Data Foundry Celebrates the Grand Opening of Houston 2

Oct 30, 2015

We hosted the Grand Opening Celebration of the premier Houston 2 Data Center and enjoyed a spectacular response from our customers, partners and local leaders. More than two hundred attendees shared in the festivities and toured the beautifully designed facility to see firsthand all of its unique customer amenities. The event was held on the lovely tree-lined 18-acre campus that Data Foundry owns.

Data Foundry was honored to have an impressive lineup of distinguished speakers, which included: US Olympian Carl Lewis, Representative Senfronia Thompson and Representative Sylvester Turner.

Distinguished Speaker – Representative Sylvester Turner

Representative Sylvester Turner acknowledged the long-time Houstonians Carolyn and Ronald Yokubaitis, Co-Ceo’s of Data Foundry and the major investment they’ve made in the Greenspoint area, as the owners/operators. He appropriately announced that Houston 2 is “wide open for business” just like the theme of Texas’ Economic Development Corp, which encourages businesses from outside of Texas to make investments in our state. Data Foundry is benefiting from the influx of California companies and others who are recognizing the special tax incentives for relocation to Texas. Chairman Turner added, “I have been a long-time advocate for ‘customer choice’ and expanding Broadband Access in Houston and all of Texas. Data Foundry is a carrier neutral facility, which provides their customers a choice of 10+ network carriers. Their commitment to keep the Internet open and free is good for all of us.”

Distinguished Speaker – Representative Senfronia Thompson

Representative Senfronia Thompson was excited Data Foundry selected her District 141 to be the home for Houston 2 Data Center. She explained to the guests that there is dense network fiber in this area, which is drawing more and more technology companies to the Greenspoint Business District. “Just look behind me,” stated the Chairwoman. “This 350,000 SQ. FT. data center is filling up quickly with major companies who have interdependencies with their business operations and data center functions.” She continued, “I foresee my district being called “Houston’s Technology Corridor, since tech companies like Data Foundry are being drawn to this fiber-rich area.”

Keynote Speaker – Multi-Sport Olympian Carl Lewis

US Olympian Carl Lewis – one of the greatest athletes of our time shared his winning spirit with a motivational keynote address. Carl talked about the support the support that University of Houston, and their alumnus have provided to him since his freshman year to today. He joked about some likeness to Data Foundry Co-CEO Ronald Yokubaitis, who is an alumnus of U of H. Both men share a mutual camaraderie.

Several of the Data Foundry executives engaged with the audience by sharing stories about the Company’s history, and they also acknowledged the large turnout of local leaders in the audience. The event was wrapped up by Carolyn and Ronald Yokubaitis and they extended their appreciation to all those who had worked on the overall Houston 2 design and construction project. Both said that their commitment to premium customer service has been the driver to their success in the tech businesses, including the rapid growth of Data Foundry.

To finish off this special day – Data Foundry hosted the game-day takeover at University of Houston. Employees and others were treated to a private tailgate party and football game in the evening at the TDECU stadium.

More images of the celebration:

Carolyn Yokubaitis, Co-CEO and Founder of Data Foundry

Ronald Yokubaitis, Co-CEO and Founder of Data Foundry

Andy MacFarlane- Director of Gov. Affairs, Edward Henigin – CTO, Representative Senfronia Thompson,
US Olympian Carl Lewis, Carolyn and Ronald Yokubaitis, Co-CEO’s