Dive Brief:
- Databank announced Ben Lowe will be joining the company as its new finance chief, just four months before CFO and President Kevin Ooley is expected to take the CEO chair, according to a Tuesday press release.
- The Dallas, Texas-based data center service provider announced the CFO transition as it prepares for Ooley to take the CEO chair in January 2027, according to the release. CEO Raul Martynek, meanwhile, will step into the executive chairman seat, the company said. Lowe will join the business at some point in October, the company told CFO Dive.
- "Ben’s deep industry insight into our sector, financial expertise, and capital markets background make him a strong addition to DataBank as we embark on the next phase of our journey,” Kevin Ooley said in a statement emailed to CFO Dive. “As we move forward continuing our rapid growth in supporting digital infrastructure demand, Ben's expertise will help us reach our goal."
Dive Insight:
Lowe most recently served as CFO for Radius Global Infrastructure, an investment company focused on the telecommunications and digital infrastructure industries, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to Radius, he spent 10 years at telecommunications firm Crown Castle in roles including VP of leasing and real estate operations and SVP, corporate finance and treasurer. He began his career as a market intelligence analyst at Legg Mason Capital Management.
Identifying the company’s next CFO was a top priority for Ooley as part of his preparations to take the CEO chair, he told CFO Dive in a July interview. First joining Databank in 2011, Ooley’s coming appointment as Databank’s top executive was about a year in the making, and finding the right CFO candidate was essential as he focused on making that shift, he said at the time.
Lowe will report to Ooley as Databank’s CFO, and will oversee finance, accounting and capital markets functions in the role, the company said Tuesday. He is taking the seat as the business, which globally operates over 70 “High-Performance Computing” ready data centers and 20 connection hubs, embarks on its “next phase of evolution,” seeking to capitalize on expanding demand for digital infrastructure created by artificial intelligence and “hyperscale cloud” services.
The amount of energy needed to scale generative AI models and services has led to a data center boom, while available power continues to outstrip that rising need. U.S. data center power demand is expected to more than double from 2025 by 2027, according to a May report by Goldman Sachs, primarily driven by the need for AI infrastructure. However, only about 50% to 60% of the data center capacity over the next two years is expected to come online on time, Goldman Sachs said.
Globally, capital expenditures related to AI infrastructure are expected to hit $31.6 trillion through 2050 — with the U.S. expected to capture nearly half (48%) of that investment or $15.1 trillion, Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a Sept. 2 report. Annually, AI infrastructure capex is expected to increase from $800 billion in 2026 to $1.8 trillion by 2050, PwC said.
Databank this year has closed new financing relating to the construction of new data centers on its Red Oak, Texas campus, securing a $2 billion loan in April for the first three out of eight centers on the site, according to a press release at the time. The first three facilities will span across 600,000 square feet and provide 180 megawatts of power, Databank said.
In June, the company closed an additional $1.4 billion in new financing, including a $650 million upsize of its existing construction financing for the Red Oak centers and an $800 million revolving credit facility, according to a company release.
