Kao Data appoints Bruce Claassen as Chief Financial Officer

Kao Data has appointed Bruce Claassen as Chief Financial Officer as the data centre operator expands its UK footprint.

Claassen joins after four years at Global Switch, where he served as Group Finance Director and later Acting Chief Financial Officer. He led the finance organisation across Europe and Asia-Pacific and oversaw refinancing programmes linked to the company's international growth.

With more than 20 years of finance experience, he joins Kao Data's senior leadership team as the company develops sites in Stockport and Park Royal alongside its campus in Harlow. He will work with Chief Executive Officer Spencer Lamb, the board and investors as those projects progress.

Kao Data operates in a market attracting growing investment as demand rises for data centre space tied to artificial intelligence and advanced computing. Its platform spans Greater London and Greater Manchester and is intended to support workloads from AI and cloud customers.

Before joining Global Switch, Claassen held senior finance roles at Towergate, Worldpay and RAC. His background includes capital investment, refinancing and business transformation across listed and private equity-backed companies.

Born in South Africa, Claassen moved to the UK after completing a Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. He later qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London and became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Growth stage

The appointment comes as operators and developers of large-scale data centres seek fresh capital and new sites to meet demand from AI and cloud computing customers. For Kao Data, that means strengthening financial oversight as it advances a pipeline that includes developments in the North West and West London.

Its portfolio totals more than 237MW of IT load across operational, development and planned projects. The company has positioned its sites around demand from customers with intensive computing requirements.

Claassen addressed the wider backdrop for the sector in his first comments after taking the role.

"The data centre industry is experiencing an unprecedented period of transformation, and I am excited to be joining one of the UK's leading digital infrastructure businesses as it continues to support growing demand from the AI and hyperscale cloud sectors," said Bruce Claassen, Chief Financial Officer, Kao Data.

"I look forward to working closely with the Board, our investors and the leadership team to deliver Kao Data's long-term growth strategy, building on the company's strong foundations and reputation for developing and operating data centres engineered for AI and advanced computing workloads," said Claassen.

Lamb said the company had hired a finance executive with experience in the ownership and growth environment in which Kao Data operates. The business is backed by international investors and has been building out data centre capacity as competition for suitable land and power intensifies.

"Bruce brings extensive experience of operating within fast-paced, high-growth, private equity-backed businesses, together with deep expertise in capital investment and refinancing," said Spencer Lamb, Chief Executive Officer, Kao Data.

"We are delighted to welcome him to Kao Data as Chief Financial Officer. His combination of digital infrastructure expertise, financial leadership and private equity experience makes him an excellent fit as we continue to accelerate our growth ambitions and meet increasing customer demand," said Lamb.

Kao Data focuses on data centres designed for AI and advanced computing use cases, a segment that has become increasingly prominent as businesses seek more capacity for intensive processing tasks. Its facilities are located to the east and west of London, while Greater Manchester forms another part of its planned expansion.

Claassen's arrival also underlines how infrastructure groups are recruiting finance leaders with experience in debt markets and investment structures as projects grow larger and more capital intensive. In the data centre sector, refinancing and funding strategy have become central as developers manage rising construction costs, power constraints and the pace of customer demand.

At Kao Data, those issues will now fall in part to Claassen as the company moves through its next phase of development across southern England and Greater Manchester.