Data Center World in body 4AFCOM has announced David Shaw of IO as the winner of the 2013 “Data Center Manager of the Year” award. Finalists were nominated by industry peers and the winner was selected from a panel of industry leaders, including past award recipients.  This years’ Data Center World Spring 2013boasts a record number of attendees with strong international representation from more than 26 countries.  With more than 60 educational sessions and panels, attendees had a wide range of interactive presentations addressing IT to facilities topics.

“This was an exciting conference, the energy was high and feedback from our attendees was outstanding,” said Tom Roberts, president of AFCOM and the Data Center World chairman.  “We implemented a number of new activities and presentations this year and look forward to finding ways to continue tobring a high quality conference to our attendees.”

AFCOM’s Data Center Manager of the Year Award

AFCOM’s Leonard Eckhaus Data Center Manager of the Year Award recognizes outstanding leadership and excellence in the field of data center and facilities management. The recipient of this award, David Shaw of IO manages over 1.5 million square feet of data center facilities  – including the world’s largest modular data center. As senior vice president at IO,  Shaw is responsible for IO’s global Data Center as a Service (DCaaS™). Shaw oversaw the opening of the world’s largest modular data center, IO.New Jersey, in Edison, New Jersey, and ensured that the facility was 100 percent operational during Hurricane Sandy and in its aftermath in late 2012.

“I appreciate the recognition of my work by fellow industry leaders.  I am a firm believer that people, process and technology are what make a data center run smoothly,” said Shaw.  “But the key to a successful data center is people and I have a great team at IO that support me and our clients daily.”

AFCOM President’s Award

New this year was the presentation of the AFCOM President’s award which recognizes an individual within the association who has made significant contributionstowards the advancement of data center professionals and the industry.  Donna Manley of the University of Pennsylvania was the inaugural recipient of the award.  Ms. Manley is the senior IT director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Information Systems and Computing (ISC) organization, managing its central administrative data center, the sole Ivy League University ISO 9001:2008 certified data center for quality across all ISC computer operations services and support disciplines. With more than 20 years’ experience, Ms. Manley is involved in various information technology national and local organizations, she currently serves as president of the AFCOM Mid-Atlantic Chapter and as a board member of the Data Center Institute.

The next Data Center World Conference will be in Orlando, FL, September 29-Oct. 2, 2013.  Those interested in speaking at the conference should submit a proposal at http://www.datacenterworld.com/fall/speaking/submit-a-presentation/