The NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate and Haynes Boone Host the Inaugural NYU Data Center & AI Infrastructure Forum

Press release

The NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate and Haynes Boone Host the Inaugural NYU Data Center & AI Infrastructure Forum

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October 01, 2026

Industry Leaders to Examine Power Constraints, Capital Deployment, Development Risk and the Infrastructure Behind AI Growth New York, October 1, 2026 —  <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/">NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS)</a> and <a href="https://www.haynesboone.com/experience/practices-and-industries/data-centers-and-digital-infrastructure" target="_blank">Haynes Boone</a> will host the inaugural NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate Data Center & AI Infrastructure Forum, gathering the developers, investors, operators, and policymakers driving the next generation of digital infrastructure at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. The Forum is co-chaired by Suhail Tayyeb, clinical assistant professor at the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate and director of the NYU SPS Center for the Sustainable Built Environment, and Jeffrey Moerdler, chair of <a href="https://www.haynesboone.com/experience/practices-and-industries/data-centers-and-digital-infrastructure" target="_blank">Haynes Boone Data Center and Digital Infrastructure Practice</a>. “As artificial intelligence and other burgeoning technologies accelerate demand for power and data, the conversation has shifted from theoretical to operational for real estate professionals,” said Marc Norman, Larry and Klara Silverstein Chair, associate dean at the NYU SPS Schack Institute and Forum co-host. “NYU SPS Schack events are the place to be for high-level industry conversations and networking. This Forum will also be an important platform for our NYU SPS Schack students to engage directly with industry leaders, gain exposure to real-world changes, and explore career pathways in the real estate sector.” “The rapid growth of AI is reshaping the data center landscape and creating new challenges at the intersection of real estate, energy, capital, and regulation,” said Haynes Boone’s Moerdler, “We are excited to be at the forefront of this transformation and to convene the people who are helping shape what comes next. This Forum will bring together leading voices from across the industry to have a practical, forward-looking conversation about how we build, finance, and power the next generation of digital infrastructure.” “The AI infrastructure conversation has become too focused on projected demand and not enough on what can actually be delivered,” said NYU SPS Schack’s Tayyeb. “A site is not a project, and a power claim is not deliverable capacity. This Forum brings together leaders across power, capital, development, operations, and policy to examine what is actually getting built, what is preventing projects from moving forward, and where the market is heading next. Forum Session Highlights: Opening Keynote - The AI Infrastructure Shock The Forum opens by examining the gap between projected AI infrastructure demand and what can actually be delivered, and the power, permitting, capital, and execution constraints shaping what gets built. <ul class="p-list"> <li>Suhail Tayyeb, Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate; Director, NYU SPS Center for the Sustainable Built Environment; Forum Co-Chair</li> </ul> Session 1: The Real Bottleneck: Power, Not Land For many data center projects, access to deliverable power has become the defining constraint. This session examines interconnection queues, grid constraints, and the timelines reshaping where and how data centers get built. <ul class="p-list"> <li>Sasibeh (Sas) Beyene, Partner, Data Centers Industry Practice Co-Leader, CohnReznick Advisory LLC [Moderator]</li> <li>Rick Drescher, Operating Partner, Denham Capital</li> <li>Kevin Lanahan, Senior Vice President, External Affairs & Corporate Communications, New York Independent System Operator</li> <li>Phil Lookadoo, Partner, Haynes Boone</li> <li>Jeff Zygler, Founder and CEO, Active Infrastructure</li> <li>Maria Messick, Manager of Data Economy Strategy, Constellation Energy</li> </ul> Session 2: How Infrastructure Capital Is Pricing AI Demand Capital is moving ahead of visible demand, but not blindly. This session examines how investors are underwriting risk, timing, and returns across hyperscale, colocation, and emerging AI infrastructure strategies. <ul class="p-list"> <li>Todd Coffin, Senior Managing Director, TerraNova Capital Partners [Moderator]</li> <li>Jay Graham, Managing Director, Investments, Tract Capital Management</li> <li>Patrick Hanlon, Principal, Ackman–Ziff</li> <li>Dan Madrigal, Managing Director, Head of Data Center Risk Assessment, Private Credit & Infrastructure, Deutsche Bank</li> <li>Waldemar R. Szlezak, Partner, Global Head of Digital Infrastructure, KKR</li> <li>Andrew Warin, Managing Director, Real Estate Strategic Advisory and Capital Markets, Newmark</li> </ul> Session 3: From Land to Load: What Actually Gets Built This session examines site selection, entitlements, construction timelines, and execution risks that determine which projects are actually delivered and energized. <ul class="p-list"> <li>Anthony Lombardo, Principal, Project Development, Tract Capital [Moderator]</li> <li>Ben Kaplan, Managing Director, Turner Construction</li> <li>Adam Krupp, Managing Director, Wharton Equity</li> <li>Conor Lawlor, Sr. Corporate Strategy Manager & Head of Data Center Strategy, Rosendin</li> <li>Peter F. Skae, Managing Director, JLL</li> </ul> Session 4: Fireside Chat <ul class="p-list"> <li>Suhail Tayyeb, Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate; Director, NYU SPS Center for the Sustainable Built Environment; Forum Co-Chair</li> <li>Pouya Lavian, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Environmental Protection Agency</li> </ul> Session 5: Keynote – Data Centers For The Rest Of Us <ul class="p-list"> <li>Dean DeBiase, Chairman, RWS Data Centers and Chief Executive Officer, Reboot Partners/Reboot Media</li> </ul> Session 6: The Missing Middle: 10–40 MW and the Real Market While hyperscale projects dominate headlines, a significant part of the market is developing at smaller deployment sizes. This session focuses on the 10–40 MW segment, where power availability, regional demand, and speed to market can determine project viability. The discussion will examine how operators, brokers, and investors are navigating this segment and why it represents an increasingly actionable part of the market. <ul class='p-list'> <li>Dean DeBiase, Chairman, RWS Data Centers and Chief Executive Officer, Reboot Partners/Reboot Media [Moderator]</li> <li>Cole Crawford, Founder and Chairman, NATIVX and Operating Partner, BOKA Capital</li> <li>Christopher Downie, Managing Partner, Welles Infrastructure Advisors, LLC</li> <li>Ray Sidler, Chief Executive Officer, DataVerge</li> </ul> Session 7: Who Captures the Value: Compute, Power, or Capital? AI infrastructure is not a single asset class. Value is split across compute, power, and the capital that enables deployment. This session examines where returns are actually accruing, how different players are positioning across the stack, and what decisions will determine who captures the next wave of growth. <ul> <li>Brian Chen, Vice President of Sales – Energy & Infrastructure Group, Stewart Title [Moderator]</li> <li>Bob DeSantis, Co-Founder and Board Member, 365 Data Centers</li> <li>Kiran Keshav, Director, Empire AI</li> <li>Andrej Danis, Partner and Managing Director, AlixPartners</li> <li>Jeff Mandel, Chief Investment Officer, Metrobloks</li> <li>Jeffrey Moerdler, Chair, Data Center and Digital Infrastructure Practice, Haynes Boone</li> </ul> For the full program and registration information, visit <a href="http://sps.nyu.edu/dataforum" target="_blank">sps.nyu.edu/dataforum</a> About Haynes Boone Haynes Boone is among the fastest-growing Am Law 100 firms, providing full-service, Chambers-ranked counsel across sectors, including corporate, energy, financial services, real estate, restructuring, litigation, intellectual property and specialty transactions. Companies at all stages rely on Haynes Boone, whether they are in the Fortune 500 and/or S&P 500, well-funded, exchange-listed, privately held, or in emerging-growth mode. More than 750 lawyers practice across 21 global offices in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai. The firm’s <a href="https://www.haynesboone.com/experience/practices-and-industries/data-centers-and-digital-infrastructure" target="_blank">Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure Practice Group</a> advises developers, owners, operators, investors, lenders and technology companies on the development, financing, leasing, acquisition and operation of data centers and other digital infrastructure assets. Drawing on more than 35 years of industry experience and the firm's integrated strengths across real estate, energy, finance, regulatory and technology matters, the group helps clients navigate the complex legal and commercial issues shaping today's rapidly evolving digital economy. About the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate The NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate was founded in 1967 by prominent New York City real estate community members, who encouraged NYU to establish an academic center that would provide a world-class education for industry professionals. More than 50 years later, the Schack Institute is at the forefront of real estate education, recognized globally as one of the world’s leading centers of real estate research and practical, real-world learning experiences. Across the Institute’s graduate degree programs—notably, the <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-real-estate.html">MS in Real Estate</a> and the <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-real-estate-development.html">MS in Real Estate Development</a>—and a rapidly expanding <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/explore/degrees-and-programs/bs-in-real-estate.html">BS in Real Estate</a>, enrollment has grown to more than 1,000 full and part-time students from across the United States and nearly 50 countries. In addition to its flagship degree programs, thousands of working professionals enroll each year in the Schack Institute’s <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/schack-institute-of-real-estate.html">Executive Education</a>, certificate, and career advancement programs. An anchor of real estate academia’s engagement with industry, the Institute is home to the CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance, the REIT Center, the Center for the Sustainable Built Environment, and the NYU Urban Lab. In addition, the Institute hosts national industry events, including annual conferences on real estate capital markets, the REIT sector, and Women in Real Estate (WiRE). Under the direction of the Schack Institute’s faculty, ongoing applied research at the Institute spans an exceptional range of issues in real estate development and investment, urban economics, and market structure and regulation. To learn more about the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, visit: <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/schack-institute-of-real-estate.html">sps.nyu.edu/schack</a> About the NYU School of Professional Studies Established in 1934, NYU SPS is an internationally recognized university that offers diverse students access and opportunity to practical, real-world preparation to thrive in their careers while building the next generation of industry leaders ready to embrace tomorrow’s innovations and challenges and lead change in global workplaces. The NYU SPS global community is made up of industry professionals, doers, and trailblazers shaping the future of industries, positioning the School as an idea incubator for various fields, including real estate, hospitality, global affairs, sports business, integrated marketing, HR, professional writing and more. Today, NYU SPS offers one of NYU's most diverse portfolios of educational offerings, including graduate degrees, bachelor’s degrees for traditional and degree completion students, associate degrees, continuing education courses, and certificate programs. NYU SPS is the host of some of the largest and most in-demand industry conferences in the world, including the Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Capital Markets Conference, REIT Symposium, and National Symposium of Women in Real Estate, the Jonathan M. Tisch Center’s International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, Annual NYU Tax Conferences, and the NYU Coaching and Technology Summit, the School’s invaluable connections to industry leaders is a distinguishing factor in the education that it provides. Media Contact: Michael DeMeo NYU SPS <a href="mailto:michael.demeo@nyu.edu" target="_blank">michael.demeo@nyu.edu</a> 212–992–9103 Dave Maurer Haynes Boone <a href="mailto:dave.maurer@haynesboone.com" target="_blank">dave.maurer@haynesboone.com</a> 214-651-5716