The meeting kicked off Thursday afternoon with a WiMCO (Women in Mission Critical Operations) Social.  With over 50 attendees, this well attended social, co-sponsored by MGAC & Syska featured an inspiring presentation by Kristen Kiger, a professional drag racer. Enersys was the speaker sponsor. This popular (and growing!) organization brings great value to our chapter and is increasing demand for the Carolinas Chapter activities. Great job and a worthwhile effort to promote and celebrate inclusion and diversity in the Mission Critical environment.

Our networking event, sponsored by Piller USA featured an opportunity to mix and catch-up with colleagues in the industry. There were a number of first time attendees (identified by a yellow ribbon on their badge).  In a new chapter initiative, new members are assigned an ambassador to help introduce them to our membership and get them acclimated to our organization.  This process seemed to work out very well as the membership went out of their way to welcome these new attendees and make them feel welcome.  From the pulse of the crowd, the networking event was a great success.

The Friday meeting was moderated by Jim Larson, our Vice President and member of the Carolinas Board of Directors.  First up was our keynote speaker Eric O'Neill, a Cyber Security Expert who spoke on his career as an undercover agent for the FBI and was a part of the apprehension and conviction of Robert Hanssen.  Eric was an excellent presenter and held the over 200 meeting attendees spellbound in his delivery.

The keynote was followed up by a Discussion of Emerging Trends in the Data Center Industry.  Thanks to James Coe (Syska Hennessy), Ben Rojahn (CBRE) and Sam Westbrook (Holder Construction) for an interesting and informative discussion.  Last (but not least) Paul Schlattman with ESD Consulting presented on the New Role of the CIO and its Effect on the Data Center Industry.  Great job to all of our presenters, sponsors and participants!

Our meeting was sponsored by TekClean, the Breakfast sponsor was Mitsubishi Electric and the keynote was sponsored by JE Dunn.

As you may have a sense, there is a LOT of coordination in developing and producing our meetings and it is a very good time to thank some important people that make these meetings happen.  Lots of congratulations and thanks goes to Chad Martin, our Programs Committee Chair on the venue, preparation, selection of the incredible keynote speaker and content.  Our VP Jim Larson hosted our meeting on short notice and did a spectacular job. Behind the scenes, hard work by Leah Farlow and Serina Kopczynski provided a seamless event.  Marcus Hassen Thought Leadership Chair, David Knight Membership Chair, George Hachem Sponsorship Chair and other committee chairs all contributed to what was an incredible event.

--Jeff Farlow, 7x24 Carolinas Executive Director

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PRESENTATIONS & PDH CREDITS

Emerging Trends in the Data Center Industry

PDH Tracking - Data Center Industry Emerging Trends (Panel)

The New Role of the CIO and its Effect on Data Center Operations

PDH Tracking - The New Role of the CIO