Karsten Winther
President of EMEA
Karsten Winther is President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for Vertiv. He joined the company in 2018 as vice President of Sales for EMEA and was promoted to his current position in March 2022.
Karsten has over 20 years’ tech industry experience in management, sales and marketing functions, including a strong focus on channel and vertical markets. He has also led transformation of large-scale sales organisations. Before joining Vertiv, he held regional and country sales roles at Epson and NEC, and Cobham SATCOM, where he led global sales, marketing and service.
Karsten studied Business Economics & Management at Copenhagen Business School and also completed a 2-year Rising Star programme at Esade in Barcelona, with emphasis on Strategy, Finance, Innovation, CSR and Leadership. He is a Danish native and lives in Copenhagen with his family.
Dr. Jon Summers
Scientific lead in data centres, Adjunct Professor in Fluid Mechanics at Lulea Technical University, Visiting Professor to the Institute of Thermofluids at the University of Leeds
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Dr Jon Summers is the scientific lead in data centres at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Adjunct Professor in Fluid Mechanics at Lulea Technical University in Sweden and a Visiting Professor to the Institute of Thermofluids at the University of Leeds in the UK. He has worked on government and industry funded projects using high performance computing (HPC). Having built and managed compute intense clusters to support research projects, he chaired the HPC User Group for 20 years at the University of Leeds. Recently Jon’s research has focused on a range of thermal management and energy flow projects within the data centre, HVAC, and industrial sectors. Since 2011 he has been involved in liquid cooled IT research projects, focusing both at the data centre and the microprocessor scales, which has been further transformed by opportunities of integrated digital infrastructure research at RISE, including the operation of large-scale testbeds. Focusing on thermal and energy management has led to Jon being invited to present and sit on panels within the data centre community. Jon also has an interest in the physical limits of computation.
Nigel Gore
Global Offering Management Director
Nigel has 20 years’ experience in IT hardware, product and strategy development. His focus is the growing demand for applications like Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Computing and Autonomous Systems which are driving the need for higher density compute architectures requiring advanced cooling solutions.
Nigel holds an MBA in digital technology from University of Newcastle in Australia and he and his family reside in the UK.
Roberto Felisi
Senior Director, Thermal Global Core Offering & EMEA Business Leader
Roberto began his career in 1994, joining the air conditioning international industry and progressing into different roles and responsibilities within new product development, product management and business roles. In 2003 he joined Vertiv and has been focusing on thermal management global products and solutions for data centre applications ever since. He is currently driving Thermal Management Global Core Product Management and the EMEA business. Roberto has also authored several white papers and presentations on critical facilities. During his career he has also organised and taught in multiple training classes on data centre applications and thermal management solutions. Roberto attended Milan’s Politecnico University where he received a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering. He is a member of AICARR Association and has guided two Eurovent certification programmes for IT cooling and evaporative cooling as Chairman.
Sam Bainborough
Sales Director EMEA-Strategic Segment Colocation & Hyperscale including Facility Management
Sam is Sales Director EMEA-Strategic Segment Colocation & Hyperscale including Facility Management with 9 years of experience at Vertiv, having joined the company in December 2013. Sam joined the UK & IRE team as a Key Account manager, progressing to Key Account Director 5.5 years ago and is currently managing the Colocation and Hyperscale team with a budget of over $500m. He has 13+ years of experience in sales and engineering leadership positions, starting at Emerson Network power 10 years ago. Sam is analytical and results oriented with an ability to solve problems with a strategic mindset.
Sam is currently undertaking an EMBA in Business Administration and Management at Bayes Business School. Currently, he lives in the UK with his wife and 3 children.
Carlo Ruiz
Senior Director AI Data Centre Solutions and Operations
NVIDIA
The world of emerging, disruptive technologies has always been a major draw for Carlo. That’s why in 2015 he joined NVIDIA, the pioneer in AI computing. Carlo leads NVIDIA’s Enterprise Services, Operations and Data Centre Solutions. From scientific discoveries to artificial intelligence, modern data centres are key to solving some of the world’s most important challenges. The NVIDIA accelerated computing platforms gives modern data centres the power to accelerate deep learning, machine learning and high-performance computing workloads. Carlo’s career started off at Compaq as a telecom technology consultant, followed by various sales leadership roles at Hewlett-Packard. Carlo lives in Amsterdam with his wife and 4 children.
Additional assets from Nvidia
Michael Wigington
Director of Engineering, CEng, MCIBSE, MIET, DipHE, BEng, PgDip, MSc, DIC
J Dunton Associates Ltd
With over 10 years’ experience in engineering at JDA and 20 years in the AEC industry, Michael oversees our MEP systems design for the built environment. Michael works as a Lead Engineer across a range of consultancy and design projects, applying his extensive experience gained from working on data centres, commercial and industrial projects. Michael is a Chartered Engineer, regularly writing peer reviews and industry related articles.
J Dunton Associates Ltd (JDA) is a dynamic multi-disciplinary consultancy who provide innovative and specialist design engineering services in the UK and overseas. JDA have extensive experience in the Strategic Planning, Technical Procurement, Design and Project Management of Mission-Critical systems, ensuring lean, efficient and technically sound hyperscale data centre facilities.
Cristian Scarpa
Chief Information Officer EMEA
Cristian is Vertiv EMEA Chief Information Officer and Global Vice President for Customers & Employee Technologies. Cristian is an accomplished and proven Digital Leader with global experience in driving and supporting business transformation using technology. Cristian has years of experience in building global teams that focus on driving efficiency while improving productivity and employee experience. He has strong expertise in systems implementations, including ERP, CRM, Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ), Field Service, HRIS and Time & Payroll, building solid infrastructure services, developing and operating Global Service Desks and Desk Side support organisations, creating and maintaining global Communication & Collaborations systems and services. Cristian is a change agent that has built trust, developed executive relationship and motivated teams to accomplish strategic visions.
