Our Chief Innovation Officer, Nancy Novak, will join industry leaders at DCD>Connect | Virginia 2025 to discuss one of the industry’s most pressing challenges; how to build faster, smarter and at scale in the world’s largest data center hub
Hosted at the Lansdowne Resort & Spa in Leesburg, Virginia, this year’s conference brings together more than 2,000 senior leaders across the cloud and colocation ecosystem to drive collaboration, share insights and identify innovative solutions that will shape the next era of digital infrastructure.
Panel Session: Built for Speed – Solving Virginia’s Data Center Construction Crunch:
As Northern Virginia continues to lead global data center growth, builders face mounting pressure from grid constraints, material shortages and evolving regulations. This major panel will explore how industry innovators are adapting construction strategies to meet demand without compromising safety, quality or sustainability.
Panelists include:
- Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters
- Karen Petersburg, Vice President of Data Center Development & Construction, American Real Estate Partners (AREP)
- Vincent Calvo, Director, Data Center Infrastructure Build, Oracle
- Mario Sawaya, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Data Centers and Technology, AECOM
Moderator:
- Sean Farney, Vice President, Data Center Strategy, JLL
Key Discussion Topics:
- Chain Reaction: Can Virginia untangle its supply chain snags before the construction clock runs out?
- Permit Pressure Cooker: How are red tape and labor gaps slowing down the shovels?
- Prefab to the Rescue: Is modular the secret to building fast without breaking the budget or the grid?
- Speed to Revenue: Which project management tools help drive earlier revenue?
With federal policy shifts, workforce challenges and a red-hot real estate market reshaping Virginia’s data center ecosystem, this session will provide critical insights on how collaboration, innovation and modular construction can accelerate delivery and strengthen the region’s leadership in digital infrastructure.
Learn more about DCD>Connect | Virginia 2025.