On this episode, Nabeel and Phil are joined by Lee Smith, Data Center Consultant and Education Ambassador for the Nomad Futurist Foundation. Lee has over 30 years of digital infrastructure industry experience and is an accomplished international data center consultant, covering planning, strategy, design, and operations. During the last 15 years, he's been fully immersed in all matters related to designing, building, and operating mission-critical data centers.

Lee’s educational background is in strategic marketing and economics, which from an outside perspective may not appear to have much to do with the data center space. So, Nabeel asks Lee how he found himself in this industry:

“I was going to be appointed as a process controller at a large petrochemical organization in South Africa… and I wasn't too excited about it. So, I just asked the HR guy ‘Is there anything maybe in computers that you could show me?’ I walked into the computer room and there were two guys running around loading printer paper and tape reels and all of that, and I just knew. I looked at the guy and I said, ‘I gotta do this job. I have to do this.’”

Lee's passion for education and unwavering commitment to standards never cease to inspire. Nabeel and Phil witness his desire to pay it forward, as he constantly engages in efforts to provide tools, resources, and educational materials to African communities which often lack access to them. Intrigued, Nabeel ponders why this transformative transition took place:

“I guess in that case, it's where I come from. The African continent is not an easy place… it’s not always easy for people to be exposed to opportunities for education. Offering that opportunity to people to learn something new, to be able to grasp a concept through whatever means you can… for me that's first prize.”

Learn more about Lee and the other Nomad Futurist Ambassadors: https://nomadfuturist.org/nomad-futurist-team/