Expertise in the Cloud from every angle to deliver the best CloudFest possible.
As a vendor-independent event, CloudFest is committed to creating a space for the best ideas to rise to the surface, and for industry-changing partnerships to form. The passion, imagination, and energy of each and every member of the CloudFest community is the fuel, and our job is to create just the right sparks.
Meet the CloudFest Advisory Board
So we’re proud to introduce the first six members of the CloudFest Advisory Board, a panel of game-changing experts who are guiding us in exploring the most exciting innovations and pressing issues that shape the evolving Cloud.
You can expect this roster to grow, as we’re dedicated to exploring the Cloud from every possible angle.
Matt(hew) Russell
Chief Cloud Officer at Namecheap, Inc
Matt spent the last 15 years as CCO at Namecheap after co-founding Namecheap Hosting and is currently on a long hiatus. He joined the industry as a teenager over 20 years ago, and consequently cloud and hosting is something very close to his heart. He joins the CloudFest advisory board to keep connected with an industry he is very passionate about.
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Experienced entrepreneur passionate about Cloud, WordPress, Hosting and more.
I setup my first hosting business while still at high school, aged 15. For the past 18 years I have lived, breathed and slept all things domains, hosting, cloud and WordPress. I co-founded the hosting arm of Namecheap and currently lead our cloud strategy and products.
Philbert Shih
Founder and Managing Director of Structure Research
Philbert Shih is the Founder and Managing Director of Structure Research – an independent Toronto and Singapore-based research and consulting firm devoted to the cloud and data centre infrastructure services markets with a specialization in the hyperscale value chain. Mr. Shih has covered the infrastructure services space for over 20 years.
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Specialties: Industry-based research, market analysis, market sizing, strategic consulting, advisory services, public speaking.
Managing Director and Founder of Structure Research, an independent research firm focused on the cloud, hosting and data centre infrastructure service provider markets. Structure Research is squarely focused on the SMB to mid-tier segments with an emphasis on international markets, particularly the Asia-pacific region. Services include publication of syndicated and customized research and analysis, strategic consulting, advisory services and public speaking. Clients include service providers, technology vendors supplying service providers and investors.
Rainer Straeter
SVP Cloud Services and Global Platform Hosting at IONOS
With more than 10 years of experience in the development of cloud platforms as well as domain and hosting services, Rainer drives innovation in digital ecosystems, coordinates funding projects, and supports Gaia-X as a member of the Gaia-X technical committee.
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IONOS SVP Cloud Services and Global Platform Hosting
English ✔️ » French ✔️ » Spanish ✔️
Driving the core business platform as well as GAIA-X including development of dataspaces and related technologies (IDS)
Juergen Domnik
EMEA Cloud Service Provider Program Director at Dell Technologies
Juergen Domnik is the head of Dell’s Cloud Service Provider Program in EMEA. For over 25 years he has built a reputation for helping legacy and Cloud-native companies raise their game in an increasingly competitive field. Juergen brings a unique blend of xSP and Cloud market insights, as well as a love for building new business models to help drive innovation in tomorrow’s Cloud.
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English ✔️ » German ✔️
The IT industry is constantly changing and with that, companies playing in this market need to permanently adopt and change their business model and go to market.
I am highly interested in business transformation, always looking for new opportunities to explore and to help people and companies become or stay relevant in this industry. I see change as a challenge and opportunity, rather than a risk or threat, although I do acknowledge that change creates uncertainty and fear. I firmly believe that by properly communicating and anticipating a transformation can be managed successfully and benefit all parties, customers, team members and company.
Supporting Cloud Service Providers in EMEA to get the best out of Dell Technologies
I am very proud to be working with our Dell Technologies Channel Sales Team in EMEA, supporting Cloud Service Providers of all sizes and kind. Our mission is to ensure our customers and partners are enabled and leverage the Dell Technologies portfolio in the best possible way.
Jochem Wesling
Managing Director Accenture Strategy & Consulting
Jochem is a leader in the CEO & Enterprise Strategy space and is helping executives and entrepreneurs with managing their increasingly challenging and complex transformation agendas.
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Dutch ✔️ » English ✔️ » French ✔️ » German ✔️ » Spanish ✔️
I help multinational clients with their global and large-scale digital transformation programs, introducing the strategies, environments, ways of working, technologies and corresponding operating models for rotating to and leading in the new.
In times like today it becomes even more important to assure the impact of these transformational agendas – especially concerning the relevance regarding value creation for the core business, a corresponding investment portfolio, and the consistency of the digital, IT and corporate strategy.
Digital transformation must not be an end in itself but must serve the creation of new market opportunities, future growth, efficiency increase, higher customer and employee satisfaction and must meet the requirements of social and technological change and progress.
CEOs take the lead on this full corporate wide transformation strategy and we as strategy consulting partner transition our services towards an advocated-consulting approach, becoming a trusted sparring partner for the long run instead of the in-and-out safeguard during times of crisis.
In the past 20 years I was fortunate to support many clients establishing market leading interactive and digital product- and service portfolios that led to expected impactful and value adding outcomes. Today, in my role at Accenture Strategy, I am able to support my clients with the world’s best team and services portfolio, serving all aspects of the full corporate digitization and transformation agenda and the continuous need for measurable, value adding, and experience led change.
If you are interested in exploring more about our offering, consulting approach and the impact-potential this has for your business, or if you have a speaking engagement to discuss, please get in touch.
Soeren von Varchmin
Chairman of the Advisory Board CloudFest
For Soeren, keeping his head in the clouds makes great business sense, as he helps countless industry leaders achieve their goals. As Chairman of the CloudFest Advisory Board, Soeren uses his deep internet infrastructure expertise to create game-changing event experiences. An industry rock star, Soeren is also an actual rock star as the guitarist for the Lords of Uptime.
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Chairman Of The Supervisory Board at CloudFest and NamesCon
Specialties: In-depth knowledge about worldwide Domain-, Cloud- and Internet Infrastructure Markets. Thousands of C-level contacts in this area.
English ✔️ » German ✔️
Business Angel, Investor and Advisor to various Internet- and Cloud Companies.
Proven Experts
Our first five advisors are proven experts in governance and policy, research and market analysis, and business modeling in the Cloud – with track records in guiding both legacy and Cloud-native companies towards brighter futures.
From Europe to the Americas to Asia, they have had a hand in shaping how we use and understand the Cloud for decades. Now each is bringing their individual expertise together in a collective, at the service of the CloudFest community.
Guiding the Advisory Board
Guiding the Advisory Board as its Chairman Soeren von Varchmin, whose expertise in advising business leaders has helped numerous companies break through boundaries of all kinds.
In assembling this brain trust, we’re not only exploring the best ideas to share, but how best to share them in a kinetic, varied environment such as CloudFest. This also means tapping into the insights of the thousands-strong CloudFest community in all the right ways.
3 Themes for CloudFest 2022
Our three themes for CloudFest 2022 are
The Intelligent Edge explores the best ways to connect, secure, and streamline Edge services to the hypervisor-based cloud hosting experience – and monetize those efforts as efficiently as possible.
Our New Digital World, serves as a diagnostic of the digitization of our world and its infrastructure – and what changes are yet to come.
The Sustainable Cloud will examine the innovations that will help us overcome the environmental challenges faced by the internet infrastructure industry so growth can continue, even helping your cost structure and the planet along the way.
These open the door for a rush of new ideas, and together we’ll be ready to examine them in an actionable way. As we emerge from the pandemic together, get ready for an event that will reaffirm everything you love about this festival, while opening your mind to new ways of thinking and connecting.
CloudFest takes place March 22-24 as we take over Europa-Park to learn, connect, and celebrate. Use this link to score a free Standard Pass, and keep your ear to the ground (and your eyes on our newsletter and social media) as we begin to reveal the agenda.
Oh, and we like to live on the edge, but not when it comes to health and safety: we’re introducing a range of new measures in diligent compliance with the Covid rules that will come into effect in March 2022. See our CloudFest FAQ for News Update.
We can’t wait to see you at Europa-Park!
REGISTER NOW for the BEST CLOUD FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD