POSITION Chief Financial Officer
REPORTS TO Robert Pfleging, CEO
DATE November 2022
WEBSITE https://nautilusdt.com/
SEARCH CONTACT Andy Lane @ CFS Partners
M  +1 414 807 4085
andy@criticalfacility.com

NAUTILUS DATA TECHNOLOGIES OVERVIEW

Nautilus Data Technologies created the world’s most environmentally innovative water-cooled data center infrastructure to unleash compute in the most cost effective, sustainable way possible. Nautilus’ technology allows customers to handle their mission-critical IT needs today and be insured for growth in the future. Nautilus is committed to setting new and higher standards for performance, efficiency, sustainability, and global scalability.

Nautilus Data Technologies is a global pioneer in data center technology, leading a fundamental shift in the industry. Nautilus’ patented water-cooling technology is at the core of its design, delivering data centers that operate more efficiently, enabling higher rack densities than traditional facilities while achieving higher environmental standards at a lower capital cost. The data centers can be built either on the water or land. Nautilus’ water-cooling technology reduces power usage, decreases air pollution, lowers greenhouse gases emissions, and eliminates water consumption.

In 2021, Nautilus commissioned its ultra-efficient high-density Stockton 1 Data Center (6.5MW), validating its innovative approach to zero impact cooling at scale. The Stockton 1 Data Center has anchor tenant customers and a robust pipeline that includes notable logos expected to contract by year end. In addition, the Stockton 1 Data Center technology validation has enabled the development of numerous growth sites and a pipeline that includes premier hyperscale, large enterprise, and government prospects. Nautilus is actively engaged in developing and contracting its portfolio of global sites.

NAUTILUS INNOVATION

Nautilus Data Technologies data center solutions are high-performance, ultra-efficient, sustainable, and proven. Access to data is a critical public good. Like every other public good, data relies on public and private infrastructure. It includes countless devices, miles of fiber optics, and software systems, all of which depend on rapidly expanding data centers to provide local, national, and global services faster and at a larger scale than ever before.

Today, to stay cool, data centers rely primarily on air conditioning systems. These consume massive amounts of energy and drinking water, produce significant amounts of wastewater, and use chemical refrigerants contributing to climate change and ozone depletion. These environmental problems are getting worse each day and the cost to mitigate them increasingly expensive.

Tomorrow, Nautilus’ innovations will cool data centers using their patented Total Resource Usage Effectiveness (TRUE™) cooling technology. The technology utilizes nature’s cold water, through a closed-to-open loop heat exchanger, to keep the computing environment cool, significantly reducing energy use while using zero drinking water, zero refrigerants, zero chemicals, and causing no harm to wildlife.

Nautilus provides customers of all sizes colocation, leasing, and build-license-transfer services needed to quickly and efficiently establish or expand their data center operations. Its water-cooled data centers are leading a global transformation to high-performance, ultra-efficient, scalable, and environmentally sustainable operations in the data center sector.

NAUTILUS DATA TECHNOLOGIES

The Nautilus patented cooling technology embodies several thermal management technologies that can be applied in whole or in part on water or land. The system is capable of effectively and efficiently delivering high density cooling at over 800 watts per square foot and 100+ kW per cabinet without consuming any water and at a lower capital cost.

Nautilus’ patented system utilizes a water-based heat sink cooling process as the heat rejection system for the data center. Integrating proven maritime and industrial water-cooling technologies with next-generation data center infrastructure, allows Nautilus facilities to be more efficient and less expensive while achieving higher environmental standards.

Inside the data hall customers can utilize an array of cooling technologies, including rear-door cooling units, direct-to-chip, and immersion.

  • Each data hall has N+1 redundant leak proof cooling distribution units
  • Systems are under vacuum making them leak proof — water will never touch the IT load
  • Designed to maintain ASHRAE A1 Standards
  • No mechanical refrigeration
  • 3x the density of traditional racks
  • 100+kW per rack enabling AI and machine learning
  • 9-12 months delivery for land or floating data centers, anywhere in the world
  • 70%+ more energy efficient in cooling
  • 30% less power consumption than traditional air-cooled data center
  • ZERO water consumption, refrigerants, chemicals, or water pollution

DESIGN BUILD SOLUTIONS

Partnering with Nautilus means delivery of a high-performance, factory-tested data center, on land or on water, that exceeds customer sustainability goals, efficiency requirements, and deployment timelines.

Nautilus’ cooling technology and proven design/build process launches facilities in less time, using less physical space, with fewer materials, at a lower cost. Nautilus utilizes an innovative modular, prefabricated, off-site manufacturing and testing approach to build 70% of the data center in a factory environment.

Nautilus Design Approach

Nautilus’ solutions improve efficiency without sacrificing capacity or sustainability goals. The mega-modular data center design offers power, cooling, security, and connectivity to meet customers critical infrastructure needs with deployment size ranging from rack to dedicated facility. Design-build solutions include –

Site Selection & Development

Nautilus leverages a mature site development process to assist in site selection, identifying locations that optimize its water-cooled technology. Site selection can augment or increment a customers’ internal site selection process.

Technology Manufacturing

The Nautilus data center design enables manufacturing of state-of-the-art data center building blocks, designed for on-site assembly, to be built in parallel to the site development process. The mega modular data center components are manufactured and tested in a factory environment, guaranteeing quality, reducing delivery time, and lowering risk of complications, all of which keeps total project costs low and improves speed to deployment.

Architecture & Engineering

Nautilus offers the flexibility of handling the entire architecture and engineering process or allowing customers the option to customize according to their needs.

Project Management

Nautilus manages the integration of their technology to each customer’s project and ensures its success through the entire project lifecycle.

EPC

Nautilus has vetted and trusted partners capable of providing engineering, procurement, and construction services to assure consistent delivery and a firm fixed bids.

Operations & Maintenance (O&M)

Nautilus provides comprehensive O&M services to ensure operational performance, IP protection, and brand integrity.

Finance

Nautilus has the potential to leverage its financial partner relationships to provide financing options for its customers’ projects.

NAUTILUS DATA CENTER LOCATIONS

CHARTER

Nautilus has planned for the intersection of digital infrastructure growth and sustainability mandates. Multiple converging data center infrastructure industry vectors point to unprecedented growth and change occurring simultaneously. Market demands to meet this change are apparent –

AWS targeting net-0 carbon emissions by 2040 with path to 100% renewable energy by 2025

Google pledges to replenish 120% of water consumed by 2030

Microsoft pledges to be carbon negative, water positive, and 0 waste by 2030

Meta pledges to be water positive by 2030

Nautilus has spent the last 6 years in anticipation and preparation for this market shift and demand requirement and is poised to deliver sustainable data centers rapidly when and where customers require without impacting the environment. Nautilus’ delivery model provides the efficiency, density, scalability, and ESG benefits customers require in a broad breadth of locations, all at a predictably lower total cost of ownership.

NAUTILUS LEADERSHIP TEAM

Nautilus’ leadership team includes some of the most experienced and progressive minded executives in the digital infrastructure sector. Each member of the team is passionate about the transformative performance and environmental change Nautilus’ technologies is delivering to the industry, and embraces a highly collaborative, results-oriented culture to achieve outcomes faster while maintaining an appropriate work / life balance.

ROB PFLEGING

CEO and President

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TBD

CFO

KINDRA MARTONE

CRO

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PATRICK QUIRK

CTO

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MARK ANDERSON

VP of Site Development

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PAUL ROYERE

SVP of Finance & Administration

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ASHLEY STURM

VP of Marketing

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GABE ANDREWS

Senior Director of Data Center & Operations

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FINANCIAL PARTNERS

Nautilus is supported by marquee investors and financial partners, including:

www.emersoncollective.com

We believe in capital as a tool for good. Investing from pre-seed to IPO, we drive venture-scale returns with the added lens of impact. Our commitment to mission-aligned founders is reflected in holistic support services and access to expertise across the business, non-profit, and policy worlds, as well as in lasting relationships—we invest for long-term change, not short-term returns. We support builders and thinkers working on innovative climate solutions. Through both philanthropic and venture investments, our goal is to support a just transition to a regenerative economy that helps communities most impacted by climate change.

www.mancal.com

Mancal’s history in private investment traces back to the formation of Manvest in 1978. Although our approach to investing has evolved, the original entrepreneurial spirit that set us apart then, remains at the heart of everything we do now. Focused on strategic private equity and venture capital opportunities that foster innovation, growth, and diversification, we strive to create value for stakeholders, and achieve solid returns with direct exposure to new industries, verticals and geographies. Our two-pronged investment thesis encompasses a venture focus on technology driven businesses, and an equity focus on private enterprises with potential to become material operating companies. The Manvest Inc. team brings these unique advantages to the private investment space with our strong reputation, patient capital, access to large contact networks, and our ability to partner with investee companies.

www.barclays.com

Clients around the globe rely on Barclays to originate, structure, and execute financing, advise on complex transactions, and provide solutions to help manage exposure to a range of financial risks. Coupled with the expertise of our industry and geography-specific coverage teams, our product teams deliver bespoke strategic solutions that help clients achieve their ambitions. We offer comprehensive financial advisory, capital raising, financing and risk management services for corporations, governments, and financial institutions worldwide.

CULTURE & IMPACT

We live by our vision to digitally unleash a leap forward in data center sustainability globally. We know to do this it’ll take a lot of grit. We’re building infrastructure solutions we believe in — as well as a team of Genuine, Remarkable, Innovative, and Transparent people who want to do the best work of their lives while supporting each other in the process.

CEO Rob Pflegling on purpose & passion – “You reach a point in life where you don’t necessarily work for money. You work because it fulfills a passion for really imparting impactful change to an industry. I’ve accomplished a lot in my career. If you were to take the sum total of productive change I’ve effected in the industry across the whole of my career, what Nautilus is doing is orders of magnitude larger.”

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CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Along with rest of Nautilus’ Leadership Team, the CFO will proactively advocate for, create, and protect stakeholder equity value through strategic investments, financial management, corporate development, and executive leadership. The CFO will accelerate Nautilus’ value creation and performance through effective strategy and execution affecting the business model, capital raise, market positioning, risk management, M&A, and joint venture/licensing models on an international basis. The CFO will foster a culture of accountability and innovation in a high growth environment while building a high-performing organization to support Nautilus’ extensive corporate initiatives.

Financial Management

  • Provide leadership and direction to the Accounting and Finance functions
  • Distill, interpret, and manage financial information to identify both positive and negative trending and provide supportive insights to the Leadership Team, CEO, & Board
  • Partner with the CEO and Leadership Team to develop and implement short- and long-range financial objectives, plans, budget, and forecast based on agreed goals and objectives
  • Continuously appraise the organization’s financial position and offer dynamic interpretation and forward-thinking scenario analysis
  • Manage risk and ensure financial process integrity is maintained
  • Measure, analyze, and help interpret financial information and prioritize multiple weights and measures to determine and justify appropriate resource allocation
  • Identify continuous improvement opportunities to enhance existing financial structure and processes ensuring sound internal controls and financial decision making throughout the organization
  • Preparation and issuance of timely and accurate financial statements and related filings
  • Establish and maintain strong relationships with external service providers (banks, investors, auditors, legal, etc.)
  • Oversee corporate income tax planning and compliance

Corporate Development

  • Lead corporate development activities including identifying partnership opportunities, driving the assessment and due diligence process, and structuring transactions
  • Develop, evaluate, and analyze the financial impact of transactions including financing strategies, joint ventures, and acquisitions
  • Prepare business plans for new initiatives, including industry and competitive analyses, and monitor and benchmark those launched
  • Participate and support CEO and Board in preparation and management of strategic plans
  • Oversee the building of financial models, conduct due diligence, negotiate deal terms, draft presentation, and secure financing for joint ventures and/or acquisitions
  • Coordinate internal and external resources for M&A transactions 

Leadership

  • A team-oriented executive with broad credibility capable of consistently motivating the Nautilus team toward timely, actionable, purposeful tasks
  • Work with Leadership Team to build collaborative and integrated performance objectives and incentivize positive behaviors to achieve goals
  • Embraces and is most effective in a dynamic, creative, entrepreneurial environment
  • Proactive self-starter with “roll up your sleeves” lead by example style with the ability to shift gears when necessary and work autonomously
  • Collaborating partner on the Leadership Team, monitoring, and touching all aspects of company performance
  • Direct, candid, apolitical presentations to internal and external audiences including employees, Leadership Team, Board, and other investors and stakeholders
  • Having a clear impassioned vision of how to bring Nautilus’ core strengths and combination of services to life, and motivating employees with clear conversations on where the company is going and why

 

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

  • 10+ years proven track record of strategic financial management leadership with a Private Equity backed, highly entrepreneurial, high growth, progressive technology company with a matrix of product and service offerings
  • Demonstrated strategic capital markets experience with history of developing trusted partnerships with both debt and equity providers
  • Experience in a growth environment, including opportunity identification, analysis, and execution of joint venture and/or M&A transactions
  • Demonstrated experience leading the strategic planning and corporate development processes which have steered the organization toward opportunities and away from risk
  • Analytical skills to determine profit levels from disparate services lines, drive costs from the business, and improve overall productivity as points of differentiation in the marketplace
  • Management of a comprehensive, full-function corporate financial organization to include accounting, reporting, strategic planning, and compliance
  • Superior critical thinking, analytical, and quantitative abilities as it relates to the use and utilization of software and other business efficiency related technologies
  • Resourceful and performance-driven, motivated to provide timely, identifiable, and measurable results
  • Candid, articulate, apolitical, and dynamic in front of both internal and external audiences including employees, Leadership Team, Board of Directors, and investors

 

KEY QUALIFYING CRITERIA

Strategic Contributor –The CFO is expected to possess an earnest, courageous, and impactful executive disposition whereby their collaboration on the business model and performance results in extraordinary corporate valuations.  

Event History – Demonstrated success preparing for and leading a similar sized digital infrastructure product and service solutions technology company through a strategic event – strategic acquisition, recapitalization, or IPO.

Invested Environment – Ability to negotiate and support complex capital instruments, deliver on the Board’s requirements for performance forecasting and reporting, and succinctly articulate business case analysis to support decisions.

M&A – Demonstrated capital markets experience, knowledge, and relationships to identify, engage, and maximize realized and unrealized strategic opportunities in the market which lead to outperforming returns and value creation.

Financial Leadership – Nautilus’ unique solution set requires unique experiences that include licensing, joint venture and partnership contracting structures, and corporate tax strategy and structure development expertise.

Growth – Effective leadership, conviction, and courageous decision making at scale in a high growth environment. Nautilus is a 6-year-old start up whose transformative technology is hitting the market at the perfect time, where global demand and adoption intersect and coincide.

 

WHY CONSIDER THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH NAUTILUS

Chapter – The market is rife, and the table is set for an accomplished CFO to apply their formidable skills to a healthy and established business at its growth inflection point.  The capital plan is in place. The Leadership Team and strategic plan are in place.

Impact – To the environment, to the industry, to the company and its stakeholders. Nautilus’ technology moves data center efficiency tens of percentage points, overnight. You’ll put your fingerprints on a transformative business, impacting every Nautilus stakeholder, from investors to employees.

Leadership – Nautilus’ leadership credentials represent an attractive and impressive collegial environment to achieve their value growth plan. The Leadership Team and Board are excited and convicted about their near term and future achievements together.

Culture – The Nautilus culture is reflected by a pride of ownership, ambition, conviction, and anticipation for this next chapter of growth. Quoting the CEO “Every aspect of it has an upside. We simply need to continue to add A players to the team to take it to the next level.”

Financial Strength – Nautilus’ financial partners have an extraordinary track record of identifying valuable companies, positioning them in the right marketplace at the right time, and ensuring enduring success for leadership and employees.

Investment Partners – Nautilus has attracted a collection of quality investment partners and Board members who have maintained continued conviction and belief in the passion, purpose, and charter of the business.

 

COMPENSATION

Compensation package for the CFO is comprised of a competitive base salary, an annual performance bonus, equity participation, and extensive benefits package. The CFO will have a dramatic impact on the entire team’s earnings opportunity by virtue of their strategic performance raising capital, leveraging partnerships, managing risk, and ensuring operational efficiencies. 

 

SEARCH PROCESS

Following a thorough exchange of company information, resume, and key qualifying criteria, CFS Partners anticipates recommending a short list of candidates to Rob Pfleging, CEO, and Paul Royere, SVP Finance & Administration. Select finalists will have the opportunity to review information under NDA in order to prepare questions and present their strategic perspective. Upon mutual decision to proceed, we’ll connect finalists with additional members of Nautilus’ Leadership Team and Board. A finalist will be selected and offer extended, the acceptance of which will be contingent upon positive references and background check.

For additional information or to schedule a time to connect, contact Andy Lane, Managing Partner at andy@criticalfacility.com.