Global Switch chief executive John Corcoran (pictured above, left) is to retire from his role on 31 December, after two decades leading the company.
Ashley Muldoon (right), Global Switch’s current chief operating officer, will step into the chief executive role and will join the board of the property company, which specialises in data centres in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Shareholder approvals for his appointment are expected in the coming weeks.
Corcoran, 65, will pursue his private investment interests, several specific corporate projects and his charitable work, which is focused on improving vocational and educational links between the UK and his native Australia. He will also remain chairman of Global Switch Australia Holdings, the holding company of the Global Switch Australia group.
The changes at the top come as private equity firm EQT has resumed its talks to buy Global Switch for around $6.5bn (£5.1bn). A deal with its Chinese owners has yet to be finalised.
It is almost three years since steel giant Jiangsu Shagang Group started talking to possible buyers for Global Switch in January 2021 for a potential $10bn-$11bn sale. The Chinese firm took control of Global Switch from Reuben Brothers over a three-year period from 2016, paying a total of around $7.7bn. The Reubens had bought Global Switch as a loss-making business in 2007.
Under Corcoran’s leadership, it has been transformed from a start-up business with seven data centres, of which only three were operational, into a highly differentiated digital infrastructure business with a portfolio of 13 large-scale data centres. Its latest, world-class data centre will be launched in Q1 2024.
The company generates around £275m of annual EBITDA. Its last valuation, at 31 December 2022, put the value of the 4.6m sq ft portfolio at £6.6bn.
Global Switch said there would be no changes to the strategic direction of the company following the management change and that it continued to explore a potential sale.
Chairman He Chunsheng said: “John has created a true global leader, through strong organic growth, and has positioned the company for future, significant expansion. Under his stewardship, the company has also put sustainable design at the heart of the construction process and has a clear road map to achieve best-in-class environmental standards.”
Chunsheng said Muldoon was “ideally placed to lead Global Switch through the next stage of its growth”.
Corcoran said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the journey from the early days with the Reuben Brothers, where the company benefited from their original business vision and acumen, through to an exceptional period of growth over the past seven years, particularly in Asia-Pacific, where I have valued the ongoing support of our board and shareholders.”
Muldoon added: “The leadership transition comes at an exciting time for Global Switch, as the growth in AI, coupled with our unique platform of irreplaceable data centre campuses in the tier 1 markets, and our unrivalled customer base, provides exciting opportunities, both in existing markets and across new markets, to accelerate Global Switch into 2024 and beyond.”
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