Nomad Futurist20 Jan 2025

Father-Son Duo Redefining Sustainability

The latest Nomad Futurist podcast, hosted by Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence, features the inspiring father-son duo of Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers, and Rob Lawson-Shanks, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Molg. Together, they explore the fascinating intersections of technology, sustainability, and intergenerational knowledge transfer within the data center industry.

Phil, a seasoned expert in the data center sector, introduced Rob to the industry at an early age, fostering his natural curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit:

"He's always been curious and interested, and I always encourage that. So from early, early on he had a real interest in videography – so we fostered that.”

This nurturing approach extended beyond simple exposure to technology. Phil involved Rob in practical, hands-on projects that combined technical expertise with entrepreneurship. These early experiences profoundly shaped Rob’s career, fueling his commitment to sustainability and circularity in the tech industry. Rob’s work with Molg today exemplifies this passion:

"We work on creating circularity in the world of electronics. We do that in two ways. We build robotic systems — what we call 'micro factories' — that disassemble end-of-life servers, laptops, and industrial electronics, redeploying critical assets into second, third, fourth, and fifth life applications."

Together, Phil and Rob stress the importance of understanding the tangible aspects of digital infrastructure, a perspective they attribute to firsthand experience. Rob’s dedication to sustainability has sparked innovative approaches to addressing the environmental challenges facing the tech industry. He encapsulates this forward-thinking vision:

"If we're only thinking in this linear 'take, make, waste' kind of process, we cannot build the infrastructure that we need to sustain the next level of compute without reusing more of what we have — and doing that without compromise. So, how do we bring the latest and greatest technology to be able to do that?”

This episode of Nomad Futurist highlights the incredible impact of experiential learning and intergenerational collaboration. By fostering curiosity and offering hands-on opportunities to the next generation, it demonstrates how innovation can be applied to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the technology industry today.

Connect with Phill and Rob Lawson-Shanks on LinkedIn to learn more.

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