Aligned Data Centers, a division of Aligned Energy, has announced the addition of several key senior-level industry veterans to support the company’s rapid growth and expansion.

In August, Aligned Data Centers introduced the first pay-for-use, consumption-based pricing model to give clients greater control of data center cost and energy efficiency by eliminating stranded capacity. 

Commissioning is nearing completion on the first phase of the company’s 300,000 sq ft, 30 megawatt Plano, Texas data center, which is scheduled to open in November. In addition, construction has begun on a massive 550,000 sq ft, 65 megawatt data center in Phoenix, Arizona. Aligned Data Centers, with backing from its financial partner BlueMountain Capital, has begun site selection in four other top-tier data center markets including California, Illinois, Virginia, and New Jersey in the near-future.

“We’re thrilled to have recruited this caliber of talent to help bring our pay-for-use model to the market,” said Jakob Carnemark, CEO of Aligned Data Centers.  “Our clients will benefit from the depth and breadth of experience our team brings to the table.” 

The new hires include: 

Thomas Doherty joins Aligned Data Centers as chief operating officer. Tom previously served as a senior corporate executive at Verizon where he managed the planning, design, construction, and operations for more than 40 million square feet of mission-critical real estate including Fios and Global Network, Inc. Tom brings a strong background in strategic planning, construction and facilities management having managed over 100 data center projects throughout his career. “My experience has been in managing mission-critical infrastructure at a massive scale. Aligned Data Centers is the first provider to give its clients access to hyper-scale infrastructure in a pay-for-use cost model.”

Mark Gibbens joins Aligned Data Centers as head of Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer. Mark previously held leadership positions at General Motors, Alcatel-Lucent, Affinion Group Holdings, and CFO Performance Partners. Mark has executed over $40 billion in capital markets transactions, over $35 billion in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and partnerships, and supported customer financing of over $10 billion in 20 countries throughout his career. “I’ve spent years in the telecommunication industry and have worked for one of the largest, most capital intensive firms in the auto industry. I am looking forward to helping our clients transform their data center cost structure so they can redeploy that capital on initiatives that deliver business value.”

Paul Fox joins Aligned Data Centers as director of operations. Paul previously served in senior leadership roles at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, UBS, JP Morgan Chase, and Grubb & Ellis. Paul brings over 30 years of experience in capacity management, mission-critical operations and engineering. “I have spent my career helping large financial services firms with data center capacity planning. I am excited to be part of a company that is eliminating the guess work, so our clients can focus on what matters.”

In addition, Aligned Data Centers has attracted industry veterans from Digital Realty Trust, IO, Skanska, and CBRE to fill in its ranks in operations, engineering, marketing and sales.

“We are assembling a team of some of brightest people from inside and outside the industry. They have worked with some of the world’s most respected and innovative organizations including Google, Microsoft, HP, the U.S. Navy, and Yahoo”, says Carnemark. “We are well positioned to help our clients navigate the changing data center landscape and the disruption being caused by the cloud and other new technologies. Our goal is to remove the limits and cost drain associated with the current data center approach so they focus on driving their businesses forward.”