Doug Adams: Steering NTT Global Data Centres Through AI‑Era

Doug Adams has been named number 7 in Data Centre Magazine’s Top 100 Data Centre Leaders 2026 list, recognising his role at the helm of one of the world’s largest digital infrastructure platforms. 

The list highlights executives shaping operational practice, capacity growth and next‑generation infrastructure in the global data centre sector.

Doug leads NTT Global Data Centers (NTT GDC) as CEO and President, overseeing more than 150 facilities across more than 20 countries. 

The company is one of the largest data centre providers globally, with a portfolio that spans hyperscale and colocation campuses supporting cloud, enterprise and public sector workloads. 

His career in the data centre industry stretches back more than 25 years, beginning with the establishment and growth of RagingWire Data Centers before its integration into the NTT group. Under his leadership, NTT GDC has moved from a regional operator to a global infrastructure provider with a sprawling footprint that reflects shifting demand drivers in the digital economy.

Footprint and infrastructure strategy

NTT GDC’s strategy under Doug has been centred on global expansion and preparing capacity for AI and high‑density compute workloads. 

A May 2025 announcement detailed land acquisitions across seven key markets, including new sites in Milan, Frankfurt and Phoenix, Oregon, as part of plans to deliver nearly a gigawatt of future data centre capacity. 

Doug said at the time: “Our land acquisitions are about more than growth; they’re about shaping the future of digital infrastructure on a global scale.” 

This expansion is aligned with a broader investment programme amounting to more than US$10bn through 2027, reflecting a response to rising enterprise compute demand fuelled by cloud services and AI.

In late 2025, NTT GDC disclosed hyperscale agreements totalling more than 130MW across campuses in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix and Virginia, underlining the company’s focus on capacity for next‑generation workloads. 

Doug framed these deals in the context of client needs: “As the adoption of AI accelerates, clients turn to us for advanced infrastructure capable of supporting compute-intensive AI workloads with speed, security and sustainability.” 

NTT GDC also received recognition in early 2026 as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for worldwide colocation services, marking the fourth time the company has been acknowledged in that vendor assessment. 

Doug said: “We believe this acknowledgment reflects our commitment to delivering future-ready infrastructure that meets the evolving needs of our global clients.”

Leadership reflected in industry recognition

Responding to the Data Centre Magazine accolade, Doug wrote on LinkedIn: “Honored to be included in Data Centre Magazine’s Top 100 Leaders for 2026. This recognition reflects the incredible work of our entire NTT GDC team and the partners who drive our mission forward every day. I'm incredibly grateful to be part of this journey ” 

Those words convey a theme that has run through Doug’s leadership: aligning infrastructure growth with client demands and operational discipline. 

Under his direction, NTT GDC has made strategic moves to unify regional operations under a global organisation, consolidate leadership practices and pursue scale‑efficient designs while addressing sustainability and resilience.

Doug's placement in this year’s Top 100 list sits alongside executives from cloud and hyperscale giants, placing him within a cohort of leaders influencing how data centres evolve to support emerging digital services.

His tenure underlines a shift in the industry from purely real estate‑led growth to a focus on data‑driven service delivery that supports AI, sustainability targets and global connectivity – a landscape where infrastructure capacity is tightly coupled with digital transformation imperatives.