Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has announced the appointments of a new chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Andrew Power has been named chief financial officer and Jarrett Appleby has been named chief operating officer.

"Since becoming the permanent CEO last year, I have taken a number of steps to further strengthen our executive team. With the addition of Andy, Jarrett, and our new chief information officer, Michael Henry, to our existing senior leadership team, I am confident that Digital has the right team to serve our customers, support our growth, and deliver the returns that our shareholders expect both now and in the years to come," said A. William Stein, chief executive officer, Digital Realty.

Andrew Power will become chief financial officer, a position which has been held by Mr. Stein since 2004. In this position, he will be responsible for the company's financial functions and will lead financial reporting, capital markets, tax, investor relations and financial planning and analysis. Power joins Digital Realty following a successful 13-year career in investment banking. He currently serves as managing director of the Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he is responsible for relationships with over 40 public and private companies, including Digital Realty.

Prior to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Power was employed by Citigroup, where he held similar positions. During Power's career, he has managed the execution of public and private capital raises in excess of $30 billion, including the largest REIT IPO to date, and more than $19 billion of M&A transactions. Power was part of the lead underwriting team that advised Digital Realty on its initial public offering in 2004 and has served as a lead manager on nearly every subsequent public capital raise.

MStein added, "We have known and worked with Andy for more than a decade. He has an outstanding reputation within the financial community, extensive capital markets expertise and a deep understanding of our business, making him an excellent addition to our senior leadership team. We look forward to leveraging his expertise and relationships in the financial community to support our longer-term growth while prudently managing our balance sheet and liquidity."

Power said, "I look forward to joining Digital Realty as CFO, especially following a long and successful relationship with the company. I am excited to bring my knowledge of the company and my relationships with the senior leadership and finance teams to support the company's growth initiatives."

Appleby joins Digital Realty in the newly-created position of chief operating officer. In this role, he will be responsible for the following teams:

  • Property and Technical Operations
  • Design and Construction
  • EMEA and APAC Operations
  • Product Management
  • Corporate Strategy

Stein said, "We believe the addition of a dedicated COO will provide more focused leadership and ensure alignment between corporate strategy and operations while enhancing our ability to deliver the most efficient and effective solutions to our customers. Jarrett is intimately familiar with the data center and telecommunications sectors and has a track record of proven success and delivering tangible results in our industry."

Appleby has deep experience in the data center business, having previously served as chief operating officer at CoreSite Realty and chief marketing officer at Equinix. He was the first COO at CoreSite, where he played a key role in overseeing significant and sustained FFO growth while leading product development and customer experience strategies. Appleby was also instrumental in developing Equinix's go-to-market strategy. Appleby currently serves as founder and CEO of the Appleby Group, an independent consultancy firm that advises leading private equity and technology companies.

Appleby said, "Digital Realty is the global leader in our industry, and it is an honor to be able to work with Bill and his outstanding team to build on the growth momentum and financial success that they have achieved. I look forward to enhancing our customer experience by offering innovative solutions and operational effectiveness to continue to demonstrate Digital's value proposition to its customers. I sincerely welcome the opportunity to make a significant contribution to this great company that I've admired for many years."

Appleby will join Digital Realty on April 20, 2015, and Power will join shortly upon completion of his remaining obligations at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Both Power and Appleby will be based at Digital Realty's Corporate Headquarters in San Francisco, and will report directly to Stein.