Luncheon - Unlocking the Economic Potential of Data Centres in Alberta

Description

Luncheon - Unlocking the Economic Potential of Data Centres in Alberta

DATE & TIME
April 10, 2025 from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

LOCATION
Chateau Lacombe

TICKETS
BOMA Members: $87.50
Non-Members: $107.50
Table of 8 (Members): $700
Table of 8 (Non-Members): $860

DETAILS
Join Edmonton Global and BOMA Edmonton and North for an exclusive event exploring the economic opportunities that data centres present for the Edmonton Region and Northern Alberta. As demand for digital infrastructure grows, data centres are becoming a crucial driver of economic development, investment, and job creation.

We are excited to welcome Buddy Rizer as our keynote speaker for this exciting event. Buddy is Executive Director for Economic Development in Loudoun County, Virginia—home to “Data Center Alley”, the largest concentration of data centres in the world. Under Buddy’s leadership, Loudoun County has attracted more than $65 billion in commercial investment and 55,000+ new jobs, dramatically expanding its economy while lowering tax burdens for residents. His insights on fostering a thriving data centre ecosystem will provide valuable lessons for our region.

Following Buddy’s keynote, a panel of industry leaders and experts will discuss the opportunities and challenges of growing the data centre sector in the Edmonton Region.

This event is a must-attend for business leaders, policymakers, real estate professionals, and anyone interested in the future of digital infrastructure and economic growth in the region.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights from one of the world’s leading experts on data centre development and participate in a conversation about the future of our region’s economy.


AGENDA

• 11:00 am - 11:30 am - Doors Open & Networking 
• 11:30 pm -12:00 pm - Keynote Presentation
• 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm - Lunch 
• 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm  Panel Discussion and Q&A
• 2:00 pm - Event Concludes

PRESENTED BY

SPEAKERS

Keynote Speaker
Buddy Rizer, Executive Director of Economic Development, Loudoun County, Virginia

Buddy Rizer serves as the Executive Director for economic development in Loudoun County, Virginia, which was named the 2021 Economic Development Organization of the Year by the International Economic Development Council. He leads the agency responsible for encouraging growth and developing relationships with Loudoun’s business community in both the commercial and agricultural-based business sectors.  During his tenure, Rizer and his team have attracted more than $65 billion in new commercial investment and more than 55 thousand new jobs. During this time, the growth in the commercial based has helped lower the tax rate in Loudoun by more than 42 cents on the dollar, saving residents thousands of dollars annually on their tax bill.

In 2007, Mr. Rizer joined Loudoun County and helped build “Data Center Alley” into the largest concentration of data centers in the world.  He also has extensive international business development experience in China, France, Germany, Russia, Ireland, United Kingdom, Finland, Taiwan, Japan, India, Korea, Ghana, Uruguay, and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr. Rizer has been named a Tech Titan eight times by Washingtonian Magazine (2017 – 2024), one of the 50 most influential Virginians six times by Virginia Business Magazine (2018 – 2023), a five-time member of Virginia’s Power 500 (2020 – 2024), and three times named to the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100 as one of the most influential businesspeople in Washington, DC (2020, 2022, 2023). In 2024, he was named as one of the 50 most influential people in Northern Virginia by Northern Virginia Magazine.

Mr. Rizer is a founding member and past chair of the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance (NOVA EDA), is a member of the Board of Trustees for Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), past chair of the Northern Virginia Community College Foundation Board, and Secretary of the Go Virginia Region 7 Council.  Mr. Rizer serves on the Virginia Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and is on the Board of Directors for the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Dulles Free Trade Zone (FTZ #137), and the Washington Airports Task Force (WATF).  He is also the Chair of the Rivana at Innovation Station Community Development Authority.

Mr. Rizer is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a certified Entrepreneurship Development Professional (EDP), has a master’s in business administration/economics from Longwood University and is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s Local Government Management Graduate Program.

Panel Moderator
Mustafa Sahin, Executive Vice President, Investment & Trade

Currently serving as Vice President of Investment and Trade at Edmonton Global, Mustafa Sahin is a senior international business and economic development leader with 28 years of experience in trade and investment, sales, and marketing. His career in economic development has taken him to the United States, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, before finally returning home to Canada in 2014. Mustafa has supported 28 trade and investment inbound and outbound missions since 2014, with 16 of those involving the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, or Alberta. Sought after for his investment and trade knowledge, Mustafa is a Canadian thought leader who attracts interest to Canada while also bringing Canadian brands to international markets.  

Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology & Innovation, Government of Alberta

Nate Glubish was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Strathcona-Sherwood Park on April 16, 2019 and re-elected on May 29, 2023.

Nate was sworn in as Minister of Service Alberta on April 30, 2019. In that role he led the Government of Alberta’s efforts to apply technology to deliver better, faster, and smarter services to Albertans. He also developed the Alberta Broadband Strategy and negotiated a $780 million partnership with the federal government to deliver reliable, high-speed internet to every Albertan by 2027.

On October 21, 2022, Nate Glubish was sworn in to lead the newly created Ministry of Technology and Innovation where he continued to lead the modernization of government services and led efforts to attract more investment in Alberta’s technology sector. On June 9, 2023, Nate was sworn in again as Minister of Technology and Innovation.

Prior to his political career, Nate Glubish dedicated his professional life to building and investing in Alberta technology companies. He spent most of his 15-year career before politics as a venture capital investor, most recently with Vancouver-based Yaletown Partners, where he oversaw investments into Alberta-based technology companies.

Sean Murphy, Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Chief Information Officer, Lead Alberta AI Data Centre Strategy, Government of Alberta

Sean brings over 20 years of experience building and leading IT and Product technology teams. Sean’s experience ranges from Fortune 500 companies, Big 4 Consulting, and startups across Canada and Silicon Valley. Sean has a deep understanding of how adaptably leveraging disruptive technologies creates a competitive advantage, builds passionate mission driven teams and is at the forefront of delivering value.

Sean leads the development and implementation of the Government Alberta’s AI Data Centre Strategy which outlines the path to secure the province’s position as the destination of choice for AI data centre investment in North America and build our global leadership in AI.

He has served as head of Software and Innovation at Attabotics, an Alberta Series C Robotics startup. With Attabotics he recently won an ASTech award of distinction for his work leading innovation teams - notably delivering advanced technologies including AI and 5G robotics. This work leveraged Alberta’s AI advantage with academia partners including AMII and AltaML.

Sean previously led Technology & Procurement Transformation Advisory at EY (Silicon Valley & London); Product and Service at ServiceNow (Silicon Valley); and IT, Support, Finance, and PMO teams at Enbridge (Edmonton and Calgary).

Sean is a member of the Public Sector Chief Information Officer Council (PSCIOC), involving CIO peers from all levels of governments across Canada.

He holds MBA and Computer Science degrees from the University of Alberta and a Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) designation from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Ann Wu, Managing Director, Government Grants, Ryan ULC

Ann Wu is the Managing Director, Government Grants for Ryan ULC, an award-winning global tax services and software provider and the largest firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes and Government funding. With over 10 years of financial management and leadership experience in both the for-profit industry and the not-for-profit sector, combined with a background in economics and passion for economic development and innovation, Ann has helped hundreds of businesses and organizations capitalize on opportunities to increase their competitiveness and bring forth innovation to market through government funding.

She has spent the last eight years supporting high-value projects and proposals, managing government-funded projects, and liaising with community partners, funders, and government officials. Her leadership and oversight have resulted in over $800 million in government funding awards to businesses across North America and billions of dollars in capital investments and new IP creation in Canada.

*Disclaimer: By registering for this event, you acknowledge that the information you provide is accurate and absolve BOMA Edmonton of any liability for inaccuracies. Your registration also implies consent to be contacted by BOMA Edmonton. Furthermore, the ideas and views expressed by any speakers are their own and are not endorsed by BOMA Edmonton.