Meet the team – Chandler Swenson, VP of Construction and Real Estate

It’s time to meet another member of the stellar Novva team! While we spent some time in Sales earlier this year introducing you to Eric Morgan, this month, we are moving over to the real estate side of Novva with Vice President of Construction and Real Estate Chandler Swenson.

 

What does a typical day look like for you?

A typical morning for me consists of construction management meetings for ongoing projects. Once I’ve been able to touch base on projects in the works, I move over to the operations side of things, consulting with our data center operators to help address pain points that can be resolved through design and construction. In the latter part of the day, I’m usually working on designs for new and future build-outs. 

What is your favorite part of being on the Novva team?

Being able to pursue new solutions to old problems with the support of the entire organization. Our team is unique in that we are all actively working and supporting innovation across the entire organization. It’s a really special opportunity to be able to work with a group of like-minded people who are also chasing innovation and solutions. 

 

If you could trade roles with someone else at Novva for the day, who would it be and why?

I would have to say it would be fun to trade places with a command center technician. I’d love the chance to spend time working with customers while also hopefully doing some remote hands work and getting a chance to do detailed walk-throughs of all critical equipment.

 

What trend in the industry are you most excited about?

The scale of the buildings and critical systems; more specifically – the efficiencies that allows.

 

Outside of work, what’s something you’re passionate about?

Modding and building retro gaming systems. 

 

What would you be doing if you weren’t working in the data center/tech/telecom industry?

I’d like to be a comedy writer for television. In fact, I would write for  The Simpsons if I had my choice.

 

What is something that you think would surprise people to hear about you?

I love the golden age of radio and listen to old episodes of “Suspense,” “Tales of the Texas Rangers” and other old time radio dramas almost daily. 

 

What is the one thing you would bring with you to a desert island?

Without question – A Game Boy Color with plenty of batteries. As long as I’m entertained, I’m all set!

 

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“Sometimes you need to ask a baker.” In a world where so many people are chasing the title of “expert” or the ability to have all the answers all the time, sometimes the solution to a lot of problems is figuring out who to ask for help. Mathematicians spent more than a hundred years proving that a torus (or donut shape) couldn’t be mathematically morphed into a sphere, but any baker can (and without difficulty) take a donut and turn it into a ball of dough, so sometimes you need to ask a baker.

Connect with Chandler and the rest of the Novva team today.