CREtech New York Announces John Hawkins, Global Real Estate Data Center Lead, IBM, as Main Stage Speaker

New York, NY — May 12, 2026 — CREtech New York, the largest real estate AI and innovation conference and the flagship event of NYC Real Estate Week, has announced John Hawkins, Global Real Estate Data Center Lead at IBM, as a featured Main Stage speaker for its 2026 edition at the Javits Center taking place October 20–21, 2026.

Hawkins brings more than 18 years of experience in global real estate and data center operations, leading real estate strategy for IBM’s cloud infrastructure across a portfolio of more than 100 sites in 40 countries. In his role, Hawkins helps drive the performance, availability, security, and expansion of IBM’s global cloud services, working across markets, regions, landlords, vendors, and internal stakeholders to support the company’s long-term infrastructure growth.

With expert-level knowledge of data center design, architecture, and logistics, Hawkins has played a key role in identifying, acquiring, and expanding IBM’s presence in critical markets around the world. Throughout his career, he has completed more than $3 billion in lease transactions, delivering significant cost savings and value creation while supporting one of the world’s most complex global cloud real estate portfolios.

Session Details:

• Title: The State of the Data Center Marketplace
• Date: October 21, 2026 at 9:10 AM
• Location: Main Stage at CREtech New York

Hawkins will join Matt Landek, Global Division President, Data Centers and Critical Environments at JLL, and Patrick Lynch, Executive Managing Director and Global Lead at CBRE, for a Main Stage discussion on the forces reshaping the global data center marketplace.

As AI adoption, cloud computing, and enterprise digital transformation accelerate, data centers have become one of the most important and complex asset classes in commercial real estate. This session will explore the market forces driving demand, the infrastructure constraints shaping development, and the operational and investment strategies required to meet the next wave of growth.

The conversation will offer a ground-level view of where the data center market stands today, including:

• Power demand, grid constraints, and energy infrastructure
• Hyperscaler, enterprise, and cloud infrastructure growth
• Global site selection and market expansion strategies
• Capital flows and investment activity in critical environments
• Operational complexity across large-scale data center portfolios
• Leasing dynamics, landlord negotiations, and portfolio optimization
• The role of AI in accelerating demand for digital infrastructure

CREtech New York’s 2026 program will feature a deep focus on the data center economy, one of the defining sectors at the intersection of commercial real estate, AI, energy, infrastructure, and global technology growth.

CREtech New York brings together thousands of C-suite executives, investors, developers, brokers, occupiers, and technology leaders for two days of forward-looking content and the largest meetings program in real estate. The event’s structured, high-value meetings program is designed to connect decision-makers with solution providers in curated, ROI-driven conversations that move business forward.

John Hawkins’ global perspective from IBM will add a critical occupier and enterprise infrastructure lens to one of the most important conversations taking place across the built world today.

Lock in your ticket now.

For sponsorship inquiries, contact: TJ Murphy – Sales Director – tj@cretech.com

About CREtech:
CREtech is the leading events, research, and content platform focused on innovation in the built world, connecting the world’s largest real estate owners, operators, developers, investors, and technology leaders shaping the future of commercial real estate.