Susanna Kass is a computer scientist, familiar with and excelling at a fast-paced realm as a CxO working in cloud, AI, data center infrastructure, and in her research roles for over 32 years. She led internet startups from the ground up to $Billions in revenue across 17 countries, and had held global executive management roles in Fortune 100 Enterprise organizations; Her experience is extensive to collaborate with the leading Cloud providers, Enterprise executives, AI scientists and the academia researchers on Net Zero designs.
Susanna is exemplary in leading design, build and operation of data centers; and scaling business critical systems infrastructure; using clean energy reliably to process, distribute, correlate, analyze massive volumes of data generated by business units across geographical locations to reach their Corporate sustainability targets; aim for business impact for planet, people and profitability.
Susanna recently won an award, and is ranked 1st of the Top 10 Sustainability Leaders Award by Data Centre Magazine. She was recognized for her exemplary results in the past decades; of her collaboration with her clients to develop the Carbon Neutrality pledges, and on the environmental business impact of her data center and utility clients net zero projects. Susanna believes that CxO are climate change pioneers as well as business leaders who have the acumen to lead organizations to deliver triple bottom line results;
simultaneously paving the way for future generations as they nurture the company’s ability to innovate. Susanna worked with her clients by embracing ESG design thinking methodology on product and service innovation, act concisely based on data driven and machine learning (ML) intelligence; tying it all together to operate efficiently, to integrate effectively, to absorb and adapt external forces; regulatory, compliance, geo-political, and climate change issues.
Susanna stated the pace of change in organizations is massively accelerated by the rate of innovation through Artificial Intelligence (AI). The traditional perspective that data is a byproduct of operations, accessed only to data scientists is insufficient; data is now regarded as the leading driver of business value. The recognition of each CIO acknowledges the impact and rate of innovation of AI far exceed any top data priorities for the past years; including cloud platforms, data management, data analytics; AI and machine learning (ML) have expanded the use for all types of data; unstructured and streaming in massive volumes.
Susanna Kass: Leading the Charge toward a Net Zero Carbon-Free World
In the quest to minimize climate change’s impact and avert global warming’s most dire consequences, achieving a net zero-carbon future is imperative. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has underscored the significance of reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions around mid-century to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
This ambitious endeavor calls for transformative changes in how we produce and consume energy, eliminate emission, reduce resources consumption and create new value from waste; hence necessitating a shift away from fossil fuels, embracing clean energy alternatives such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear power, and adopting clean fuels like hydrogen.
Against this backdrop, visionary leaders like Susanna Kass, the Co-founder of InfraPrime, are at the forefront, driving the charge towards a net zero carbon free future. In a world often dominated by profit-driven motives, Kass’s distinct approach embodies a new breed of authentic leadership that champions clean energy and acts as an influential energy ethics ambassador. Her determination to transform companies focusing on people, the planet, and profit sets a powerful example for those who will follow.
Kass is a beacon of inspiration for women leaders today. Her commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility has earned her a well-deserved reputation as one of our time’s most inspiring women leaders. Her authentic leadership style reshapes the clean energy landscape and guides InfraPrime as a pioneering innovator in the net zero movement.
For the Co-founders, Kass and Dr. Alberto Ravagni, the motivation behind InfraPrime lies in the alignment of their values with those of their clients, partners and teams. With a shared focus on people, the planet, and the environment, they use their creativity to innovate and expert knowledge to develop net zero designs, focus to solve real-world business problems and technology infrastructure challenges that are at the intersections of multiple industries namely; cloud, energy, and the electric grid. Their mission is to make a significant impact to the expected growth of $3Trillion AI and $800Billion Cloud Computing markets, accelerating their clients to meet the Carbon Neutrality pledges by 2030.
Sustainable Data Center Innovator
Kass is a distinguished figure in the data center industry, known for her passion and impact results in resiliency, performance sustainability, clean energy solutions throughout the circularity data center lifecycle. As an Energy Fellow at Stanford University and a researcher contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), Clean Energy for America (CE4A), she demonstrates a holistic understanding of setting science-based targets in her net-zero practices to make an impact on urban mega infrastructure.
With an impressive career spanning over three decades, Kass has held Chief Operating, Executive Vice President, Chief Sustainability and General Management data center business management roles in startup companies and Fortune 100 organizations like eBay, Sun Microsystems, HP, NextEra Energy, Baselayer Inc. to serve clients including Google, Apple, AWS, Meta Facebook, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and Akamai, managed global data centers and 7000+ people teams across 17 countries. Her passion for sustainability and innovation has led her to 3.8 Gigawatt Clean Energy Data Center projects using renewable energy.
Kass’s journey as a sustainability pioneer is highlighted by her strategic roles in various organizations and her dedication to achieving net-zero goals. She has become a leading advocate for sustainable practices in the data center industry with new patents and multiple Top 10 and Most Admired Women and Mother awards accolades. Kass’s career has been marked by her leadership roles in major companies like eBay, HP, Sun Microsystems, NextEra, and Baselayer.
As the COO of International Operations for eBay and General Manager at Hewlett Packard and executive roles at NextEra Energy, Baselayer, Sun Microsystems, she honed her expertise in customer-centric approaches to scale business growth, managing massive data volumes, hyperscale data centers across 17 countries with distributed people culture. She has extensive, software programming, AI/ML experience to drive design thinking products and services and led teams to operate meta-scale data centers across 17 countries for over 30 years has allowed her to develop Net Zero design, site selection, build, operation including decommissioning by meeting Sustainability targets throughout the data center lifecycle.
Pioneers of Net Zero Design Thinking
Established in 2019, InfraPrime aims to achieve zero carbon, zero emission, zero dirty fuel, zero water, and zero waste for Data Center clients. The co-inventors, Kass and Dr. Alberto independently supported global clients such as Microsoft dating back to 2007. With their innovative designs, InfraPrime has garnered recognition through Innovation and Clean Energy awards for their clients.
The company’s products and services are pivotal in enabling countless organizations to achieve carbon neutrality goals. The company’s primary focus is helping clients achieve this pledge by 2028-30 through its decarbonization services, Clean Energy Infrastructure Fund, Net Zero PowerShell products, and Emission Reuse Circularity Network Systems.
Authentic Leadership for Innovation
Kass is known for her authentic approach to management. She prioritizes people and fosters a culture of respect and transparency among the team, which consists of external partners and advisors with deep industry connections. Kass and Dr. Alberto Ravagni focus on de-risking opportunities and refining the company’s vision for impactful results.
At InfraPrime, decisions are rooted in sound science and data-driven insights, with the highest ethical standards for accountability. Kass’s background from Hong Kong and Dr. Alberto’s Italian roots bring diverse perspectives to the leadership, creating a rich tapestry of experiences. While Dr. Alberto runs the organization as Managing Director, Kass, as a Board of Directors member, co-creates a culture that values authenticity and honesty.
InfraPrime’s human-centric approach treats clients as individuals, not just product users. The company aims to hear and understand each client’s unique needs, resulting in innovative and relevant solutions. By embracing authenticity and encouraging creativity, Kass has established InfraPrime as a trailblazer in the clean energy sector, fostering a sustainable future through collaboration and forward-thinking practices.
Inspiring the Next Generation
In addition to her extensive work in the industry, Kass actively participates in academia to inspire and educate the next generation of data center sustainability leaders. As an Energy Fellow at Stanford University and a Charles Rudd Distinguished Lecturer, Kass collaborates with Masters Students in various engineering disciplines. She instills in them a comprehensive understanding of metastructures and fosters sustainability-driven projects that promote clean energy solutions and net-zero outcomes.
Through her mentorship and thought leadership, she empowers the next generation to embrace sustainability challenges and drive innovation in the data center industry. Kass is a Chair for BroadGroup Talent in Tech Initiative, an educational gateway to transform the next generation of the Data Center industry to welcome young talent using their literacy to collectively drive sustainable change for the data center industry.
Within Stanford University, Cornell University, National University of Singapore, International Institute of Engineers (IED), Kass also contributes as a Climate Change Researcher for Doerr School of Sustainability, and as a guest lecturer in the Urban Sustainable Systems Design. Kass gave thought-provoking lectures to enrich the academic environment and encourage students to pursue sustainable AI solutions for urban environment designs.
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
Kass is a dedicated clean energy strategist who leads by influence and exemplifies a purpose aligned with her passion. Her work revolves around making a difference and leaving a lasting legacy in pursuing a sustainable future. Using her research acumen, strategic planning skills, and patient approach, Kass actively engages with cloud computing builders, data center operators, and renewable energy developers worldwide.
Her commitment to diversity and inclusion sets her apart, which she considers a habitual best practice in every aspect of her work. With a profound understanding of the value of inclusivity, Kass relates to each individual she encounters without prejudice. This approach fosters meaningful connections that inspire and motivate others to embrace diversity in their thinking and practices. She positively impacts her team and the larger clean energy community by encouraging a collaborative and inclusive environment.
One of InfraPrime’s groundbreaking products, which Kass has played a vital role in driving the adoption of harnesses the massive volume of heat waste from data centers to provide district heating and cooling to the communities for societal, environmental and cost savings benefits, By utilizing CO2 as a thermal carrier, this innovation benefits InfraPrime’s data center clients with efficient cooling and heating solutions to their communities, contributes to sustainability by reducing environmental emissions. These advancements have a direct social benefit, particularly in communities with access to cost-effective cooling and heating without the need of costly electricity bills.
Kass’s primary ambition is nothing short of transformative. Her vision is to make the electric grid green, eliminate millions of tons of emissions, and foster maximum economic savings for people and businesses in a carbon-free future. She advocates for Carbon Neutral Supplier Responsibility for data centers, driving the industry towards a future that prioritizes zero emission for building and construction, adopting embodied carbon materials that can act as carbon storage during the operations.
Kass’s approach to supply chain sustainability and her emphasis on decarbonization of suppliers’ value chain may seem impossible, but she is determined to innovate to make an impact. InfraPrime is leading a pipeline of 10+ Gigawatt of Renewable Energy projects accessible to Data Centers and their suppliers. This can result in hundred millions of tonnes of emissions avoidance for data centers’ suppliers, making a climate transformative change and set the bar for GreenESG standards for scope 3 decarbonization.
Looking Beyond
Kass envisions a fundamental transformation for investors, where climate risk becomes a critical consideration for corporate sustainability professionals and SEC disclosure. To address this challenge, InfraPrime has partnered with IHI, a Climate Investment venture focusing on South East countries and Mainland China. The collaboration aims to provide direct access to Gigawatt scale renewable energy projects that offer a guaranteed rate of return, enabling Data Centers asset owners and their suppliers to achieve carbon neutrality and 24/7 carbon free energy.
Kass’s leadership approach centers on seizing each moment to drive meaningful change—a philosophy shared with Stanford University GSB Women, where she holds a prominent role as a member of the GMB board Women’s Circle Growth and Ops. In this capacity, she leads impact, analysis, and reporting, furthering her commitment to empowering women professionals.
Guided by Faith and Family
Beyond her professional achievements, Kass believes in connecting with her inner calling and staying grounded in facing challenges and setbacks. Her strong faith and practice of equanimity fuel her resilience and determination to overcome obstacles. Dr. Alberto Ravagni is a devoted parent to his two children, Isabel and Alex Ravagni who are diligent students preparing for their higher education journey. Kass draws inspiration from her two daughters’ character and dedication to becoming global citizens committed to positively impacting future generations.
Her daughters, Bronte and Elle Kass, are accomplished individuals who have completed their bachelor’s degrees and are now serving as a Foreign Service Officer and actively working in neuroscience research.
Kass’s gratitude extends to Mother Nature, and she strives to harmonize her life with sustainable practices. As a clean energy strategist, she advocates for environmentally friendly approaches that drive change within the industry and inspire others to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.
Kass quote
“The Cleanest Data Center and Infrastructure is not powered by wind, solar, or hydro energy, it is one we do NOT need to build and use AI”, said Susanna Kass, The current era of Artificial Intelligence shall disrupt human-led Digital Transformation, we become the guards for future generations that come behind us so they too can make the same choice as we do today.”
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