Matt Spencer, chief technology officer for Cologix in Denver, has been named the 2017 Mission Critical magazine Facility Manager of the Year.

Matt works for Cologix, a data center company providing reliable, secure, scalable data center, and interconnection solutions from 25 prime interconnection locations across nine strategic North American edge markets. He has been leading operations for the company since its inception and has been instrumental in bringing 10 acquired companies into Cologix’s high operational standards as well as bringing six new market expansions online. All of these projects included planning and project management expertise to ensure uptime all the time.

Matt has platform-wide responsibility of staff, construction, facilities, and operational direction in all 25 of Cologix’s data centers. The challenges inherent in working in so many locations are many, ranging from the usual found in operating multi-tenant data center facilities to adapting to different building codes from city to city, state to state, and even from the U.S. to Canada.

“A typical day for me includes regular communication with our local operations leadership teams and working collaboratively with engineering and construction partners to continually produce a world class product,” Matt said.

“With all of the responsibility and challenges that Matt has on his plate daily, the thing that has always impressed me is that he works harder than anyone I know. When Matt is faced with urgent challenges, he stays collected,” said Brandon Rogotzke, Parallel Technologies. “Matt is always looking for new products or ways to integrate to achieve operational efficiencies and excellence,” Rogotzke added.

Upgrade strategies that Matt has been responsible for have included the implementation of innovative cooling, free cooling, hot aisle containment, and water and power conservation technologies in locations as varied as Dallas, Columbus, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Minneapolis, Montreal, New Jersey, Toronto, and Vancouver.

“Matt has implemented different types of electrical switch gear, emergency power hitching posts, cooling and free cooling solutions integrating these solutions concurrently into live data center environments. Often times while they are also building and expanding the footprint with new construction adjacent to these data centers,” said Rogotzke.

 “Matt has to react to issues at a drop of a hat that could potentially be detrimental to their customers if not handled properly. He makes sure his local teams are highly trained and follow their operational procedures of maintaining and testing equipment to avoid any unnecessary risks. He makes himself available 24x7 to help address questions and reacts to any unexpected challenges,” Rogotzke added.

“The most interesting aspect of my work is contemplating new and creative solutions to deliver best-in-class solutions that meet or exceed our customers’ needs,” Matt said. “I approach work with a curiosity to always learn and improve upon existing processes and technologies. I believe in being a student of leadership, focusing on providing team members with opportunities that match their strengths. Our golden rule is that it is uptime all the time for our customers and I strive to achieve that every day,” he added.

Matt, a Wyoming native, resides in Colorado with his wife and two daughters. They all enjoy and take advantage of the ample outdoor activities that the Colorado mountains offer including summiting fourteeners, kayaking, camping, mountain biking, and running marathons.

Matt has 30 years of experience leading worldwide IT and telecommunications organizations. He has served as the senior vice president of global operations for the network and customer care centers of Level 3 Communications, as senior vice president for Level 3’s IP Network, Voice over IP, and Video Engineering, and as director of IT operations for the University of Colorado Hospital. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming.