Jones Lang LaSalle has announced that Chris Sumter, a 15-year veteran of mission critical data centers and colocation facilities, has joined the firm as an executive vice president. He will be based in the Silicon Valley office. Sumter brings a host of in-depth knowledge of data center construction and operations and is skilled in site selection/acquisition and complex lease negotiations in the data center/telecommunications industries.

“Chris brings expert insight and knowledge of the data center/colocation industry and has been a trusted advisor to companies in the sector for well over a decade.  He brings core skills that will greatly benefit our Silicon Valley and Northern California clients as they look to align their need for data center facilities within their overall businesses,” said Andy Poppink, managing director of the Silicon Valley brokerage operations.

Prior to joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Sumter was a founding member of Santa Clara-based Vantage Data Centers, which has developed, leased and operates more than 350,000 sq ft and 50 MW of data center space in Northern California and Washington.

Prior to that, Sumter was Director of Sales at Digital Realty Trust, a San Francisco-based REIT which owns and operates more than 19 million square feet of data and colocation facilities worldwide.  Earlier in his career, Sumter led the Northwestern and Asia Pac sales organization for Digex/Verizon. He has been involved in more than $2B of commercial real estate transactions nationally over the last six years.  His relationships with IT leaders and his deep knowledge of the landlord and tenant business have allowed him to be a trusted advisor to many Silicon Valley based companies.

Chris is a graduate of California State University - East Bay where he received a B.A. in Business Administration.