The Kao Data campus, in Harlow to the north of London, is a £230 million development that will support a load of over 35MW, with 100% renewable energy.
Finch said he was building on “the solid foundations created”, and added: “The board have demonstrated their belief in me to not only ensure the digital infrastructure execution cycle continues seamlessly, but also that the broader business strategy aligns with ever changing market dynamics and evolving technologies.”
Finch was COO and CTO of Kao from 2016, “the first person recruited to the senior management team”, said the company, which added: “This new appointment demonstrates the company’s commitment to the next phase of its wholesale data centre development.”
David Bloom, a partner at Goldacre, the investment arm of the Noé group, said: “Paul Finch has successfully led the strategic operations and platform delivery function, resulting in Kao Data’s entry into the London wholesale multi-tenant data centre market. The breadth and depth of his technical expertise combined with his operational knowledge has been evidenced by the outstanding performance outcomes achieved thus far for our customers and investors alike.”
Finch said: “Kao Data is well set to deliver a strong customer advantage and continued success in a competitive and maturing market.”
Until 2016 he was Digital Realty’s senior director for design and construction in its EMEA region.
The Kao data centre campus is built on the site of the former Standard Telecommunication Laboratories, where the late Sir Charles Kao and George Hockham invented optical fibres. Kao won the Nobel prize for physics in 2009.
