Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has appointed industry veteran Chris Street as managing director of data centres in Asia Pacific, a newly-created role.
The company provides clients with a range of data centre solutions including capital markets and financing solutions, portfolio and data centre location strategy advice, leasing, facilities management, project and development management, and energy and sustainability programs.
JLL said in a statement that Street's appointment strengthens the company’s existing team of data centre experts serving investor and occupier clients and reinforces the firm’s commitment to creating an integrated platform to meet the changing real estate and capital requirements of this asset class.
Street brings over 20 years of data centre and digital infrastructure experience across the Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas, and will be based in Singapore.
He will be responsible for business development and client management across all data centre products and services for JLL in the Asia Pacific.
Before joining JLL, Street was responsible for strategic sales, marketing and environment, social and governance (ESG) activities at Princeton Digital Group, a global data centre operator.
At ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, he led the company’s Singapore launch and helped drive their worldwide expansion in various markets such as the UK, China, India and Thailand.
Street also brings experience from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and product management and business development expertise from Equinix, Switch and Data, AT&T and CERFnet.
Currently, he is the co-chair of the data centre committee at SGTech, the industry association that collaborates with various Singapore government agencies to address issues relevant to the wider Singapore technology industry.
Anthony Couse, JLL’s Asia Pacific CEO, said the company, through its interactions with clients regionally and globally, has found that the demand for data centre expertise is increasing and requires a platform offering advice and solutions that cater to both investors and occupiers.
“This continued growth – driven by technology, consumption and business operating shifts in the Asia Pacific – means it’s the right time to provide an integrated offering under Chris’s leadership and to expand our range of services in this sector regionally,” he said.
There has been significant growth in the data centre market across the Asia Pacific, reflecting client appetite for creative real estate and capital solutions for this asset class.
Asia Pacific data centre investment transactions reached US$5.4 billion in 2021, up 30 percent year-on-year and more than double 2019 levels.
About 85 percent of the investment volume is attributed to Greater China, India, Japan and Australia.
JLL expects strong growth to continue across the region, driven by underserved and large domestic markets.
