FAQ

Is Nova a licensed engineer?

Nova performs conceptual engineering in-house with its highly qualified mission critical engineering team. This provides our clients with a rapid response to questions with data center potentials and solutions to challenges. Once a project develops further, Nova then hires a qualified engineering firm to complete the construction documents. For this, Nova can align one of its strong alliances, or the firm can be pre-selected by the client.

How long does it take to do a Site Assessment?

For a typical size data center facility, Nova can visit the space and complete an evaluation report with proposed solutions in approximately 2 weeks.

Does Nova complete other types of projects?

With a foundation in Construction Management, Nova is familiar with the requirements of almost any construction project. Through an exclusive focus on data centers, we offer our clients an acute understanding of the requirements in this very specialized field. However, when developing new facilities, there typically is a requirement for administration offices, building core work and other support areas. With this understanding, Nova has and can be engaged on a per-project basis to develop these support areas in other capacities or locations for its clients. Nova has built several different types of commercial projects, including TV and Satellite Radio studios, large office spaces, medical support facilities and clean room laboratories.

Is there an advantage of building a data center in an existing building over a Greenfield project?

The advantage of developing in an existing facility is time. Many of Nova’s clients choose to build in existing spaces as it delivers a speed to market solution in a shorter amount of time. Project planning differences exist between building in a typical existing space and a new out of the ground structure. This can be seen as a schedule-driven decision for an organization.

What other types of creative expertise does Nova offer?

Whatever the objective is, Nova can provide options for a solution. With a dedicated staff of engineers, architects, estimators, project managers and supervisors, Nova understands data centers. Through an unparalleled level of expertise, Nova assists its clients by providing several perspectives on a project solution, understanding data center requirements such as, watts per square foot, price per kW, cabinet area maximization, CFD analysis, high density solutions, power monitoring and building management systems, security, green options etc. Whatever the objective, Nova can employ its specialized team to find the solution.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Mark DiStefano

President. Third generation, with 35 years at Nova. Mark has developed, tested and perfected the Nova Fast Track Process, which is based on a Design-Build model and emphasizes a scalable team approach for specific projects.

Ed Bohn

Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer. Ed was appointed Chief Financial Officer in March 2001, of Nova after having been a Director and Consultant since December, 1999. He was a Director of Nuwave Technology, Inc., a video enhancement firm, from July 1995 to September 2003. From January 1983 to March 1994, Mr. Bohn was employed in various capacities by Emerson Radio, including from March 1993 to March 1994, as Senior Vice President-Special Projects; and from March 1991 to March 1993, as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer/Vice President of Finance. Prior to March 1991, he was Vice President of Finance and Treasurer.

Robert Pappas, AIA

Executive Vice President. Robert is responsible for Construction Management Services at Nova. Robert has more than twenty years as a design and construction executive and has been licensed to practice architecture since 1986. He is adept at managing multiple assignments, directing staff and team-building. Bob helped establish the New York office for a nationally known AEC firm, overseeing its growth from three to over forty professionals. The list of clients served extends from internet and telecommunications to banking and retail. GTE, JP Morgan Chase, Qwest, Citicorp, Dime and Bank of New York are some of those.

Edward P. Stewart

EVP, Business Development. Edward brings an extensive history in Construction, Project Management and Business Development. Edward also brings his background in the New York Real Estate Asset and Investment market to the Mission Critical Nova team. Edward is responsible for the front-end organization and essential coordination of mission critical project delivery. He has worked with many Fortune 500 institutions in their development; some of them include ING Financial, JPMC, Savvis, Equinix, Panasonic, Pfizer, Merck Pharmaceutical and FiberNet.

Joshua Grimshaw

Director of Engineering. Josh was previously a lead electrical engineer with one of New York’s largest engineering firms, JB&B. Mr. Grimshaw played an intimate role in the design and development of a major portion of Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure build-out along the east coast and beyond. He has also been thoroughly involved in the current Equinix expansion effort. Josh now plays a key role in the Nova conceptual design and project development offering, allowing clients to see deeper in to objectives and possibilities. Mr. Grimshaw is an integral piece in the Nova team.

Paul DeGroot

Engineering Procurement and Project Support Manage r. Paul has been responsible for procurement and coordination of critical M&E equipment, as well as project engineering and commissioning. Paul, has more than 40 years of experience in design and construction, as well as operations of Data Centers. Clients Paul has worked for include IBM, VISA Corp, Knight Ridder News Corp., and Exodus Communications, who pioneered co-location space for rent, from 1998 to 2001 for which he designed and built 30 Centers spanning over roughly 1,000,000 million sq ft of revenue space.

Joseph Maiale

Vice President, Eastern Division. Joe is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Architectural Engineering. Joe has twenty-eight years of experience in the commercial construction industry. Project level experience has been broad from government facilities, office buildings, retail malls, and data centers. Joe has worked on data centers in Chicago, Northern Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Milan, Italy. Joe is responsible for the Eastern U.S. market.

Mike Doyle

Vice President, Estimating. Mike has been active with Nova since 1980, (also a licensed NJ Certified Building Inspector) brings years of hands-on, practical experience to Nova. Managing the Estimating Department since 1986, Mr. Doyle has created a resource which yields rapid turn around budgets and firm quotations to suit the market’s demands. His vast knowledge of subcontractors in all trades brings a cost-effective bottom line to our clients. Mike transforms each proposal into a format of critical specifications as well as a list of cost savings recommendations.

Jay Miller

Senior Director Western Region. Jay has over thirty years of engineering, construction and design management experience. His career is highlighted with notable contributions arising from his achievements at NOVA, Terremark, Data Return, PRC EMI, and the US Navy. He’s been involved in numerous data center site evaluations and facility assessments, acquisition due diligence activities, and data center design and construction in Europe and the USA. He is a detail oriented and astute financial manager with both project level and organizational level budget and accounting expertise able to develop tools and programs to support and expedite the project. Jay earned his BS and MS in Engineering at University of Illinois and University of California Berkeley respectively.

Paul Drew

Associate Director. Paul has over twenty five years management experience in the construction industry, thirteen years of which specializing in construction and operation of mission-critical telecommunications and data centre facilities throughout Europe, Asia-Pac and the United States. Paul has vast experience delivering projects. He has managed close to one million square feet of data centre build projects across eleven countries, successfully leading multi-disciplinary, cross- cultural teams. Paul has worked both on the client side and the build side of project execution enabling him to have a unique understanding and appreciation of client requirements.

Malcolm Boyles

UK Technical Director. Malcolm has held an integral position in the data center design and build arena throughout the United Kingdom and Europe for over 15 years. He has been  involved in various project development efforts, ranging from large international data center facility initiatives to small computer room implementations. His growth and understanding of the Mission Critical industry has greatly been acquired through the many different experiences and roles he has held throughout his extensive project track record, including working with clients such as WorldCom, Credit Suisse, Bloomberg and the British Crown Courts. Malcolm maintains an in depth understanding of the changing requirements of today’s clients.

Abul Ali

Operations Director, Middle East. Abul is a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a chartered PMP with more than 18 years’ experience in managing activities and developing major projects world-wide. He has a unique management skill that combines thorough technical know-how with that of assuming full leadership role in a complex mission critical environment. Abul has successfully delivered multi-million dollar data center design and construction projects with various power densities and tier levels including Greenfield, Brownfield construction or Co-location. He has spearheaded numerous national and international business development efforts  serving as the main solution architect and providing direct client facing activities. Abul is a strong think tank of mission critical project issues and a strategic planner who leads his teams with a clear focus on achieving or exceeding the stakeholders’ expectations. His diversified project portfolios include clients from financial institutions, education, broadcast and entertainment, refineries, steel mills and process plants.

Nihad (Nick) Akkad

Vice President, Middle East Business Development. Nihad has in depth experience in the design and construction markets with strong emphasis on the Middle-East region. Nihad has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Memphis in Tennessee and certificate master program in contract management and program management. His expertise includes business acquisition, team building, JV, and proposal development.
Nihad is a multilingual in Arabic, French and English. In addition, he has a great knowledge of the cultural and methods of doing business in the Middle East. Through his 26 years career, he has worked on numerous international opportunities and projects in the United States and the Middle East and built many strategic alliances with local talents and team partners.

Salim Afsar

Senior Engineering Manager. Salim has over 27 years of experience in the design build engineering industry, and over six years of experience in the field of Mission Critical facilities design. He is a certified Examiner for Engineering and Surveying and has a formal education in Electrical Engineering and Management. Salim is very familiar with design standards and industry trends, as has previously designed one of the largest data centers in the Middle East in addition to a multitude of projects within the US.

Joe Dones

Project Executive. Joe has over 25 years of experience in the construction industry, 12 of those years specific to Mission Critical Facility development, oversight and fast track implementation throughout both the East and West coast borders. His experience and hands on participation has facilitated national roll-outs for Teleglobe, Qwest, Enron, Verio, WinStar, Bank of Tokyo and Savvis. He’s held key positions with the multi-programming and build out of these aggressive facilities as East Coast Project Executive Director for Kajima International to Vice President of Operations for ST Tech M.C for Structure Tone. His experience and aggressive out of the box alternatives to keeping projects on schedule has been proven invaluable to the build-out and connectivity requirements of the Customers Business plan and goals.

Brian Fleury

Vice President, Project Supervisor. Brian is responsible for Site Supervision Services at Nova. He has over thirty years experience in the commercial construction business and over twenty-five years as a Union Affiliate. He is a licensed Building Sub Code Official and is also the Safety Coordinator for the company. He is always available to customers and inspects all of the construction sites on a regular basis. Brian also plays a vital role in Nova’s Health & Safety program and performs annual company-wide H&S meetings, as well as regular training seminars on project safety.