Phillip Koblence

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, New York Internet (NYI)

Phillip Koblence is a strategic executive and thought leader in the data center and network space. He co-founded NYI (www.nyi.net) in 1996 and has grown the company from a single data center in Lower Manhattan to a robust network with executional capabilities in key national and international markets. His leadership, focus on customer experience, and ability to cut through complexity and hype, has positioned NYI as an industry leader in high-touch infrastructure and connectivity solutions.

As Co-Founder of the Nomad Futurist Foundation and related podcast, Phillip is committed to demystifying the world of critical infrastructure and empowering younger generations through exposure to the underlying technologies that power our digital world. He and Co-Founder Nabeel Mahmood are currently working to aggregate institutional knowledge of the industry and create educational initiatives for integration into existing STEAM curricula. As part of this mission, Nomad Futurist and Data Center Dynamics are partnering to cross-promote initiatives to help address the data center industry’s workforce challenges.

Phillip is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been profiled by Data Center Knowledge, TheWHIR, MSPMentor, and NJ BIZ. He serves on the DE-CIX North America Advisory Board and as Vice Chair of the OIX Board, and as an Advisor for Apolo, Ragu, and Cool Vector. Phillip also holds executive positions at Critical Ventures and United Integrity Advisors where he leverages his deep industry knowledge to assist companies with their digital infrastructure assets. Phillip is a Top 10 Data Center Influencer on LinkedIn and the recipient of numerous awards for industry leadership including the 2023 IM100 Infrastructure Masons Award, and the 2024 Good Scout Award. Phillip has an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania.