Top 10: Colocation Data Centre Leaders in North America
The North American data centre market is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by an unprecedented demand surge that has pushed existing infrastructure and technology to its limits.
Fueled by enterprise digitalisation and the rise of AI, a new paradigm has emerged where power, land and speed are the currencies of success.
The leaders steering the industry’s top colocation firms are not merely managing growth – they are navigating a high-stakes environment while rewriting the rules of data centre design, operation and strategy to build the AI factories of tomorrow.
Here are the top 10 North American leaders at the forefront of the colocation sector:
10. Rob Roy, Founder & CEO of Switch
Founded: 2000
Employees: 500-1,000
As the visionary ‘Inventrepreneur’ at the helm of Switch, Rob Roy’s strategy is rooted in 20 years of experience as a design engineer and tech industry solutionist.
He pioneered high-density, hybrid air- and liquid-cooling designs decades before the AI boom made them an industry necessity.
The company's new EVO AI Factories are the culmination of this long-term vision, providing the extreme-density environments required for next-generation computing.
Roy’s leadership is also defined by an unwavering commitment to sustainability, with Switch’s data centres running on 100% renewable energy since 2016 and pursuing a net-positive water strategy.
9. Spencer Mullee, President and CEO of Centersquare
Formed: 2024 (merger of Evoque & Cyxtera)
Employees: 500-1,000
Spencer Mullee is the strategic consolidator who oversaw integrating the sizable assets of US data centre firms Evoque and Cyxtera into Centersquare, a formidable new force in the colocation market.
With extensive global data centre experience, including founding DCI Data Centers in Australia and the Asia Pacific market and serving as Evoque CEO, Spencer brought the leadership and expertise needed to coordinate this complex merger.
Centersquare leverages the combined footprint of its 72 data centres to provide enterprise customers with enhanced capacity, flexibility and choice across key North American markets.
8. Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters
Founded: 2011
Employees: 51-200
Chris Crosby is an innovator who has operated at the intersection of real estate development and tech, catalysing his decision in 2011 to embark on fundamentally transforming how data centres are built.
His vision for Compass Datacenters is to industrialise delivery, using prefabrication, modular design and modern manufacturing principles to build customisable, sustainable campuses faster, more affordably and more efficiently.
Under his leadership, Compass has pioneered the use of HVO-based biodiesel and green concrete, and it has embraced water-free cooling since its inception — a critical advantage in an increasingly resource-demanding industry.
7. Mike Intrator, Co-founder & CEO, CoreWeave
Founded: 2017
Employees: 501-1,000
Mike Intrator is one of the industry’s foremost disruptors, leading CoreWeave’s meteoric rise from an Ethereum mining operation to the premier specialised cloud for AI provider.
Under Mike’s leadership, CoreWeave’s strategy is to compete on specialisation – notably offering a hyper-optimised platform for GPU-intensive workloads that legacy clouds were not designed for.
Expansion and growth are also key. In July, CoreWeave struck a US$9bn deal to acquire Core Scientific, bolstering the company's high-performance data centre infrastructure and enhancing its operational efficiency.
Through key partnerships with NVIDIA for early access to the latest GPUs and with leading AI labs like OpenAI, Mike has positioned CoreWeave as indispensable infrastructure for the generative AI ecosystem.
6. Brian Cox, CEO of STACK Infrastructure
Founded: 2019
Employees: 501-1,000
A strategic scaler with deep industry experience, Brian Cox has guided STACK Infrastructure’s rapid global expansion since its inception.
His leadership is defined by a client-first approach that offers rapidly scaling and hyperscale companies maximum flexibility through a full suite of solutions, from powered shells to build-to-suit campuses.
Brian has overseen a proactive growth strategy, securing billions of dollars in green financing and acquiring powered land to build a multi-gigawatt development pipeline, providing digital infrastructure customers with the certainty and scale they need to grow.
5. Eric Schwartz, CEO of CyrusOne
Founded: 2000
Employees: 501-1,000
Eric Schwartz is a global growth architect, leveraging his 16 years of experience scaling Equinix’s international operations to lead CyrusOne’s next chapter under KKR and GIP ownership, a deal which closed in 2022.
CyrusOne is focused on capturing the explosive demand for AI with its purpose-built Intelliscale platform, engineered for high power densities up to 300kW per rack and advanced liquid and air cooling options.
Eric is steering the company toward its goal of climate neutrality by 2030 while tackling the industry’s critical challenge of aligning data centre growth with grid capacity.
4. Doug Adams, CEO & President of NTT Global Data Centers
Founded: 2000
Employees: 501-1,000
As a 25-year industry veteran who co-founded RagingWire in 2000, Doug Adams is a global integrator who has successfully unified multiple data centre assets into NTT Global Data Centers' (NTT GDC) cohesive worldwide platform.
Doug directs a strategy of raising capital through investors, while simultaneously tapping into the broader resources of the company’s parent NTT Group, allowing NTT GDC to build ahead of market demand and secure a gigawatt-scale development pipeline.
Under Doug, NTT GDC has become a leader in deploying direct-to-chip liquid cooling, giving it a crucial head start in delivering AI-ready infrastructure.
3. Andy Power, CEO of Digital Realty
Founded: 2004
Employees: 1,001-5,000
A financial strategist with deep roots in investment banking, Andy Power has been a key architect of Digital Realty’s growth since 2015.
Andy was actually part of the lead underwriting team that advised Digital Realty on its initial public offering back in 2004.
Digital Realty’s strategy for the AI era is centred on positioning itself as ‘The Meeting Place’ where technology, companies and data combine, leveraging its rich connectivity ecosystem to power a new era of innovation.
2. Sureel Choksi, President and CEO of Vantage Data Centers
Founded: 2010
Employees: 1,001-5,000
Sureel Choksi has transformed Vantage Data Centers from a regional operator into one of the world's fastest-growing global providers, with campuses spanning five continents.
Sureel’s extensive background in finance and internet infrastructure has enabled him to secure significant investment in Vantage. For instance, the company secured US$13bn in incremental funding in 2024 to fuel comprehensive expansion.
The firm’s strategy is focused on serving as a partner for its customers, offering standardised, sustainable and scalable campuses at unprecedented speed to meet the critical demand for next-generation AI capacity.
1. Arquelle Shaw, President, Americas at Equinix
Founded: 1998
Employees: 13,606
Arquelle Shaw leads the largest and fastest-growing region for the world's digital infrastructure leader, Equinix.
A dynamic executive with over two decades of experience at firms like Accenture, American Express and AT&T, she has a proven record of driving transformational growth, most recently as SVP of Sales for the Americas.
Arquelle's critical role is to steer Equinix's most important market through the AI revolution, empowering customers to leverage the unparalleled ecosystem of Platform Equinix® to build the secure, interconnected hybrid and private AI solutions that will define the future of digital business.
