Data Center World, the leading global conference for data center facilities and IT professionals, announced the winners of its 2026 awards program, recognizing exceptional leadership, operational excellence and breakthrough innovation shaping the future of digital infrastructure.
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Bill Kleyman, Executive Chair, Data Center World, presents Joe Kava with Lifetime Achievement Award during Data Center World 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Presented annually, the Data Center World Awards celebrate the individuals and organizations driving meaningful progress across the industry, from sustainability and workforce leadership to next-generation technologies.
The 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Joe Kava, a pioneering leader whose career has significantly advanced the data center industry. The award honors individuals who demonstrate long-standing mentorship, a commitment to sustainability, and the promotion of innovative technologies and processes. Kava’s contributions have helped shape modern data center design, operations and global infrastructure at scale.
The 2026 Data Center Manager of the Year Award recipient is Joseph Gingrich, Data Center Engineer at GDIT, recognizing his outstanding leadership and measurable impact in mission-critical environments. As demand for data center capacity accelerates, this program continues its mission to honor professionals who are making a real difference across the industry.
Finalists for the 2026 Data Center Manager of the Year Award included:
- David Ashworth, Director, Site Operations, Prime Data Centers
- James Black, Senior Director, Virginia Operations, Cologix, Inc.
- Anand Mohammed, Senior Director, Western Canada, Cologix, Inc.
- Alv Skjellet, Operations Manager, Green Mountain AS
Data Center World also recognized the next wave of transformative technologies through its annual Innovation Challenge powered by ABB, which spotlights startups and emerging companies delivering cutting-edge solutions across five critical categories:
- Grid and Power: Assetcool
- Power Inside the Data Center: AlumaPower
- Cooling & Thermal Breakthrough: Hayzel
- Build & Operations: Edgecom Energy
- Networking & IT: Latent AI
- Most Promising Startup: XL Batteries
- Most Promising Startup: Spiritus
“From visionary leadership to breakthrough innovation, this year’s winners and honorees reflect the ingenuity and operational excellence driving our industry forward,” said Tara Gibb, Senior Director, Data Center World. “As the demands on digital infrastructure continue to grow, these leaders and organizations are not only keeping pace, they are defining what comes next.”
The next events scheduled for Data Center World include Data Center World Power (Dallas, September 21-23) and Data Center World Europe (Vienna, October 13-14) speaker submissions are now open. Submit your proposal here. In 2027, Data Center World will take place in Nashville, TN at Music City Center on May 24-27, 2027. For additional information on exhibition or sponsorship opportunities, contact Susan Gillespie at Susan.Gillespie@informa.com.
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ABOUT DATA CENTER WORLD
Data Center World is the leading global conference for data center facilities and IT professionals, delivering premier education, expansive networking, and the widest access to best-in-class vendors. For more than 45 years, the event has helped data center and IT infrastructure leaders navigate an increasingly complex and AI-driven landscape. The event provides top-quality, vendor-neutral insights that empower professionals to solve real-world challenges. CIO Dive named Data Center World one of the top technology conferences to attend in 2024 for the second consecutive year. Additionally, for the fourth year in a row, Data Center World has been recognized by Trade Show Executive as a fast-growing trade show, recently ranking number one across the Fastest 50. Data Center World 2027 will be held in Nashville, TN, uniting thousands of senior practitioners and hundreds of solution providers to explore the future of AI-ready infrastructure, sustainable power, edge and hyperscale innovation, and next-generation facilities.
Data Center World continues to expand its global footprint. To access the Data Center World Global Event series, visit Data Center World’s Global Events.
Data Center World is produced by Informa PLC in partnership with AFCOM.
ABOUT AFCOM
AFCOM advances data center and IT professionals by delivering comprehensive and vendor-neutral education and peer-to-peer networking to its members around the world. Through forward-looking research, AFCOM supports thousands of IT, operations, facilities, builders/designers and vendors working in the data center and IT infrastructure industry. In serving the data center industry for more than 40 years, AFCOM has earned recognition as the market leader in educating, connecting and guiding the data center community.
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