Lifetime Achievement Award

Christian Belady
Senior Advisor, DigitalBridge

Mr. Belady is a distinguished industry veteran with over four decades of experience in data center and infrastructure management and development on a global scale. He has received numerous industry accolades and holds over 150 U.S. and international patents related to both data center and server design.

Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Belady served as Vice President of Data Center Research and Development for Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure Organization. In that role, from which he recently retired, Mr. Belady led a team developing new technologies to transform the sector and address the challenges of scaling the cloud and AI. In previous roles at Microsoft, Mr. Belady led global server and data center development, including research, engineering, construction, and operations for Microsoft’s data center portfolio. He also developed and led the energy team during this period.

Mr. Belady has been a key founder or contributor to a number of industry organizations and standards, including ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), The Green Grid, and iMasons Climate Accord (ICA), where he helped to develop new industry metrics and guidelines to foster sustainability and efficiency. This year, his contributions have been recognized with two prestigious industry awards: election to the National Academy of Engineering and the Data Center Icon Award from the North Virginia Technology Council.

Peter Gross
Managing Partner, PMG Associates

Peter Gross is a technology and energy internationally recognized expert whose career spans over three decades. He is presently the Managing Partner of PMG Associates a consulting and advisory firm. In addition, he sits on several boards of directors and boards of advisors for public, private, and not-for-profit companies.

Until recently, he was the VP of Mission Critical Systems at Bloom Energy, the premier supplier of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell systems.

Before his Bloom stint, Peter Gross was Vice President and Managing Partner of HP Global Technology Consulting at Hewlett Packard. Prior to HP, he was the co-founder and CEO at EYP Mission Critical Facilities, Inc., a consulting company specialized in strategic technology planning, design and operations support for large-scale data centers. In this position, he has played a pivotal role in the rapid growth of EYP MCF’s business since its founding in 1997, leading to its acquisition by HP in 2008.

Peter is recognized as a thought leader in the mission-critical digital infrastructure domain, has published numerous technical papers in the field, authored several patents and is a frequent speaker at international events. His focus centers on mission-critical facilities, high-reliability design, power quality, energy, and sustainability.

Peter is the recipient of 2010 Data Center Dynamics "Outstanding Contribution to the Industry" award, is a Senior IEEE Member and was one of the contributors to IEEE Standard 3006.7-2013, “Recommended Practice for determining the reliability of 7x24 Power Systems in industrial and commercial facilities”. He also received the 2020 award for Outstanding Contribution to the Digital Infrastructure Community and was inducted in the Infrastructure Masons Hall of Fame.

Carrie Goetz
Principal/CTO, StrategITcom

Carrie Goetz, Principal/CTO, StrategITcom, and Amazon best-selling author of “Jumpstart Your Career in Data Centers Featuring Careers for Women, Trades, and Vets in Tech and Data Centers,” and the “Educator’s Reference for Data Center Education,” personifies over 40 years of global experience designing, running, and auditing, data centers, IT departments, and intelligent buildings.

Amongst her accolades:

• 2023 Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award AFCOM/Data Center World
• 2023 BICSI ICT Woman of the Year
• 2022 and 2023 Top 25 Women in Technology by Mission Critical
• 30 Top Most Influential Women in Tech 2021 by CIO Outlook
• Top 10 Most Influential Women in Technology 2020 by Analytics Insight
• Network Computing Inspiration Award finalist 2020
• IMason’s IM100
• 2020 Comptia Women in Leadership Spotlight Finalist.

Carrie is a fractional CTO for multiple companies. She is an international keynote speaker published in 69 countries in over 250 publications. She holds an honorary doctorate in Mission Critical Operations, RCDD/NTS, PSP, CNID, CDCP, CSM-Agile, and AWS CCP and is an Infrastructure Mason with 40+ certifications throughout her career. She served on the WIMCO national education committee and is a long-time participant in the 7x24 Exchange, AFCOM and Data Center Institute board of advisors, Mission Critical Advisory Board, Women in Data Centers, CNet Technical Curriculum Advisory Board, NEDAS Advisory Board, a member of BICSI, Women in BICSI, and an Education committee member. A member of Women Leading Technology Sorority. She champions STEM education through outreach projects and her podcast series.