Paul Ryan was appointed as Vertiv‘s new EMEA president at the start of the year. Formerly Vertiv’s chief procurement officer for eight years, Ryan brought with him more than 20 years of industry experience to his new role. Well-versed in supply chain resilience and continued innovation, he has fostered a strong global perspective of the data centre industry.

Capacity spoke exclusively with Ryan at the start of the year to learn more about how Vertiv is strengthening its global supply chains during a time of large AI and data centre investment and how Vertiv EMEA will be capitalising on accelerating momentum in 2026.

“I’ve spent most of my career working across different parts of the business, from operations through to procurement and regional leadership,” Ryan shared. “This role brings all that experience and knowledge together.”

Building a dynamic, global perspective

EMEA is a dynamic region for the data centre industry currently, amid rising demands for AI infrastructure and power. Ryan explained that countries differ significantly, particularly when considering regulations, energy infrastructure and customer maturity.

“There isn’t a single template that works everywhere, so it is important to rely on experienced local teams to help adapt to different local regulations and requirements,” he said. “I like that diversity – it can be challenging and complex, but that makes it interesting!”

Like many across the business, Ryan joined Vertiv through acquisition – having joined Avocent in the early 2000s, which became part of Emerson Network Power, before Vertiv. He credits his global expertise on positive company culture.

“I benefitted from organisations that invested in me early, including supporting further education,” he explained. “At Vertiv, initiatives like the Vertiv Academy are about building real capability. Supporting people who want to pursue qualifications in engineering or related disciplines isn’t just good for them, it provides Vertiv with much needed skills and capabilities. If you create the right environment, development and performance tend to follow.”

Developing success in EMEA

After transforming Vertiv’s global procurement and supply chain, Ryan is ready for a new EMEA-focused challenge.

“This is an opportunity for me to continue learning and stretch myself even further,” he said. “There is an incredible diversity of markets, customers and talent across this region – from established data centre hubs to rapidly emerging digital infrastructure needs. Each market brings unique opportunities to innovate and adapt our solutions.”

Indeed, Ryan has stepped into his new role at a critical time for the data centre industry, as investment into AI-driven data centre infrastructure surges. He told Capacity that, as demand for data continues to rise, AI represents a step change.

“[AI] is accelerating demand for compute and creating very direct implications for critical digital infrastructure,” he added. “Power densities are increasing, thermal profiles are evolving and supply chains are accelerating. In some cases, projects that historically took 12 to 18 months are now being targeted for completion in as little as three to six months.”

Vertiv is working to help customers manage complexities through sustained R&D investment and an innovative portfolio designed around AI and its realities. According to Ryan, this means providing rapidly deployable, high-density and energy-efficient solutions that treats compute units as the core design reference.

“This is particularly relevant in EMEA, where retrofit-heavy markets, tighter energy constraints and growing interest in sovereign AI shape investment decisions,” he said. “Just as importantly, it’s about looking at power and thermal together and supporting facilities across their full lifecycle, rather than treating build and operation as separate conversations.

“Traditional construction models will not get us where we need to be, in the time we need to be there.”

Priorities for 2026

Moving forward, Ryan said Vertiv will be continuing to build on its strategic partnerships with leading technology providers like Nvidia, Dell Technologies and PNY, to address growing demand for AI infrastructure solutions.

“These collaborations, alongside our long-standing relationships with major colocation and cloud providers, are essential to delivering the AI-ready, integrated solutions our customers require across EMEA,” Ryan explained. “We all have our role to play, and we need to work together to deploy effectively at the speed and scale required.”

This comes amid the European data centre industry facing questions and concerns around energy use and emissions. Ryan said that, although progress has been made in this area, more needs to be made.

“Modern data centres can be highly energy efficient … there’s still more to do, particularly around optimising power usage, integrating alternative and renewable energy sources and improving thermal performance as compute density increases.”

He added: “At Vertiv, we work closely with industry organisations focused on energy efficiency to help advance best practices and practical standards. Our portfolio is designed to support more energy-efficient power and cooling, including solutions compatible with alternative and renewable energy sources, helping operators reduce environmental impact as demands grow.”

Despite having a 23-year career with Vertiv, Ryan said he is still being challenged.

“I want the team in EMEA to understand how powerful trust and belief can be in unlocking potential, ambition and new possibilities,” he said. “What that translates to is delivering on our commitments to deploy critical digital infrastructure at scale, speed and quality. That will require us to evolve how we think and operate today.

“Vertiv has a strong foundation in EMEA and my focus is on building on that in a way that’s practical, sustainable and grounded in execution.”

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