Chief Technology Officer

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – Data Centre Platform London, United Kingdom A rare opportunity to join a well-capitalised data centre start-up platform at a pivotal stage of its growth journey, with the potential to progress into the Chief Executive Officer position. Backed by substantial financial resources and an experienced investment team, our client is establishing a next-generation data centre platform focused on hyperscale and AI infrastructure. With ambitious plans to build a leading presence across the UK and Europe, the business is seeking an exceptional Chief Technology Officer to shape its technical vision, customer proposition and infrastructure strategy. This is a high-profile, customer-facing executive position, offering the opportunity to influence the design and delivery of a new generation of data centre infrastructure while building relationships with some of the world's leading hyperscale, cloud and AI technology businesses. Importantly, this role offers a potential pathway into the CEO position as the platform grows, providing an ambitious individual with the opportunity to evolve from technical leadership into broader business and commercial leadership. The Opportunity Reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with investors, the Chief Technology Officer will take ownership of the platform's overall technical strategy, ensuring its infrastructure, design standards and technology proposition are aligned with the evolving requirements of hyperscale, cloud and AI customers. The successful individual will act as the senior technical authority for the business, engaging directly with prospective and existing customers, translating complex technical requirements into commercially viable infrastructure solutions and ensuring the platform remains competitive as customer demands evolve. This is a board-level leadership role combining technical vision, customer engagement, commercial strategy and organisational leadership. The individual will play a critical role in establishing the platform's technical credibility, developing its customer proposition and supporting its growth into a recognised European data centre business. For the right individual, there is a genuine opportunity to take on increasing responsibility for the wider business, with the longer-term potential to transition into the Chief Executive Officer role. Key Responsibilities - Define and lead the company's overall technical strategy, vision and infrastructure roadmap across its European data centre portfolio. - Act as the senior technical interface for hyperscale, cloud, enterprise and AI infrastructure customers, building trusted relationships with technical leadership teams. - Lead technical engagement with prospective customers, understanding their infrastructure requirements and translating these into scalable, commercially viable data centre solutions. - Provide technical leadership across data centre architecture, engineering, design standards, power, cooling, electrical and mechanical systems. - Drive the development of next-generation infrastructure solutions, particularly those supporting high-density computing, GPU infrastructure and AI workloads. - Oversee technical due diligence, feasibility assessments and design reviews across new developments and existing projects. - Work closely with development, construction and operations teams to ensure technical requirements are embedded throughout the project lifecycle. - Establish technical standards, specifications and engineering principles to support consistency, scalability and operational excellence across the platform. - Advise the CEO, board and investors on technology trends, infrastructure requirements, market developments and emerging opportunities. - Support commercial negotiations, customer presentations, investment decisions and strategic partnerships through technical expertise and market insight. - Build and lead a high-performing technical organisation, attracting and developing the capabilities required to support the platform's growth. - Develop a strong understanding of the wider business, including commercial strategy, financial performance, customer acquisition and operational delivery, in preparation for potential progression into the CEO position. - Represent the business externally, building its reputation and establishing relationships across the global data centre and technology ecosystem. - Work in close partnership with private equity investors, supporting investment strategy, value creation initiatives, board-level reporting and the development of the platform's long-term business plan. Candidate Profile The successful candidate will be an established senior technical leader with a proven track record within the data centre, hyperscale, cloud, mission-critical infrastructure or related technology sectors. We are particularly interested in individuals who can demonstrate: - Extensive senior technical leadership experience within the data centre, hyperscale, cloud or mission-critical infrastructure sectors. - A strong understanding of data centre architecture, engineering, electrical and mechanical infrastructure, power and cooling systems. - Experience working directly with hyperscale, cloud, enterprise or AI customers, understanding their technical requirements and infrastructure strategies. - A deep understanding of evolving compute requirements, including high-density environments, GPU infrastructure and AI-driven workloads. - The ability to translate complex technical requirements into practical infrastructure solutions and commercially compelling customer propositions. - Experience providing technical oversight across large-scale data centre developments and infrastructure programmes. - Strong commercial awareness and the ability to influence investment decisions, customer negotiations and business strategy. - An established network of relationships across the global data centre and technology ecosystem. - Experience building and leading technical teams within a growing or entrepreneurial business. - The ambition, capability and appetite to take on broader executive responsibility, potentially progressing into a CEO position. - Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to engage at board level, with investors and senior customer technology executives. Importantly, this individual must be comfortable operating externally as well as internally, representing the business in the market and helping to win the confidence of major customers and strategic partners. Why Join? - Opportunity to shape a new data centre platform from its formative stages into a leading European business. - Significant financial backing and an ambitious long-term growth strategy. - Direct engagement with some of the world's leading hyperscale, cloud and AI businesses. - Opportunity to influence the next generation of data centre infrastructure, including AI and high-density computing environments. - Direct influence on corporate strategy, customer acquisition and platform development. - Board-level exposure and the opportunity to build and lead a technical organisation. - Potential progression into the Chief Executive Officer position, offering a genuine long-term leadership opportunity as the platform scales. - Highly competitive executive compensation package, including meaningful long-term incentive participation. For a confidential discussion regarding this opportunity, interested candidates should contact us directly.