Dawn Smith is the President of Cologix and has responsibility for leading all aspects of data center design, engineering, construction, operations, compliance, supply chain, vendor management, sales engineering, real estate development, information technology and security, talent engagement, human resources and legal functions. Additionally, Dawn leads Cologix’s fiber solutions subsidiary, Metro Optic. She also serves as Corporate Secretary to the company’s Board of Directors.

Prior to Cologix, Dawn was most recently the executive vice president and chief legal officer of McAfee, where she led the legal and government relations organization globally. Prior to McAfee, Dawn was the senior vice president and chief legal officer at VMware. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Dawn graduated from Stanford Law School and joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Dawn then became a partner at Morrison & Foerster.

Dawn currently serves on the board of directors of the Health Catalyst, Inc. Dawn’s leadership has resulted in numerous recognitions in the field of law, including Top 50 Women Lawyers in the U.S. by the National Diversity Council, Value Champion Award by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Most Innovative In-House Legal Team in North America and Top 20 General Counsel by the Financial Times.

In addition to her JD from Stanford Law School, Dawn earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from Providence College.  Dawn also received the Vice Admiral Lawrence Award for most outstanding woman athlete while at the U.S. Naval Academy. As a commissioned officer, Dawn was chosen for the highly competitive naval nuclear submarine program founded by Admiral Hyman Rickover.