Top 10: Data Centre Leaders in the UK & Europe
The UK and Europe is currently experiencing significant digital growth, on account of AI demand causing countries to further build out their data centres.
Across Europe, data centre demand is expected to continue booming, rising from 10GW in 2024 to roughly 35GW by 2030. Likewise, according to projections by McKinsey, power demands will rise from the current 62 terawatt-hours (TWh) to more than 150 TWh – tripling data centre energy use by 2030. This highlights the importance of upgrading infrastructure and improving access to renewables.
Countries like the UK are already committing to huge strategic advancements, having just last week pledged £2 billion into the expansion of AI infrastructure.
With this in mind, we spotlight some of the leading individuals in the UK and Europe that are committed to bolstering the data centre industry and facilitating the next sustainable era of growth.
10. Takayo Takamuro, Executive Officer at KDDI Corporation
Takayo Takamuro has worked with KDDI (Telehouse’s parent company) for a number of years, having committed to advancing connectivity in the UK and Europe. With more than 25 years of experience in the data centre industry, she joined Telehouse in 2021 from KDDI and was appointed as a Board Member in April 2024.
She is responsible for the leadership and development of Telehouse Europe, which encompasses staff welfare, client satisfaction and the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
9. Emma Fryer, Director Public Policy Europe, CyrusOne
With over a decade of experience in the data centre sector providing a collective voice for operators, Emma Fryer is well-known for her intensive industry knowledge, commitment and persistence. At CyrusOne, she is responsible for identifying, monitoring and responding to regulatory developments across multiple jurisdictions.
She has also been elected to the Board of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, which is working to help data centres across Europe achieve climate neutrality by 2030. Prior to her role at CyrusOne, Emma worked at techUK for more than 13 years representing the UK data centre sector to the government and other stakeholders.
8. David Watkins, Solutions Director, VIRTUS Data Centres
David is a data centre specialist and has worked with VIRTUS since 2009, leveraging his 30+ year career. His work involves collaborating with clients to provide innovative and customised solutions.
He is responsible for the company’s solutions team and works closely with customers to provide customised solutions and often speaks about sustainability and AI infrastructure at industry events, including at Data Centre LIVE.
Prior to VIRTUS, David worked at Unisys for more than 15 years.
7. Gwenaelle Avice Huet, Executive Vice President, Europe Operations, Schneider Electric
Gwenaelle Avice Huet has worked at Schneider Electric for over four years and was appointed EVP of Europe Operations in 2023. She is responsible for the company’s full business portfolio across Europe and plays an instrumental role in advancing the company’s contribution to the EU’s agenda to accelerate digital transformation.
With a strong background in physics and energy, Gwenaelle also serves on the Board of Air France - KLM and has been nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
6. Josh Payne, CEO, Nscale
Josh Payne is a recognised leader in the industry and is strongly committed to strategy and deal structuring. Having only founded Nscale in 2023, he has launched the company to success very quickly and has achieved significant funding in recent months. It not only owns its own data centres, but develops GPUs and the software stack for customers.
The company secured US$155m in Series A funding in December 2024 to expand its operations across Europe and North America.
On this, Josh explained: “Nscale has a 1.3GW pipeline of sites in our portfolio, which allows us to design from the ground up, the data centre, the supercluster and the cloud environment end-to-end for our customers.”
5. Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO, atNorth
An experienced executive in the data centre and networking sectors, Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson has been CEO at atNorth since 2018. His goal at the company is to deliver more compute to its customers by leveraging innovative data centre design, power efficiency and intelligent cluster operations.
Prior to atNorth, Magnús was the Managing Director at Advania and board chairman at Iceland Datacenter. He has been instrumental in developing atNorth as a business since the start and remains a leading figure in the Nordic data centre industry.
4. John Eland, CEO, STACK Infrastructure EMEA
As CEO of STACK’s EMEA region, John Eland first entered the sector around 15 years ago, when he joined Data City Exchange as CEO in 2008. Here, he developed and delivered an early-stage box modular solution in the UK, Europe and US before leading the data centre investment programme for AXA Investment Managers.
He explains, as previously reported by Data Centre Magazine: “There really wasn't much of an industry as we know it today, and in terms of educational path there was really no route directly into the data centre industry. For me, it was a focus on the international business arena and general business management.”
He has been CEO of STACK Infrastructure EMEA since 2022.
3. James Tyler, Managing Director, Equinix
James took over as UK MD in March 2025, having been with the company for nearly 10 years. He is responsible for leading the company’s largest EMEA market and oversees 14 facilities, which combined are responsible for generating approximately 25% of EMEA revenue and contributing over US$1.4bn in gross added economic value to the UK economy, according to KPMG.
He told Data Centre Magazine in June 2025: “There has never been a more exciting time to be part of this company. We’re investing at pace and at scale in the connected nature of our offering, improving our excellence in cloud and connectivity and expanding our global footprint, so the value we can now bring to our customers, communities and society at large is unmatched.”
2. Dominic Ward, CEO, Verne
Dominic is a highly experienced technology and infrastructure executive. Prior to joining Verne, he ran direct investments at the Wellcome Trust, one of the company’s previous shareholders. He began his career at Jones Lang LaSalle Corporate Finance and later co-founded Lepe Partners, a technology investment and advisory firm.
With more than 20 years of experience in technology and digital infrastructure, he has worked at Verne for more than 14 years and became CEO in 2020. He supports the company’s mission in delivering sustainable data centre solutions that enable organisations to scale digital infrastructure sustainably.
1. Dame Dawn Childs, CEO, Pure Data Centres Group
Dame Dawn Childs has been CEO at Pure Data Centres since May 2023, having worked at the company since 2021. She is an accomplished engineer and operator who was honoured with a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 and appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2023 New Year honours list for her services to engineering.
Prior to joining Pure Data Centres, Dawn has held senior positions at the National Grid, Gatwick Airport and the Royal Air Force. Her experience lies in engineering, business transformation and maintenance systems.
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