According to DCD, Steve Altizer, President and CEO of Compu Dynamics, brings nearly four decades of experience building sophisticated government and commercial facilities. Altizer founded the Andrew Browning Group in 2002, which later became Compu Dynamics, following senior executive roles with nationally ranked general and mechanical contractors. His career focus shifted exclusively to data centers 25 years ago, spanning projects ranging from 20kW to over 100MW in scale. Altizer holds both a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Virginia, combining technical and business expertise that has positioned him as a thought leader in modern building environments. This background reveals important patterns in data center leadership evolution.
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The Mechanical Engineering Foundation
The mechanical engineering background that Altizer brings to his role as Chief Executive Officer represents a critical but often overlooked aspect of data center leadership. Unlike software or networking-focused executives, mechanical engineers understand the fundamental physics of heat transfer, airflow dynamics, and power distribution that determine data center efficiency and reliability. This expertise becomes increasingly valuable as power densities escalate and cooling challenges grow more complex. The industry’s shift toward liquid cooling and advanced thermal management requires leaders who grasp both the theoretical principles and practical implementation challenges that mechanical engineers inherently understand.
The Significance of Dual Education
Altizer’s combination of a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia represents an ideal educational foundation for modern infrastructure leadership. The technical degree provides understanding of the physical constraints and engineering principles governing data center operations, while the MBA delivers the financial acumen and strategic thinking necessary for business growth and competitive positioning. This dual expertise becomes particularly valuable when making capital investment decisions involving millions of dollars in infrastructure that must balance reliability, efficiency, and return on investment across multi-decade lifespans.
Implications of Scale Evolution
The progression from 20kW to over 100MW facilities that Altizer has overseen reflects the broader industry transformation in what constitutes a data center. A 20kW facility might represent a single server room or small colocation space, while 100MW represents hyperscale infrastructure capable of powering entire digital ecosystems. This thousand-fold scale increase introduces completely different operational challenges, from supply chain management and utility coordination to staffing models and risk mitigation strategies. Leaders who have navigated this entire spectrum possess unique perspective on how operational priorities shift at different scales and which management approaches remain consistent versus which must fundamentally change.
The Industry Leadership Transition
The data center industry is experiencing a significant leadership transition from facilities management backgrounds toward more integrated technical and business expertise. Early data centers were often managed by IT professionals who understood servers but lacked deep facilities knowledge, or facilities managers who understood power and cooling but lacked IT context. Modern leaders like Altizer represent a synthesis of these domains, combining mechanical systems expertise with business strategy and an understanding of the computing workloads these facilities support. This integrated approach becomes essential as data centers evolve from simple hosting environments to strategic assets driving digital transformation.
Future Leadership Requirements
Looking forward, data center leadership will require even broader expertise encompassing sustainability, regulatory compliance, and emerging technologies. The next generation of leaders will need to navigate carbon accounting, water usage effectiveness, artificial intelligence workload demands, and increasingly complex regulatory environments across multiple jurisdictions. They’ll also need to manage hybrid physical-digital infrastructure as edge computing, cloud integration, and distributed architectures redefine what constitutes a data center. The career trajectory exemplified by Altizer suggests that future leaders will likely need even more diverse backgrounds spanning environmental science, data analytics, and international business alongside traditional engineering and management disciplines.
