Management Team

Paul joined Global Switch in 2010 as Group Chief Operating Officer and is a member of the Global Switch Executive Committee. Paul brings to the Company an extensive global experience in data centre design, construction and operation within the financial sector and more broadly in commercial property development.

Paul has over 30 years in the property sector, 15 of these years in commercial mixed use design and construction and 15 years within financial services corporate real estate. Paul was responsible for procurement, development and operational management of high reliability property portfolios and business continuity planning for Morgan Stanley Asia and Lehman Brothers Asia, India and Europe.

During his time with both investment banks Paul delivered significant critical systems reliability improvements through effective capital upgrades, internal and external team performance management, establishing risk monitoring, controls and communications protocols. Paul leveraged his extensive international network for procurement of real estate, construction and operational services. Paul's responsibilities also included property strategic planning, capital and operational budgeting, cash flow management, liaison with planning and statutory agencies; tax, insurance and contract risk management, supply chain, corporate security and sustainability.

Paul began his career as a Technical Coordinator and Project Manager for Skidmore Owings and Merrill Architects & Engineers, constructing prestigious owner occupied high rise and mixed use developments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow and London. Paul then performed senior project management and leadership roles for a developer in Osaka and a European architectural firm in Milan, for projects throughout Western Europe. Throughout this period Paul was responsible for technical design, inter-disciplinary coordination, contractual, technical and statutory performance standard during design, procurement and construction.

Paul holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture from University California Berkeley and holds professional architectural licenses in the USA and UK.

Mark, based in Sydney, was appointed to his present role of Chief Executive Officer, Asia-Pacific in 2008. He has a focus on providing leadership to the Asia-Pacific team while identifying and analysing strategic growth opportunities in the region. As a member of the Global Switch Executive Committee, he has also led the development of a standardised operational and strategic business model across the Group.

Mark joined Global Switch as the Operations Manager of the newly-commissioned Sydney data centre in 2001. Prior to this, he had 20 years' technical and operational experience as an Officer in the British and Australian Defence Forces which prepared him well for the detailed systems, process and risk management requirements of our mission-critical industry. As well as providing first class leadership training, his defence background provided a diverse range of skills and qualifications in areas such as weapons development, technical procurement, project management, training methodology and nuclear target analysis.

Mark's initial responsibilities with Global Switch included the development and implementation of 'best practice' Standard Operating Procedures whilst successfully recruiting, training and retaining the best technical and facility management team. Mark was instrumental in driving the delivery of key business objectives, positioning Global Switch as the leading data centre provider in Australia with an enviable reputation for reliability, operational excellence and strong customer focus.

Mark soon moved on to a broader, commercial role with responsibilities for resource management, customer services, business development and key account management. After successfully negotiating several large scale contracts with Financial Institutions, Telecommunications and IT Service providers he became Managing Director Australia, guiding the business through a period of significant change and rapid growth before relocating to Singapore in 2008. He moved back to Sydney in 2011 to focus on expanding the company's presence in the region.

Mark is a respected industry professional with a wealth of experience and a deep understanding across all areas of the operational, technical and commercial aspects of the global data centre markets.

Richard joined Global Switch in January 2009 as Chief Financial Officer and is a member of the Global Switch Executive Committee. Richard brings a deep knowledge of the data centre and managed services business to his role, as well as extensive experience in the capital markets.

Richard started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA). Since qualification Richard has gained more than 15 years' of experience dealing with financial strategy, budget development and management, reporting, planning and control in the telecommunications and technology sector in both publicly traded and private equity backed businesses.

Richard began his commercial career at General Cable plc a UK based provider of cable television and telecommunications services. Richard held a number of senior financial roles at General Cable and was integral in the company's successful IPO on the LSE and NASDAQ, the completion of a number of acquisitions, the raising of in excess of £1 billion of funding to support the build out of the company's cable network and the sale of the company to Telewest Communications plc for £650 million.

Following his time at General Cable Richard has held a number of roles including:

Chief Financial Officer of the data centre operator IX Europe plc, now part of Equinix Inc, where he had responsibility for the funding and financial management of the company's data centre roll out which was achieved via a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. In 2002 IX Europe plc was the UK's fastest growing unquoted technology company in the Sunday Times ARM Tech Track 100 report and in 2003 it was ranked 25th;

Chief Financial Officer of Lycatel Services the global market leader in the prepaid international calling card market with operations in 16 countries, annual revenues in excess of £500 million and more than 9 million customers. He was responsible for implementing the financial controls and procedures to support the rapid growth of the business and to support the launch of new services including mobile services via MVNO arrangements.

Richard received Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the University of Bristol.

James was seconded to Global Switch by the Reuben Brothers as the shareholder's representative to oversee the extensive power upgrade in its London 2 data centre.  Following that project he has continued to work closely with Global Switch in the upgrading and expansion of its facilities.  He monitors all capex for the data centres starting from the preparation of budgets through to the completion of construction and reports the results directly to the Global Switch Executive Chairman.

A mechanical engineer, he is a member of the Global Switch Executive Committee and a Director of GSFM.

Johan joined Global Switch as Managing Director, Amsterdam in 2009.

He previously held executive management positions at Phillips Communication Systems, Genronics ICT and KPN working in sales and marketing and operational capacities.  He was also Director/Chairman of the board for a number of the VolkerWessels working companies.

Johan brings experience into service management, merger and acquisitions, organisational change and new business strategy and now holds responsibility for both the operational and commercial management of Global Switch Amsterdam.

Johan studied Business Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (Drs./MSc.) and also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering (Ing.)

Markel joined Global Switch as Managing Director, Madrid in 2005.

Prior to that he worked with major IT manufacturers including EMC², SUN Microsystems, NCR-Teradata, UNISYS and Burroughs. He completed projects based on high performance computing technologies in mission-critical environments such as airlines and utilities and developed large accounts throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

Since joining Global Switch Madrid, Markel has positioned it as a leading data centre and key partner for major IT manufacturers, telecoms providers and system integrators.

Markel is a member and associate of IT councils and commerce chambers, promoting and encouraging business development in the Spanish market. He is also an undergraduate in IT, and holds an MBA from ESEM.

Andrew joined Global Switch in 2006 as Operations Manager for London. He was appointed as Managing Director, London in 2008.

Prior to joining Global Switch, Andrew was responsible for UK Corporate Call Centre and Retail Building Services at Deutsche Telekom. He has also worked in the finance and health sectors.

As Managing Director, Andrew is responsible for maintaining the mission-critical environment in London and continues to develop the UK business's services, revenue and green initiatives.

Damon joined Global Switch as Operations Manager Sydney in 2007. During 2007 Damon also developed the customer services department for Sydney and before moving into the position of Commercial Manager, Sydney in 2008. With a wealth of experience in sales and marketing Damon successfully lead the Sydney facility through a period of rapid expansion before moving into the regional role of Commercial Director Asia Pacific in 2009. In 2011 he was appointed to his present role of Managing Director, Sydney.

Damon is an experienced industry professional with a broad experience base that crosses the operations, sales and customer service, and technical elements of the data centre business.

Yves joined Global Switch in 2010 as Managing Director, Paris. Yves has both technical and sales experience having held Technical Management and Sales Director positions at companies such as Emerson Electric Group and Chloride France.

Prior to joining Global Switch Yves was General Manager of the UPS division of Chloride France, a position he held for 8 years. During this time he developed a complete suite of services around the existing product line. He brings extensive knowledge of critical services and business continuity.

Yves focus for Global Switch Paris is to drive the development of new services and to ensure the stability of the data centre whilst increasing the profile of Paris 2 which is due for completion in 2011.

Peter joined Global Switch as Commercial Manager for Sydney in 2007  and in the same year was appointed  as Managing Director, Sydney. In 2011 he was appointed to his current role of Managing Director, Singapore and has relocated to Singapore.

Peter's marketing and general management experience includes 35 years with Procter & Gamble and Cadbury Schweppes. During this time he held regional managing director responsibilities for both companies in the Middle East and Africa and was a member of the senior management group, steering strategic business expansion in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Peter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Global Switch and has successfully led the business through a further period of rapid business expansion, process enhancement and organisational development.

Peter holds an Honours Degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Wales, Cardiff.

Béla joined Global Switch in 2007 as Managing Director, Frankfurt.

Béla has worked extensively in the data centre, telecommunications and IP sectors.  Prior to Global Switch Béla held senior positions with Bosch Telecom, GTS Westcom, First Telecom, and was Managing Director, Germany and Austria for Teleglobe and Managing Director Germany for TeleCity.

His enthusiasm for the business and the wider industry coupled with 20 years of management experience means Béla is a key member of the Management Team. In particular he was crucial in implementing standardised operational procedures across the Global Switch Group.

Béla holds a Masters Degree and PhD in physics from the University of Frankfurt.

Ali has worked with Global Switch since 2009 and joined as Group Marketing & Communications Director bringing with her over 20 years of expertise.

Following a career in the banking sector working for Goldman Sachs and Swiss Bank International, Ali's marketing, communications and business development career started in the late 80's when she joined an international legal practice in London. In the early 90's Ali moved into the property sector gaining invaluable experience working as Marketing Director for a number of the leading UK agents. Ali, who is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, has also had experience of re-branding and launching companies.

Ali's main focus at Global Switch is the development of the corporate identity as well as providing strategic marketing advice on the brand and the company's expansion plans.

Mark joined Global Switch as Chief Legal Officer in 2010. He is responsible for all aspects of Global Switch's legal and regulatory affairs.

Prior to joining Global Switch, Mark held the position of Commercial (Legal) Director of Civica UK Limited, a market leader in software based IT systems and IT based service delivery. Prior to that, he was a Partner in private practice law firms, where he practiced as an attorney for 15 years, concentrating on Company and Contracts law, and as a commercial litigator.

At Global Switch, Mark's focus as the senior legal support to the Global Switch group, and particularly the Executive Committee of Global Switch, is on contract negotiations with both customers and service providers, and liaison with third party legal advisers, as well as having the responsibility for the global roll out of legal and regulatory initiatives, contracting process and procedure, compliance issues, company trademarking and intellectual property.   In addition, Mark oversees all real estate divestments and acquisitions.