Dame Dawn Childs steps down as CEO at Pure Data Centres

Dame Dawn Childs has announced that she will step down as CEO at Pure Data Centres Group. Gary Wojtaszek, renowned for his leadership in transforming CyrusOne into a global hyperscale giant ahead of its $15 billion acquisition, is set to become executive chairman and interim CEO. Meanwhile, Childs will transition to the role of president.

Wojtaszek commented, “Pure DC has built a strong, differentiated platform across Europe and the Middle East. The AI wave that transformed the US market is now emerging across Europe, and the opportunity to scale a focused, high-quality platform at this moment is compelling.

“Our objective is clear: expand in supply-constrained core markets, deliver for hyperscale and AI customers at the highest standards, and develop the next generation of large-scale AI campuses across the region.”

Wojtaszek previously led CyrusOne through a period of sustained hyperscale leasing velocity, developed a multi-campus US footprint, and navigated the capital structure complexity that comes with scaling a balance-sheet-heavy business. The $15 billion exit in 2021 remains one of the largest data centre transactions on record.

Dame Dawn Childs DBE, FREng, who has led the company since May 2023, said: “Gary’s appointment is a significant milestone for Pure DC. His global leadership experience and proven ability to scale complex infrastructure platforms make him uniquely suited to lead our next chapter of growth. We have strong momentum and a world-class team – and this leadership transition positions us to accelerate further.”

Pure Data Centres operates across the FLAP-D markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin), the five European locations that hyperscale cloud providers have historically treated as non-negotiable. But it also holds a growing presence in the Middle East.

Pure Data Centres announced last year they planned to spend €1bn on Amsterdam’s largest data centre. Backed by Oaktree Capital, Pure Data Centres said the data centre campus will be leased by a single hyperscaler tenant, as the industry seeks to build more AI infrastructure.

Construction of the campus will begin in Amsterdam in January 2026, with the company saying there will be a phased delivery from 2028 onwards. It will be able to serve either AI or cloud workloads, with a private substation powering the data centre.

Datacloud Global Congress

Dame Dawn Childs is a member of the Datacloud Leadership Committee. Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes this June, will see European data centre investment, AI infrastructure strategy and consolidation in the operator landscape at the top of the agenda. Senior figures from the hyperscale, cloud and infrastructure investment communities will convene at the industry’s most significant annual gatherings. To book your place click here.

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