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A Team That Builds with Vision — and Delivers with Certainty.

Builds with Vision Delivers with Certainty.

We’re seasoned real estate professionals, engineers, and mission-critical operators with decades of experience in developing hyperscale, AI-ready, and cloud-optimized infrastructure. At Iron City Data, we don’t just build data centers — we build trust.

Iron City Data was founded with a singular goal: to redefine how critical infrastructure is delivered. By combining deep technical expertise with strong values and a customer-first approach, we’ve created a culture where speed, scale, and integrity coexist. From site acquisition to delivery and ongoing operations, our team is committed to providing infrastructure that’s reliable, resilient, and ready for what’s next.

Our Philosophy
Integrity. Accountability. Transparency. Purpose.

These aren’t just principles we believe in — they’re the foundation of every decision we make. Our leadership team is made up of professionals who understand what it takes to deliver on large-scale, high-impact projects — and who never lose sight of the values that matter most.

What guides us

Customer-First Mindset

Every project starts by understanding your goals — and delivering solutions that help you get there, faster.

Radical Transparency

We lead with clear communication, honesty, and zero hidden agendas. What you see is what you get.

Accountability at Every Level

We stand behind every decision and deliver results that last — because trust is built through action.

Family. Faith. Community

These values shape how we lead, how we build, and how we treat people — inside and outside our company.

Meet Our Leadership Team

Mission-Critical Leaders for 25 Years

ROCHELLE JAMES

Chief Executive Officer

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CRAIG KURTZHAL

Chief Technology Officer

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LUKE DEMO

Construction Manager & Risk Mitigation

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CHRISTOF HAMMERLI

Senior Advisor, Customer Acquisitions & Financing

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Leadership Snapshot

Mission-Critical Leadership. 25+ Years of Experience.

Our team has successfully developed and operated large-scale campuses across the country for some of the world’s most demanding users. From hyperscale builds to AI-ready deployments, our leadership brings the expertise, clarity, and operational discipline needed to execute with speed and confidence.

Meet the Leadership Team

We’re Ready When You Are.

Whether you need to deploy 75MW or 300MW+, Iron City Data is built to deliver fast — and with certainty.

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ROCHELLE JAMES

Chief Executive Officer

Rochelle A. James is Chief Executive Officer of Iron City Data and Violet Micro, where she provides strategic leadership and governance oversight for two organizations at the forefront of climate-aligned digital infrastructure. She works closely with her Board of Directors to ensure fiduciary responsibility, long-term value creation, and operational alignment with the Company’s mission.

With a strong background in sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and the design and deployment of green frameworks, Rochelle has built her career at the intersection of digital infrastructure and environmental stewardship. At Iron City Data, she directs strategy for the transformation of brownfield and industrial sites into high-performance, net-zero data centers that integrate renewable energy systems and function as ecological restoration nodes. At Violet Micro, she oversees the deployment of modular, solar-powered micro data centers across underserved U.S. and global communities, expanding connectivity while supporting workforce development, women-led enterprises, and regenerative land use.

Previously, Rochelle supported the development of hyperscale projects serving CoreWeave, Inflection AI, and Microsoft, and advised both governments and private industry on green-aligned infrastructure initiatives.

Rochelle holds a Juris Doctor (in progress) from Lewis & Clark Law School, a Master of Environmental Management, and dual undergraduate degrees in Science and Business Management from The University of Queensland, Australia.

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CRAIG KURTZHAL

Chief Technology Officer

Craig Kurtzhals is Chief Technology Officer at Iron City Data, bringing over 25 years of expertise in mission-critical data center design, engineering, and construction.

He previously served in the same role for a major Al Hyperscale Data Center firm supporting Coreweave, Inflection Al, and Microsoft. There, he led more than 150 electrical engineers to deliver a fast-tracked build through successful commissioning. Craig also helped design a natural gas microgrid solution for on-site power at large-scale Al data centers.

A licensed Professional Engineer in several states, he holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Penn State and has driven innovation in data center infrastructure since the start of his career. His journey began with the design of an EMP-hardened government data center built into a mountain-a high-security, high-impact project that launched his focus on resilient infrastructure. He went on to design facilities for top-tier financial institutions including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Vanguard.

During the dot-com boom, Craig played a key role in developing Northern Virginia’s data center market. As a consultant to Google, he led the design of large-scale campuses and contributed to cutting-edge R&D, later channeling this expertise into microgrid projects tailored to data center needs.

At Iron City Data, Craig leads the engineering strategy for hyperscale digital infrastructure, combining deep technical acumen with a focus on energy innovation and mission-critical performance.

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DAVE L. CAROSONE

Controller

David L. Carosone is Controller for Iron City Data, where he oversees financial operations, internal controls, and compliance. He brings more than two decades of diversified experience in real estate accounting, financial systems design, and risk management to ensure scalable and transparent financial frameworks for the Iron City Group of Companies. 

Prior to Iron City Data, David served as Chief Financial Officer for both Sun Associates, Inc., an investment banking firm with a focus on technology sector clients, and FinMed Corp., a healthcare technology startup, where he built financial infrastructures from the ground up and managed multi-round funding initiatives. He also held leadership roles at Hytorc Penn-Ohio Sales, Atlantis Financial Services, and McKesson Corp., where he specialized in process automation, credit analysis, and real estate accounting. 

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Accounting, Economics minor) from Pennsylvania State University. He is a Certified Credit Consultant with advanced certification in QuickBooks Enterprise and has authored proprietary financial software solutions for the equipment leasing industry. With expertise spanning data center financial modeling, real estate acquisitions, ESG reporting, and internal controls, David brings a rigorous, technology-driven approach to his role as Controller for Iron City Data. 

 

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CHRISTOF HAMMERLI

Senior Advisor, Commercial Specialist

Christof brings over 25 years of data center C-Suite experience in strategic acquisitions, corporate development, finance, and risk management. He has project managed and/or acquired over 100 data centers.

Prior to joining Iron City Data, Christof was the Senior Managing Director of Cloud Capital and CloudHQ and he was a senior member of the investment committee. In this role, Christof worked closely with the seven largest data center customers including Meta, Microsoft and AWS.

In an earlier role, Christof led the Digital Infrastructure Division at Landmark Dividend as its EVP and Founder of the division. Under his leadership, the company acquired -$1.5B of data center assets. Christof was responsible for sourcing, negotiating, and closing of the acquisitions with continued responsibility for asset, property management and leasing. Landmark Dividend is a subsidiary of DigitalBridge. Before Landmark Dividend, Christof was Chief Acquisitions Officer at Carter Validus, where he was responsible for sourcing, negotiating, structuring, and closing acquisitions for the company. During his tenure, he oversaw the acquisition of ~$4B worth of mission critical real estate assets for this highly-regarded Data Center REIT.

Previously, Christof was Director of Corporate Development for Equinix, Inc. where he was responsible for coordinating both organic and inorganic growth initiatives in Europe. Christof also worked at MetLife and Credit Suisse based in the U.S and Switzerland.
Christof received a B.Sc. from the University of Tampa and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business.

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