into a data center career is spot on!” comments Alicia Schap, Association Manager for AFCOM. “The data center has evolved to subsume people who have been elsewhere in IT or in analytics or in construction or electrical engineering—people who did not set out to be in a data center initially.  These stories resonate with our AFCOM members and our Data Center World audience as the stories are not dissimilar from their own.” 

“Every one of our guest speakers serves as inspiration,” says Nabeel Mahmood, “an opportunity to gain knowledge, hear a new story, and experience a different perspective on the field.”

“The podcasts also help demystify and spotlight the space for younger people who may experience technology through graphical interfaces, distanced from any understanding of the underlying infrastructure– the actual servers, network connections, and data centers that enable technology,” adds Phillip Koblence.

Since the podcast’s inception in early 2020, thirty-five tech leaders from around the world have participated, many of whom were involved in the genesis and development of the industry. They share their passion for the field, providing insights into a world that is not well understood, and valuable guidance for newer generations. 

As an extension of their commitment to developing technology leadership, Phil and Nabeel are launching the Nomad Futurist Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to empower and inspire younger generations through exposure to the underlying technologies that power our digital world. A key focus will be on launching global programs in partnership with a range of education providers, NGOs, and other nonprofit organizations committed to educating children in underprivileged communities. If you are interested in getting involved or learning more, please contact them at info@nomadfuturist.com.

Nabeel Mahmood is a Technologist, Futurist, and a Keynote Speaker. Nabeel has 20 plus years of experience leading large-scale global technology organizations through seasons of explosive growth via M&A, global expansion, implementing new business models, and technology innovation. His areas of expertise include Big Data, Cloud, ERP, IoT, AI, ML, RPA, Mobility, and Data Centers. Nabeel is a strategic CXO identifying opportunities that are being underpinned by emerging technologies and is an advisor to CIOs, CTOs and CEOs across a number of industries. He serves on multiple boards of private and publicly traded companies.

Phillip Koblence co-founded NYI (www.nyi.net) in 1996. Since then, he has successfully navigated through an ever-shifting infrastructure landscape and grown the company from a single data center in Lower Manhattan to a robust network with executional capabilities in key national and international markets. His leadership, focus on customer experience, and ability to cut through complexity and hype, has positioned NYI as an industry leader in high-touch infrastructure solutions. Phillip is the Chair of the IX Committee of the Open-IX Association and sits on the DE-CIX North America Customer Advisory Board. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been profiled by Data Center Knowledge, TheWHIR, MSPMentor, and NJ BIZ. He has also contributed to CRN and NJ Business Magazine. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with an engineering degree.

ABOUT AFCOM

AFCOM advances data center and IT infrastructure professionals by delivering comprehensive and vendor-neutral education and peer-to-peer networking to its members around the world. 

Through forward-looking research by the Data Center Institute, digital publications like our weekly e-newsletter “Inside the Box”, more than 30 local chapters in North America and Australia, and major events like Data Center World, AFCOM supports thousands of IT, operations, facilities, builders/designers and vendors working in the data center and IT infrastructure industry. In serving the data center industry for more than 40 years, AFCOM has earned recognition as the market leader in educating, connecting and guiding the data center community.

To learn more about AFCOM, visit https://www.afcom.com AFCOM Press Release

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