Trista Gladish

About Trista Gladish

Trista is a technology leader with years of experience in data center infrastructure, automation, security, networking, and product management. She builds relationships at all levels with a genuine interest for servant leadership, coaching, personal and professional development. Trista is results-oriented and highly adaptable in a dynamic IT environment.Key Highlights & Expertise:•Data Center Executive: Six years of experience leading hyperscale data center operations from initial construction phases through to becoming fully operational, high-performing AI centers of excellence.•Operational Scale: Proven track record of managing the deployment and ongoing operations of hundreds of thousands of servers and thousands of racks, consistently exceeding fleet-average service level agreements (SLAs) for delivery and uptime.•AI Infrastructure Pioneer: Specialized expertise in partnering with engineering and R&D teams to implement advanced, next-generation AI hardware platforms, utilizing innovative problem-solving to unblock complex technical deployments.•Global Program Leadership: Strategic developer of comprehensive operational frameworks—including global standards for site quality (6S methodology) and environmental health and safety—that have been adopted across a worldwide fleet of data centers.•Empathetic Leadership: Recognized for high emotional intelligence and a commitment to building strong, cross-functional leadership coalitions that unify site operations, drive efficiency, and foster a culture of psychological safety and continuous improvement.•Multi-Site Management: Demonstrated ability to navigate complex logistics, having successfully served as a leader for multiple concurrent new data center builds while maintaining top-tier operational metrics.

Experience

1. Data Center Site Director

   Meta

   Feb 2020 — Present · Huntsville, AL, US

   Hyperscale Operations Management: Directed the end-to-end operations of a major hyperscale data center, overseeing the deployment of hundreds of thousands of servers and consistently maintaining server availability• Service Level Agreement (SLA) Achievement: Consistently exceeded global fleet averages for operational metrics• AI Hardware Integration: Transformed the facility into a leading AI infrastructure hub by partnering with R&D teams to deploy next-generation hardware platforms, supporting creative engineering solutions to overcome deployment roadblocks.• Global Quality Frameworks: Developed and launched a comprehensive site quality program based on the 6S methodology, which significantly improved operational standards and was subsequently adopted across the company\'s global data center fleet.• Health & Safety Innovation: Created and implemented a new global standard for environmental heat stress management, deploying automated monitoring dashboards and bots to ensure team safety and equipment reliability worldwide.• Multi-Site Leadership: Concurrently managed operations for multiple new data center builds, bridging staffing gaps while keeping operational metrics above fleet averages.• Cross-Functional Alignment: Spearheaded programs to bridge the gap between construction and production teams, improving overall delivery capacity, quality, and cross-team collaboration.• Talent Development: Actively mentored emerging leaders and managers across the organization, contributing to internal leadership development programs and fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace culture.

Education

• Louisiana Tech University

  Bachelor of Science

• University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business

  MBA

Skills

• Leadership
• Security
• Enterprise Software
• Windows
• Enterprise Architecture
• Routers
• System Administration
• IT Operations
• IT Service Management
• Switches
• Disaster Recovery
• Collaboration
• Process Improvement
• Troubleshooting
• Governance
• Business Continuity
• IT Management
• System Deployment
• Financial Services
• Servers
• Itil
• Data Center
• Infrastructure
• Staff Development
• Training
• Sdlc
• Vendor Management
• IT Strategy
• Itsm
• Itil Certified
• Management
• Information Technology
• Network Design
• Networking
• Strategy
• Information Security
• User Experience
• Webex
• Social Business