Data Center Revolution

In this DCAC edition of Data Center Revolution, Joe Pinzon sits down with Charl Kinghorn, Executive Vice President of MCIS, to discuss what it takes to scale data center construction as projects become larger, faster, and more complex.Charl shares how his experience across Africa, the Middle East, and the United States shaped his perspective on modular delivery and prefabrication. He explains why moving work offsite can reduce jobsite congestion, improve safety, and accelerate installation—but only when end users, architects, engineers, general contractors, manufacturers, and trades begin collaborating earlier.The conversation also covers constrained supply chains, the shortage of trained labor, recruiting technicians from outside the data center industry, creating sustainable career paths, and the leadership qualities veterans bring to a growing organization.Charl closes by explaining the philosophy behind MCIS: Mission First, People Always—delivering on the commitment without sacrificing safety or the team.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

AI is forcing the data center industry to rethink how facilities are powered, cooled, tested, and commissioned.

Recorded during DCAC in Austin, Kirk Offel sits down with Rob Trefz and Trevor Gardner of Avtron and Legrand to explain what load banks do before live servers enter a facility—and why that testing is becoming more complex as the industry moves toward liquid cooling, hybrid data halls, higher rack densities, and behind-the-meter power.

The conversation also explores Legrand’s acquisition of Avtron, the manufacturing expansion it has helped accelerate, and how the combined companies are preparing for faster project schedules and emerging power architectures. Rob and Trevor discuss career opportunities across engineering, manufacturing, field service, commissioning, sales, and technical training—as well as the skilled workforce needed to build, operate, and maintain the infrastructure supporting AI.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

Kirk Offel sits down with Curt Holcomb, Vice Chairman of JLL’s Data Center Solutions group, for a wide-angle look at how the industry grew from one-rack data closets and telecom switch sites into multi-building campuses that increasingly require their own power generation.Drawing on 26 years at the front end of data center transactions, Curt breaks down the dot-com boom and bust, the rise of colocation, COVID’s impact on enterprise demand, the arrival of GPU-as-a-service, and the power constraints shaping today’s AI buildout. He and Kirk discuss why site selection now begins with available megawatts rather than acreage, whether the current growth cycle is a boom or a bubble, and why Texas is attracting so much infrastructure investment.The conversation also covers closed-loop cooling, tax incentives and community benefits, public distrust, town-hall opposition, and the industry’s failure to explain itself clearly. They close with the innovation, careers, and veteran talent that will be required to build the next generation of digital infrastructure.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

AI does not run on chips alone. It depends on the electrical infrastructure, manufacturing capacity and skilled workforce required to turn megawatts into compute.In this episode, Kirk Offel sits down with Tom Currier, founder, president and CEO of Maverick Power, to trace the company’s rise from four founders and a 90-day cash runway to nearly 1,000 employees across seven locations.

Tom explains how Maverick used customized designs, supply-chain flexibility and faster execution to compete with established electrical manufacturers. He also discusses why data center development is rapidly shifting from a construction mindset to a manufacturing mindset—and how modularization can shorten schedules without sacrificing safety or quality.

Kirk and Tom also examine the jobs created throughout the data center ecosystem, the industry’s responsibility to engage local communities, career paths for wiring and field-service technicians, and Maverick’s support of the Build Now workforce training program.

At the center of the conversation is a simple idea: the people manufacturing the infrastructure behind AI are not merely supplying data centers. They are building the future.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

Justin Tinoco entered construction without a clear career plan, moving from drywall and framing into an IBEW electrical apprenticeship. Twenty-nine years later, he is the president of Rosendin—an organization he watched grow from less than $100 million in revenue to nearly $10 billion.In this episode, Justin joins Kirk Offel to give young people, parents, veterans, and career changers a practical roadmap into the electrical trades. They explain the application process, aptitude testing, apprenticeship interview, four-year earn-while-you-learn model, journeyman requirements, and the career ladder that can take someone from the field into project leadership, operations, and executive management.The conversation also examines the workforce challenge behind the data center boom. Justin discusses approximately 150,000 IBEW apprenticeship applicants in 2025, the limited training capacity that allowed only a fraction of them into programs, and Rosendin’s assessment that West Texas alone may need 30,000 electricians over the next several years.Kirk and Justin also explore competency-based apprenticeships, veteran recruitment, offsite manufacturing, modular construction, technology, financial opportunity, and why the electrician of the future may work very differently from the electrician of the past.For anyone deciding between college, military service, and the skilled trades, this episode offers an honest look at what the electrical path requires—and where it can lead.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian joins Kirk Offel for a wide-ranging conversation about the infrastructure required to support America’s accelerating demand for artificial intelligence.They explore Texas’ energy advantage, grid reliability, natural gas generation, the potential reuse of produced water for data center cooling, and the role data centers could play in rebuilding rural communities. Commissioner Christian shares examples of how major infrastructure investments can generate property-tax revenue, create local career paths, and allow families to remain in the towns they call home.Kirk and Commissioner Christian also discuss community opposition, responsible site selection, industry communication failures, workforce development, and why developers must speak directly with the people affected by these projects—not simply arrive with polished presentations.At the center of the conversation is a critical question: Can Texas create a model for data center growth that strengthens the grid, protects communities, expands opportunity, and helps secure America’s position in the global AI race?

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

In this episode of Data Center Revolution, Kirk Offel sits down with Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron Power and an 18-year Tesla engineering veteran, to examine the power architecture behind the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.Drawing on his experience with power electronics, the Tesla Supercharger network, energy storage, and Megapack, Drew explores whether the industry’s greatest constraint is electricity generation—or the equipment required to move, convert, store, and reliably deliver that electricity.Kirk and Drew break down why 800-volt DC is gaining momentum, how increasing GPU density is changing rack-level power requirements, and how a simplified, modular architecture could remove traditional transformers, switchgear, distribution equipment, and standalone UPS systems. They also discuss safety, redundancy, liquid cooling, water use, capital costs, commissioning timelines, and Heron Power’s path from engineering prototypes to commercial deployment.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

In this episode of Data Center Revolution, Kirk Offel sits down with Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron Power and an 18-year Tesla engineering veteran, to examine the power architecture behind the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.Drawing on his experience with power electronics, the Tesla Supercharger network, energy storage, and Megapack, Drew explores whether the industry’s greatest constraint is electricity generation—or the equipment required to move, convert, store, and reliably deliver that electricity.Kirk and Drew break down why 800-volt DC is gaining momentum, how increasing GPU density is changing rack-level power requirements, and how a simplified, modular architecture could remove traditional transformers, switchgear, distribution equipment, and standalone UPS systems. They also discuss safety, redundancy, liquid cooling, water use, capital costs, commissioning timelines, and Heron Power’s path from engineering prototypes to commercial deployment.

For more about us: https://weareoverwatch.com/data-center-revolution-podcast/

For guest inquiries reach out to: [email protected]

Data centers have become a convenient scapegoat for rising power costs and decades of underinvestment in America’s energy infrastructure. But are they creating the problem—or exposing a problem that was already there?

In this episode of Nine Nines, Mike Sarraille and Kirk Offel examine the White House’s voluntary ratepayer-protection pledge, growing community opposition, New York’s reported one-year moratorium on large data center projects, and xAI’s use of behind-the-meter natural-gas generation.

They also explore the role nuclear power and small modular reactors could play in America’s energy future, the impact of regulation on the AI race with China, and the planned nationwide anti-data-center protests bringing opposition from across the political spectrum.

Visit us at: DCRMedia.xyz

This week on Data Center Revolution, Kirk Offel sits down with Jeff Wabik, Chief Technology Officer of DC Blox, for an honest conversation about one of the industry's most talked-about developments: the proposed data center project in Nashville, Tennessee.As communities across America grapple with rapid AI growth and digital infrastructure expansion, data centers have become the center of public debate. Jeff shares DC Blox's perspective on the Nashville project, addresses common concerns surrounding water usage, noise, power consumption, environmental impact, and explains why community engagement has become one of the most important challenges facing the industry today.Beyond the headlines, this conversation explores how data centers actually work, why they're essential to modern life, and what the industry must do to earn public trust as digital infrastructure continues to expand.

Visit us at: DCRMedia.xyz