Session 5: What’s Next: Scaling from Pilot to Platform

Mark is the president of Intermarket Properties.

Director of Strategic Development at FirstBlock.
Building next-generation AI data centers turning compute waste heat into clean energy for TENs, buildings, greenhouses, and industrial processes.

Cyre Mercedes Quiñones is the Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Masons (iMasons), the world’s leading nonprofit association of digital infrastructure executives. As CEO, Cyre leads the organization’s global mission to advance responsible, inclusive, and sustainable digital infrastructure—aligning industry leaders, communities, and policymakers to help shape the future of the digital economy with integrity and measurable impact.

A seasoned executive with more than 15 years of experience working with Fortune 500 organizations, Cyre is recognized for her ability to connect strategy to execution at scale. She has led global teams, overseen diverse business portfolios, and partnered with senior executives to define vision, set strategy, and deliver results. Her leadership style thrives in complexity, translating market challenges into opportunity and driving operational excellence across geographies and businesses.

Cyre’s perspective is both global and deeply human, grounded in creativity, empathy, and a steadfast commitment to equity and sustainability. Her leadership journey began far from corporate boardrooms. Born and raised in the Bronx by a single mother, she experienced firsthand the realities of poverty, instability, and resilience—experiences that shaped her belief that meaningful progress requires inclusion and that leadership is rooted in service.

Reconnecting with her father following his incarceration further inspired Cyre to rewrite her family’s narrative and mentor others seeking transformation through education and opportunity. That commitment led her to Syracuse University, where she graduated cum laude, becoming both a young mother and a college graduate—an achievement that continues to inform her advocacy for women and underrepresented leaders. She has since completed advanced leadership programs through McKinsey & Company, the Hispanics in Technology Emerging Executive Program, and INSEAD Business School.

In recognition of her impact, Cyre was named Data Center Dynamics’ 2023 Woman of the Year—the first woman to receive the honor. She has also been recognized by Mission Critical Magazine as one of the Top 25 Women in Technology, named one of Infrastructure Masons’ Top 100 Builders of the Digital Age, and selected twice as a Hispanics in Technology Executive Council Top 100 Hispanic in Tech.

From the Bronx to the boardroom, Cyre’s story reflects purpose-driven leadership. As CEO of iMasons, she continues to demonstrate that empathy, excellence, and inclusion are not separate from business success—they are the foundation of it.

Paul G. Zmick, PE
Director of Energy and Utilities
University of Virginia, Charlottesville

Paul Zmick currently leads the 120 FTE Energy and Utilities team for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville Virginia. Central utilities are provided for over 19 million square feet of facilities, including the University Medical Center. The Energy and Utilities team is responsible for energy procurement, generation, distribution, and operation, maintenance, and renewal of the utility infrastructure, with a strategic focus on safety, sustainability, and stewardship. Utilities provided include steam, heating water, cooling water, domestic water, sanitary, storm, 13kV power, and on-site renewables. 

Paul currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International District Energy Association and has been an active member in the organization for many years. Prior to UVA, Paul worked for DuPont and Koch Industries for a combined 22-years across five manufacturing sites in various engineering and leadership roles. While at DuPont, Paul was listed as inventor on two US Patents. Paul graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, and the University of Virginia with a Master of Systems Engineering; and is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia.