| Page 109 | Kisaco Research
Gen AI

Author:

Ahmed Menshawy

Vice President of AI Engineering
Mastercard

Ahmed Menshawy is the Vice President of AI Engineering at Mastercard. In this role, he leads the AI Engineering team, driving the development and commercialization of AI products that deliver business value across the organization. His work focuses on enabling Mastercard to harness the power of AI to solve complex problems, optimize operations, and enhance customer experiences. Ahmed collaborates with cross-functional teams to bring innovative AI solutions from concept to market, ensuring they align with Mastercard’s strategic objectives

An accomplished author and recognized contributor to the AI community, Ahmed has co-authored Deep Learning with TensorFlow and written Deep Learning by Example. His most recent book, Graph Learning for the Enterprise, published by O’Reilly, provides practical insights into efficiently training and deploying graph learning pipelines at scale

 

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Ahmed Menshawy

Vice President of AI Engineering
Mastercard

Ahmed Menshawy is the Vice President of AI Engineering at Mastercard. In this role, he leads the AI Engineering team, driving the development and commercialization of AI products that deliver business value across the organization. His work focuses on enabling Mastercard to harness the power of AI to solve complex problems, optimize operations, and enhance customer experiences. Ahmed collaborates with cross-functional teams to bring innovative AI solutions from concept to market, ensuring they align with Mastercard’s strategic objectives

An accomplished author and recognized contributor to the AI community, Ahmed has co-authored Deep Learning with TensorFlow and written Deep Learning by Example. His most recent book, Graph Learning for the Enterprise, published by O’Reilly, provides practical insights into efficiently training and deploying graph learning pipelines at scale

 

Compute
Networking
Memory
Storage

Author:

Brett Simpson

Co-Founder & Senior Analyst
Arete Research

Brett is a co-founder of Arete (formed in 2000) and is based in the firm's London office. He focuses on the global semiconductor component sector. Brett is a regular public speaker at industry events and after 17 years looking at the sector, has a wealth of experience to draw on. Prior to Arete, Brett spent two years at Goldman Sachs in an equity analyst role, specialising in European technology following three years with Ericsson UK, working in business development, covering all aspects of wireline and wireless telecom infrastructure.

... read more

Brett Simpson

Co-Founder & Senior Analyst
Arete Research

Brett is a co-founder of Arete (formed in 2000) and is based in the firm's London office. He focuses on the global semiconductor component sector. Brett is a regular public speaker at industry events and after 17 years looking at the sector, has a wealth of experience to draw on. Prior to Arete, Brett spent two years at Goldman Sachs in an equity analyst role, specialising in European technology following three years with Ericsson UK, working in business development, covering all aspects of wireline and wireless telecom infrastructure.

Author:

Janco Venter

Equity Research Analyst
Arete Research

Janco joined Arete in 2023 and is based in the firm’s Cape Town office. He focuses on the global semiconductor component sector as an equity research analyst. Janco joined Arete after a distinguished career as a professional sportsman, where he took on various leadership roles and was a regular public speaker. 

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Janco Venter

Equity Research Analyst
Arete Research

Janco joined Arete in 2023 and is based in the firm’s Cape Town office. He focuses on the global semiconductor component sector as an equity research analyst. Janco joined Arete after a distinguished career as a professional sportsman, where he took on various leadership roles and was a regular public speaker. 

Panelists

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:

Brittany Miller

Global SVP, Infrastructure Development
NTT Data Centers

 Brittany Miller is the Global Senior Vice President of Infrastructure Development at NTT Global Data Centers, overseeing global construction, engineering and supply chain operations.

 With over 15 years of experience, she has led major infrastructure projects across the data center, cloud and semiconductor industries.

 Before joining NTT Global Data Centers, Brittany held leadership roles at Microsoft and Intel, where she managed large-scale construction programs, supply chain operations and strategic infrastructure development.

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Brittany Miller

Global SVP, Infrastructure Development
NTT Data Centers

 Brittany Miller is the Global Senior Vice President of Infrastructure Development at NTT Global Data Centers, overseeing global construction, engineering and supply chain operations.

 With over 15 years of experience, she has led major infrastructure projects across the data center, cloud and semiconductor industries.

 Before joining NTT Global Data Centers, Brittany held leadership roles at Microsoft and Intel, where she managed large-scale construction programs, supply chain operations and strategic infrastructure development.

Author:

Ryan Mallory

President & COO
Flexential

Ryan Mallory is President and COO at Flexential, and has 25+ years’ experience leading global infrastructure operations across network, platform, and customer-facing functions for top-tier data center providers.

At Flexential, Ryan leads day-to-day operations across all company functions—scaling the company’s national platform of 40+ data centers and a 100Gbps+ private network backbone to meet the demands of today’s high-density compute environments. Since joining in 2020, Ryan has helped advance the FlexAnywhere® platform, unifying colocation, interconnection, cloud, and managed services into a scalable solution for enterprises navigating AI, digital transformation, and compliance complexity.

Before Flexential, Ryan held leadership roles at Equinix, Digital Realty, XO Communications, SAVVIS, and UUNET.

... read more

Ryan Mallory

President & COO
Flexential

Ryan Mallory is President and COO at Flexential, and has 25+ years’ experience leading global infrastructure operations across network, platform, and customer-facing functions for top-tier data center providers.

At Flexential, Ryan leads day-to-day operations across all company functions—scaling the company’s national platform of 40+ data centers and a 100Gbps+ private network backbone to meet the demands of today’s high-density compute environments. Since joining in 2020, Ryan has helped advance the FlexAnywhere® platform, unifying colocation, interconnection, cloud, and managed services into a scalable solution for enterprises navigating AI, digital transformation, and compliance complexity.

Before Flexential, Ryan held leadership roles at Equinix, Digital Realty, XO Communications, SAVVIS, and UUNET.

Moderator

Author:

Karen Petersburg

VP, Data Center Development & Construction
PowerHouse Data Centers

Karen oversees the planning and execution large scale data center projects for AREP’s PowerHouse Data Center platform.

Karen brings almost two decades of design, sustainability, and project management experience in the mission-critical sector, having successfully managed complex sustainable data center design and engineering projects, including campus developments, hyperscale built-to-suits, and major infrastructure renovations. As a sustainability SME, Karen was recently honored by the Green Building Initiative (GBI) as its 2024 Member of the Year for her exceptional dedication to improving the built environment.

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Karen Petersburg

VP, Data Center Development & Construction
PowerHouse Data Centers

Karen oversees the planning and execution large scale data center projects for AREP’s PowerHouse Data Center platform.

Karen brings almost two decades of design, sustainability, and project management experience in the mission-critical sector, having successfully managed complex sustainable data center design and engineering projects, including campus developments, hyperscale built-to-suits, and major infrastructure renovations. As a sustainability SME, Karen was recently honored by the Green Building Initiative (GBI) as its 2024 Member of the Year for her exceptional dedication to improving the built environment.

Gen AI
Optimized Infrastructure

Author:

Moshe Tanach

Co-Founder & CEO
NeuReality

Moshe Tanach is Founder and CEO at NeuReality.

Before founding NeuReality, he served as Director of Engineering at Marvell and Intel, leading complex wireless and networking products to mass production.

He also served as Appointed Vice President of R&D at DesignArt-Networks (later acquired by Qualcomm) developing 4G base station products.

He holds Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from the Technion, Israel, Cum Laude.

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Moshe Tanach

Co-Founder & CEO
NeuReality

Moshe Tanach is Founder and CEO at NeuReality.

Before founding NeuReality, he served as Director of Engineering at Marvell and Intel, leading complex wireless and networking products to mass production.

He also served as Appointed Vice President of R&D at DesignArt-Networks (later acquired by Qualcomm) developing 4G base station products.

He holds Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from the Technion, Israel, Cum Laude.

Author:

Nalini Garg

California State Ambassador
Women In AI

Nalini is a recognized leader at Deloitte in AI & Data Practice, standing at the forefront of AI innovation and Strategy. With a distinct path of achievements, she delivered over 30 talks on generative AI, emphasizing its safe usage and business efficiencies for life sciences and tech companies. Nominated as top 100 women in AI for 2023, 2024, she currently serves as the California state ambassador for Women in AI. Beyond her professional prowess, Nalini is a wellness instructor, artist, and a podcast host.

 

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Nalini Garg

California State Ambassador
Women In AI

Nalini is a recognized leader at Deloitte in AI & Data Practice, standing at the forefront of AI innovation and Strategy. With a distinct path of achievements, she delivered over 30 talks on generative AI, emphasizing its safe usage and business efficiencies for life sciences and tech companies. Nominated as top 100 women in AI for 2023, 2024, she currently serves as the California state ambassador for Women in AI. Beyond her professional prowess, Nalini is a wellness instructor, artist, and a podcast host.

 

Author:

Jacey Heuer

Head of AI & Data Science
Pella Corporation

Jacey leads AI, Data Science and Advanced Analytics for Pella Corporation. Pella Corporation, based in the U.S, is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of premium windows and doors. Jacey’s current focus is on expanding the footprint of AI, Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Pella Corporation, guiding the organization to realize the value promised in this space. Jacey is a storyteller who bridges the gap between the possible and the practical, ushering organizations along their journey to become data driven. Jacey holds master’s degrees from Iowa State University in business and data science. He carries strong advanced analytics experience across many industries including manufacturing, e-commerce, energy, financial services and real estate.

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Jacey Heuer

Head of AI & Data Science
Pella Corporation

Jacey leads AI, Data Science and Advanced Analytics for Pella Corporation. Pella Corporation, based in the U.S, is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of premium windows and doors. Jacey’s current focus is on expanding the footprint of AI, Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Pella Corporation, guiding the organization to realize the value promised in this space. Jacey is a storyteller who bridges the gap between the possible and the practical, ushering organizations along their journey to become data driven. Jacey holds master’s degrees from Iowa State University in business and data science. He carries strong advanced analytics experience across many industries including manufacturing, e-commerce, energy, financial services and real estate.

Moderator

Author:

Karl Freund

Founder & Principal Analyst
Cambrian AI Research

Karl Freund is the founder and principal analyst of Cambrian AI Research. Prior to this, he was Moor Insights & Strategy’s consulting lead for HPC and Deep Learning. His recent experiences as the VP of Marketing at AMD and Calxeda, as well as his previous positions at Cray and IBM, positions him as a leading industry expert in these rapidly evolving industries. Karl works with investment and technology customers to help them understand the emerging Deep Learning opportunity in data centers, from competitive landscape to ecosystem to strategy.

 

Karl has worked directly with datacenter end users, OEMs, ODMs and the industry ecosystem, enabling him to help his clients define the appropriate business, product, and go-to-market strategies. He is also recognized expert on the subject of low-power servers and the emergence of ARM in the datacenter and has been a featured speaker at scores of investment and industry conferences on this topic.

Accomplishments during his career include:

  • Led the revived HPC initiative at AMD, targeting APUs at deep learning and other HPC workloads
  • Created an industry-wide thought leadership position for Calxeda in the ARM Server market
  • Helped forge the early relationship between HP and Calxeda leading to the surprise announcement of HP Moonshot with Calxeda in 2011
  • Built the IBM Power Server brand from 14% market share to over 50% share
  • Integrated the Tivoli brand into the IBM company’s branding and marketing organization
  • Co-Led the integration of HP and Apollo Marketing after the Boston-based desktop company’s acquisition

 

Karl’s background includes RISC and Mainframe servers, as well as HPC (Supercomputing). He has extensive experience as a global marketing executive at IBM where he was VP Marketing (2000-2010), Cray where he was VP Marketing (1995-1998), and HP where he was a Division Marketing Manager (1979-1995).

 

... read more

Karl Freund

Founder & Principal Analyst
Cambrian AI Research

Karl Freund is the founder and principal analyst of Cambrian AI Research. Prior to this, he was Moor Insights & Strategy’s consulting lead for HPC and Deep Learning. His recent experiences as the VP of Marketing at AMD and Calxeda, as well as his previous positions at Cray and IBM, positions him as a leading industry expert in these rapidly evolving industries. Karl works with investment and technology customers to help them understand the emerging Deep Learning opportunity in data centers, from competitive landscape to ecosystem to strategy.

 

Karl has worked directly with datacenter end users, OEMs, ODMs and the industry ecosystem, enabling him to help his clients define the appropriate business, product, and go-to-market strategies. He is also recognized expert on the subject of low-power servers and the emergence of ARM in the datacenter and has been a featured speaker at scores of investment and industry conferences on this topic.

Accomplishments during his career include:

  • Led the revived HPC initiative at AMD, targeting APUs at deep learning and other HPC workloads
  • Created an industry-wide thought leadership position for Calxeda in the ARM Server market
  • Helped forge the early relationship between HP and Calxeda leading to the surprise announcement of HP Moonshot with Calxeda in 2011
  • Built the IBM Power Server brand from 14% market share to over 50% share
  • Integrated the Tivoli brand into the IBM company’s branding and marketing organization
  • Co-Led the integration of HP and Apollo Marketing after the Boston-based desktop company’s acquisition

 

Karl’s background includes RISC and Mainframe servers, as well as HPC (Supercomputing). He has extensive experience as a global marketing executive at IBM where he was VP Marketing (2000-2010), Cray where he was VP Marketing (1995-1998), and HP where he was a Division Marketing Manager (1979-1995).

 

Compute

Author:

Andrew Sloss

VP Technology
Vaire Computing

Andrew Sloss is VP of Technology at Vaire Computing. A founding engineer at Arm,  he played a central role in the design and deployment of 27 commercial compute systems and helped scale the company’s architecture to over 150 billion chips shipped globally. He is the author of one of the most widely referenced books on ARM system architecture and has led engineering teams across embedded, mobile, and datacenter domains. At Vaire, Andrew brings decades of silicon and systems design experience to bear on one of the hardest challenges in computing: reducing AI energy costs at scale.

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Andrew Sloss

VP Technology
Vaire Computing

Andrew Sloss is VP of Technology at Vaire Computing. A founding engineer at Arm,  he played a central role in the design and deployment of 27 commercial compute systems and helped scale the company’s architecture to over 150 billion chips shipped globally. He is the author of one of the most widely referenced books on ARM system architecture and has led engineering teams across embedded, mobile, and datacenter domains. At Vaire, Andrew brings decades of silicon and systems design experience to bear on one of the hardest challenges in computing: reducing AI energy costs at scale.

Author:

Mahesh Maddury

AI Architect
Meta
... read more

Mahesh Maddury

AI Architect
Meta
Moderator

Author:

Brett Simpson

Co-Founder & Senior Analyst
Arete Research

Brett is a co-founder of Arete (formed in 2000) and is based in the firm's London office. He focuses on the global semiconductor component sector. Brett is a regular public speaker at industry events and after 17 years looking at the sector, has a wealth of experience to draw on. Prior to Arete, Brett spent two years at Goldman Sachs in an equity analyst role, specialising in European technology following three years with Ericsson UK, working in business development, covering all aspects of wireline and wireless telecom infrastructure.

... read more

Brett Simpson

Co-Founder & Senior Analyst
Arete Research

Brett is a co-founder of Arete (formed in 2000) and is based in the firm's London office. He focuses on the global semiconductor component sector. Brett is a regular public speaker at industry events and after 17 years looking at the sector, has a wealth of experience to draw on. Prior to Arete, Brett spent two years at Goldman Sachs in an equity analyst role, specialising in European technology following three years with Ericsson UK, working in business development, covering all aspects of wireline and wireless telecom infrastructure.