As an honoree in the first Datacloud Power 50 list, what has inspired you recently in your role at NTT Global Data Centers [NTT GDC]?
I’ve worked in the data centre sector for 25 years, having co-founded RagingWire, which built and operated mission-critical facilities in strategic locations across the US. In 2014, RagingWire was acquired by NTT Communications, where I stayed before becoming CEO and president of NTT Global Data Centers two years ago.
With data centres being in my blood all that time, I love this industry and could never see myself doing anything else. What also makes NTT GDC so special to me is how deeply the management team of the NTT Group supports what we’re doing, enabling our team to grow, innovate and build a culture to which people want to belong.
What are your current main areas of focus?
I’m very focused on raising capital through investors and working those relationships, plus growing relationships with customers and ensuring a good working environment. That’s important at NTT GDC, shown by 89% of employees in a recent customer survey saying they would recommend the company to others as a place to work.
I’m fortunate to have a tremendous team that manages the day-to-day business, meaning I can focus on being a steward for the employees. They’ve done a really good job of integrating the previous multiple separate data centre companies under NTT since the united GDC division launched in 2020, enabling global governance and alignment.
How would you say NTT GDC sets itself apart from its competitors?
One is that we’re a truly global player. As the world’s third-largest data centre provider, we operate more than 150 data centres in over 20 markets. We’re therefore well set up for the future, and when others thought about slamming on the brakes with the reports of some hyperscalers slowing data centre deployments, we had the resources to forge ahead.
In addition, we’re ahead of the game on direct-to-chip liquid cooling, helping save lots of energy and set us up for the AI future. We’ve already been doing this for three-plus years, while others have just started, and that experience has already given us a huge amount of learnings.
In what ways do you see AI changing the shape of the global data centre market?
One dynamic we’ve seen is a lot of emphasis about building in secondary and tertiary markets because of the need for extra land and power. There has also been immense pressure on price and execution speed.
With what’s been happening recently, I think some players have been having difficulties with hitting milestones and with the supply chain, which is something we’ve been really good at due to the strength of our team in establishing these things. I think there will be a consolidation period in our industry, with only so many resources to go around.
At the same time, AI itself can help resolve many issues in the industry, while I think things like small modular reactors will become a reality and help solve some of the power challenges.
I would also point out that not everything in the data centre world is now AI. While it has a very strong influence on demand, core businesses like traditional cloud and enterprise services are still doing extraordinarily well.
What is NTT GDC doing to ensure environmental sustainability amid the surge in power and space demands?
This is an area in which we shine, helped by being part of a US$100 billion global group that invests $3.6 billion annually to move sustainably into the digital future. At NTT GDC, we have a goal of achieving net-zero across Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030, and Scope 3 by 2040.
In Germany, we’re carrying out initiatives whereby heat will be recycled for use in schools and homes. We also have a water conservation programme in the UK via use of a reverse osmosis filtration system, and are helped by our efforts to get ahead on direct-to-chip cooling.
How do you see the next few years panning out in the global data centre industry, and how well-equipped is NTT GDC to meet upcoming demands?
As I say, I think there will be some big challenges ahead in the industry and some consolidation. Given the huge amounts of investment forecast to be required for data centres in the next few years, there will be an issue in the industry if we don’t keep capital moving through the system.
At NTT GDC, I think we’ve done a really good job of mapping out what we need to do. Through turning our separate companies into one business, and the preparation and innovations we’ve made, we’re in a good position to meet the challenges and capitalise on the big opportunities coming up.
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