Program Speakers

Farukh Aslam is the Chief Executive Officer of Sinclair Digital (SD) a low voltage design and consulting company developing Digital DC-Microgrid Buildings. In 2019, Aslam successfully developed the Sinclair Marriott Autograph Hotel which is widely considered the most diverse PoE and DC Microgrid project in North America. From the completion of the Sinclair Hotel, Aslam created SD to bring expertise of the sustainability and cost benefits of a DC building infrastructure to the marketplace. Since its inception SD has been involved in several design build projects and continues to evolve DC infrastructure in buildings.

Jim Baldwin is the founder and CEO of Domatic, a company that is revolutionizing how to build smarter, healthier buildings. With over 30 years of experience in software and hardware design and development, he has led and contributed to innovative projects at Apple, Microsoft, Intel, and several startups.

Kenneth Barr is a consultant on governmental relations and public affairs with the Barr Consulting Group and he is a partner in BC Collaborations. Long involved in community affairs, Kenneth was elected Mayor of Fort Worth four times and served in that capacity from 1996 until retiring in 2003. Prior to being elected Mayor, he served three years as a City Council Member.

Jeff Beavers is Executive Director with National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). With more than 30 years in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, Jeff began his telecommunications career in the U.S. Air Force. He has served in various design and consulting roles in many types of industries, including the Department of Defense, municipal and federal government, K–12 and higher education, healthcare, sports and entertainment, data centers, and utilities (broadband, water, energy, wind and solar). Jeff is a Registered Communications Distribution Designer and has the OSP Designer credential. He is a recognized subject matter expert and past President of BICSI, a global professional association supporting the advancement of the ICT community.

Bruce Becker is president of Becker + Becker, an integrated sustainable architecture and development firm. Becker designs buildings that have a transformative social and environmental value. His latest project is Hotel Marcel, a fossil fuel-free, Passive House-certified boutique hotel. Other notable projects include the LEED Platinum redevelopment of Hartford’s former Bank of America tower, the 500-unit 360 State Street community, the adaptive reuse of the Wauregan Hotel and Octagon tower into affordable housing, and others.

Howard Berger has over 30 years of experience in technology and commercial/investment real estate. As Realcomm's SVP Programs, he manages its US and international conferences and CIO programs. Previously, he was with The Jamesan Group, which specialized in strategic technology consulting for the commercial real estate industry and prior to that, he was with TRW Real Estate Information Systems where he developed real estate information systems for the mortgage, appraisal and title insurance industries.

Adrian Bridge is the Managing Director and Chairman of The Fladgate Partnership, a leading producer of quality Port wines. Under his leadership, the company expanded into tourism, opening The Yeatman Hotel in 2006. Featuring solar panels used to heat water and generate electricity, as well as low energy lighting throughout the building, the hotel utilizes many design and operation installments aimed at reducing its impact on the environment. Bridge is also the founder of the Porto Protocol, a global initiative focused on climate change solutions for the wine industry.

Steve Corcoran is the president of SDC Next Consulting, a data-driven firm specializing in network design, system optimization, and technology convergence for commercial building projects in North America. With over 30 years of experience in wireless and wireline networks, he excels at uniting the right people and technologies to deliver optimal solutions for clients.

Derek is a values-centered entrepreneur who is passionate about the environment and making bold leaps in energy efficiency through system integration. He is a subject matter expert in building controls and intelligent DC Nanogrids, and contributes to industry working groups to promote efficient building technologies. As founder and CEO of LumenCache, he is leading the collaborative effort to globally change the standard for power distribution in buildings making them smart, safe, efficient, and resilient.

Jim Frey is an experienced electrical engineer currently focusing the Clean Transportation, Flexible Demand, and Energy Storage. His most recent work includes charging infrastructure cost models for both light-duty and medium/heavy-duty vehicles used to inform future CALGreen Energy codes. James has held strategy, product management and engineering roles with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) covering building and IT power systems, consumer devices, and lighting controls.

Russell is currently the National Specification Manager with Somfy Systems. Russell has been part of the Somfy family for over 18 years with experience in technical support, inside sales, outside sales, and corporate training. Russell’s current concentration has been promoting the benefits of automated shade systems and assisting with system design within the specification and design community. He has worked with designers, contractors, architects, and engineers to secure automated projects in the commercial and residential market.

Mahmoud Ibrahim serves as a Sr. Business Development Manager at Panduit Ventures, playing a pivotal role in nurturing new products and business initiatives from conception to profitable realization. He currently oversees Panduit's Fault-Managed Power System, Panduit’s latest innovation in safe power distribution and is the market's first Class 4 listed system.

Fady Ishak, BIM Solutions Manager and CEO of Bay BIM Designs is the visionary behind TECH+, a cutting-edge Revit plug-in that revolutionizes the way low-voltage designers and contractors collaborate within BIM environments. With a background spanning MEP design, project management, and over four years of BIM leadership, Fady is known for his expertise in creating efficient and reliable workflows across complex projects. His diverse background in construction, automotive and robotics, underpins his ability to deliver innovative solutions tailored to project needs. Fady is dedicated to empowering low-voltage professionals with the same level of detail and coordination that has transformed the MEP industry.

Born and raised in Iceland, Karl Jonsson is a serial entrepreneur. He was a software architect at Cisco, co-founded GreenWave where he invented the first smart light bulb, and founded an IoT incubator for Tridonic and Zumtobel. Karl served as Director of Products at Belkin, leading Wemo smart home innovations, and invented X-PoE, which merged with Amatis Controls as LUUM.iO. He also runs Visiolite, creating custom LED solutions for artists and designers. Karl, an IEEE, IALD, and IES member, has filed over 70 patents and influenced major industry standards.

With a career spanning over 12 years, Bart has built a reputation for utilizing innovative technology to fulfill the dreams of home builders and buyers. As the Corporate Sales Manager at LumenCache, he has spearheaded initiatives to make homes and buildings smart from the start. Bart also serves as the Outside Sales Manager for SunFarm Energy, Northwest Florida's Certified Tesla Solar Roof Installation partner. He is dedicated to fundamentally changing people’s relationship to energy, working hard to create a more affordable, intelligent, and sustainable built environment.

Akram Khalis (AK) serves as MHT’s CEO and Co-Founder of MHT's Inspextor smart building platform. As an entrepreneurial executive who currently holds three US technology patents, AK's background in technology, product, and general management allows him to bridge the gap between engineers and businesses to bring high quality solutions to market efficiently. Well regarded as an innovator and thought leader for his work developing PoE systems for lighting and smart building automation, AK has scaled and accelerated the growth of innovative technology for more than a decade.

Bob Kroon is the CEO and Founder of August Berres. August Berres provides applications for DC-powered workplaces, eliminating the need to install 120V power at every workstation. Bob has a forty-year history in electro-mechanical durable goods and the furniture industry. His career began as an Industrial Engineer for Maytag. His furniture background began in manufacturing engineering with The Hon Company in 1979. In the next 18 years, he served in assignments in product engineering and general management. His subsequent experience includes contract manufacturing for low-volume, high-value, high-complexity electronic enclosures.

Andrew Lu serves as Director of Product Management in the Engineering Sustainability Office (ESO) at Cisco. He passionately nurtures and promotes DC-microgrid solutions like Fault Managed Power (FMP) and Power over Ethernet(PoE) for sustainable building infrastructure. Prior to Cisco, Andrew’s career spanned multiple sectors including industrial automation, intelligent building system integration, and home automation. Andrew represents Cisco as a co-founder and the President of the FMP Alliance.

Prior to starting PDPetry Consulting in 2020, Page served as the Chief IT Officer of the Americas at Marriott International in Washington D.C. where she directed key initiatives for Marriott International hotels. During her extensive 33 year Marriott career, Page held a variety of roles allowing for a deep understanding of the Hospitality Industry.

Luis Suau is the Chief Business Officer at Sinclair Digital. With 40 years of overall IT experience; ,26 of them at Cisco, Luis previously worked as a Technical Leader in Cisco's IOT Business Unit and was a key member in developing Cisco's Digital Ceiling and Digital Building Solutions. Luis helped to engineer the highly innovative Marriott Sinclair Hotel which leverages the use of Lithium-Ion Energy Storage, Digital Electricity, POE and USB-C. After its completion in 2020, Luis left Cisco to pursue his passion of expanding the scope of Digital Building Systems with a goal of developing a Building as a DC Microgrid.

Bob Voss is a Distinguished Engineer in Panduit Corporate Research and Development, driving technological innovation. Focused on industrial and building automation, his expertise spans shepherding of groundbreaking technologies such as Single Pair Ethernet and Fault Managed Power. Bob plays a key role in setting global engineering standards in IEEE, TIA, NEMA, ODVA, and NFPA, as well as nurturing strategic technology partnerships. Bob is the chairman and one of the founders of the FMP Alliance.

Hannah Walker is the Chief Operating Officer of Sinclair Digital Services, a low voltage design & consulting company developing Digital DC-Microgrid Buildings. She joined Sinclair Group to initially help design and implement smart buildings technologies at Sinclair Hotel which was completed in January of 2020 as the most diverse PoE powered, DC microgrid building in the world.

Ruben Willmarth is currently a Sr Sales Engineer at LG Air Conditioning Technologies USA, having previously held roles such as National Manager at LG Electronics USA and Regional Sales Manager at Carrier Corporation. With a background in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Ruben has extensive experience in the HVAC industry, including positions at companies like Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions and Stewart & Stevenson.

As Managing Partner, SVP of Strategy & Business Development, Lisa Woods is responsible for developing Realcomm's strategic relationships with the technology companies that participate in the company's conferences, seminars and CIO events. Prior to joining Realcomm, Lisa spent 10 years working with building owners and managers, providing technology solutions in telecommunications, access control and security.

Founder of Realcomm Conference Group, an education organization that produces Realcomm, IBcon and CoRE Tech, the world's leading conferences on technology, automated business solutions, intelligent buildings and energy efficiency for the commercial and corporate real estate industry. As CEO, Jim interacts with the largest companies globally pertaining to some of the most advanced and progressive next generation real estate projects under development.