Corporate Office

The Operations Team consists of directors and managers with a unique set of technical and operational skills. Together they design, build and deliver bespoke solutions for some of the world's most sophisticated and demanding businesses.

Paul Hohnsbeen - Chief Operating Officer

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.

Chris Heffernan - Regional Technical Director, Asia-Pacific

Chris joined Global Switch as Regional Technical Director, Asia-Pacific in 2011.

Chris has over 25 years of knowledge and experience in the real estate and construction industry. Prior to joining Global Switch he was Head of Engineering and Critical Systems at leading financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of design, commissioning and operational strategies relating to data centres, trading operations, critical business operations and corporate headquarters across Asia, India and Australia.

Chris's key objective will be to focus on the Asia-Pacific expansion plans of Global Switch, and in particular the design and construction of Phase II of the Sydney campus.

Patrick McCourt - Regional Technical/Construction Director, Europe

Patrick joined Global Switch as European Technical and Construction Director in 2009.

Prior to that he worked for a leading project management consultancy directing their data centre operation. Patrick managed the design, installation and commissioning of technical space for numerous blue chip and government clients. He has also held a senior management position at Orange Mobile on their GSM/3G network rollout and their expansion of switch and data centres.

Patrick's key objective at Global Switch is to lead the exciting and aggressive expansion plans across Europe, the most significant to date being the new Paris 2 data centre, which will be fully operational during 2011.

Stewart Bayram - Regional Critical Environments Manager, Europe

Stewart joined Global Switch as Regional Critical Environments Manager in April 2011 bringing with him over 12 years of international data centre operations experience. He is tasked with implementing "best practice" processes and procedures and to bring the operational efficiency of all our sites to an industry leading standard.

Stewart formerly worked in the UPS industry for 15 years in that time he worked for most of the major manufacturers, gaining significant experience in the installation and commissioning of turnkey critical power systems. In this time he gained a degree in IT to add to his engineering qualifications.

Kevin Ross - Regional Critical Environments Manager, Asia-Pacific

Kevin joined Global Switch in 2003 as a member of the Sydney facilities management team. He was appointed as Operations Manager with Global Switch Sydney in 2008.

During the past 25 years Kevin has gained vast experience of facilities and operational management through roles in technical engineering and asset management.

Whilst working in the health sector he was instrumental in gaining a government energy efficiency award and receiving ISO accreditation for a 214 bed hospital. He has also held the position of Asset Services Manager at the Royal Agricultural Society. This role led him to being part of the site precinct co-ordination team for the 2000 Olympics and Paralympics in Sydney.

Kevin has played a major part in the operational success of Global Switch Sydney and has ensured the successful completion of numerous bespoke customer projects.

David Guth - Regional Development Manager, Asia-Pacific

David joined Global Switch as Development Manager for Asia-Pacific in 2007.

Having spent more than 10 years working in construction and property development, he has been instrumental in both the sourcing and acquisition of Global Switch Singapore 2, and the design and implementation of Global Switch Sydney 2. David divides his time equally between Singapore and Sydney.

His overall focus is the design and delivery of energy efficient and sustainable solutions that meet both the environmental and operational efficiencies Global Switch requires across Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Giles Scott - Regional Development Manager, Europe

Giles Scott joined Global Switch as Regional Development Manager for Europe in 2011.

Giles has a wealth of skill and experience in the property development, IT and telecoms industry. Prior to Global Switch he was Head of Development Management (Europe) at EC Harris. He has advised numerous clients across Europe including; Fujitsu, Tyco, RBS, Helios and Cable & Wireless.

Giles' main focus is a number of development initiatives in particular Amsterdam and London, as well as on going assessments of other potential European opportunities. In order to ensure best working practices Giles liaises closely with all Global Switch data centres.

Ian Blair - Operations Manager, London

Ian joined Global Switch in 2003 as a member of the London facilities management team and was appointed as Operations Manager with Global Switch London in 2011.

He has worked extensively within mission critical facilities managing operations and providing technical support for several large financial institutions and a leading mobile telecommunications provider. He initially specialised in high voltage construction and maintenance, working for a regional electricity company, which provided Ian with a wealth of experience in energy management and power capacity planning.

Ramzi Charif - Technical Director, Paris

Ramzi joined Global Switch as Technical Director, Paris in 2009.

He has extensive experience of the data centre industry having worked in various technical roles within the sector for more than 12 years. Ramzi has previously held positions as Head of Technical & Customer Services at Redbus Interhouse and Technical Director at Telecity Group in Paris. He has also held the role of Microelectronics Senior Engineer at the HCR Research Center.

Ramzi's main focus at Global Switch Paris is defining the operations strategy though optimising work flows and businesses processes, to ensure the sustainability of the services and infrastructure at the data centre.

Murray Goldring - Operations Manager, Sydney

Murray joined Global Switch in 2011 as the Operations Manager for Sydney. Murray brings with him over 23 years of knowledge and experience in a variety of operational and facilities management roles across a range of sectors including commercial and residential property, retail property and hospitality.

Most recently Murray managed the New South Wales Police Data Centre at Parramatta where he managed a major electrical and mechanical upgrade of the facility with no disruptions to the operating systems. Alongside a proactive approach to building resource management Murray has a keen interest in sustainable operations and has undertaken training in sustainable facilities management.

Eddy Gudijanto - Operations Manager, Singapore

Eddy joined Global Switch in 2006 as Operations Manager, Singapore.

He has over sixteen years of experience in commercial operations, maintenance and engineering of mission-critical systems. Prior to joining Global Switch Eddy worked in the facility management and data centre industries with leading financial institutions and property companies. He has a wealth of technical knowledge and extensive 'hands on' experience in the design, construction and maintenance of mechanical, electrical and building management systems.

Armin Höfner - Operations Manager, Frankfurt

Armin joined Global Switch as Facility Manager for Frankfurt in 2001.

He has held roles in facilities management for more than 15 years and has more than 8 years' experience in the data centre industry at companies such as HSG Zander. He has specialised in a variety of technical and complex infrastructure systems.

Armin is responsible for the day-to-day site operations and quality assurance within the Frankfurt data centre.

Pieter Mels - Operations Manager, Amsterdam

Pieter Mels joined Global Switch in 2012 as Operations Manager, Amsterdam.

Pieter has over 14 years of management experience in diverse positions in the technical service management for the industry, building installations, ICT networks and energy utilities. In these roles he has become specialised in contract management and maintenance policies.

Pedro Muñoz Olivares - Operations Manager, Madrid

Pedro joined Global Switch Madrid as Facility Manager in 2004.

Pedro has more than a decade's experience of data centre construction and operations, having held positions at CIASA and Telvent, where he managed business expansion into both Spain and Portugal.

During his time at Global Switch, Pedro has led the construction works carried out at the data centre and has also built a strong and knowledgeable operations team ensuring the highest standards of infrastructure and resiliency are maintained and managed at Global Switch Madrid.