DEEP DIVE

What would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the data centre industry ?

A particular highlight for me has been leading Pulsant through the pandemic . When we entered lockdown in early 2020 , I was still ‘ the new CEO ’ learning about our clients and our people . There was no precedent to show the path forward and that was quite daunting .

The response from the Pulsant team as we adapted to the changing situation was fantastic and let us be agile in helping our clients , supportive in looking after each other and I think was a great leveller as we all dealt with the shared challenges of lockdown . I ’ m proud that we are emerging from the lockdown without having furloughed anyone , with an even stronger sense of team spirit , energy and optimism .

What first made you think of a career in technology / data centres ?

I left university in 1992 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and managed to secure a place on the graduate training scheme at Mercury Communications . It was a great time to learn about telecommunications because not only had the UK market deregulated and competition begun , but then the dot . com boom kicked in later in the decade before the crash a couple of years later . During the first 10 years of my career , I experienced all stages of the business cycle and it was a period of strong personal growth . It was also when I came across data centres for the first time ( or Internet hotels as they were sometimes known ).

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?

I strongly believe that if you have team members who are inspired and motivated , then clients really feel that in the service , so taking care of your people is central to business

success . I also believe that great results come when teams work together . It ’ s a bit of a cliché perhaps to say the whole is greater than the sum of the parts , but in my experience the best results come when there is collaboration based on mutual trust and respect between teams .

What do you think is the current hot talking point within the data centre space ?

Edge Computing is a hot topic right now because of its potential to significantly disrupt the industry and turn the traditional centralised infrastructure model on its head .

Demand for hybrid and multi-cloud strategies is rising and the rapid growth in 5G , IoT and connected devices is significantly increasing data volumes . Organisations need faster access to data and seamless , high-speed connectivity , regardless of location , making latency and the flow of data increasingly critical . All these factors combined mean it ’ s highly likely we ’ ll see mass adoption of Edge networking in the future .

How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?

I ’ ve learned over the years to try and leave the stress at the office . Time to step back is important and often the way forward emerges when you are focused on something else . I took up cycling around five years ago and find it ’ s a great way to get some exercise , get out in the fresh air and disconnect for a while . My mind does often wander while I ’ m riding and it does also tend to be the time when ideas come to me .

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