european-data-centre-associationLondon, England – 9th September 2016 – The European Data Centre Association has today announced the appointment of Nicola Hayes as Managing Director of the organisation. Nicola will be responsible for the day to day running of the association and will work closely with the chairman and board to ensure that its members are effectively represented and strategic objectives communicated and implemented.

The decision is part of a long term plan to widen the association’s membership and relevance across Europe. During its annual meeting in June, the board recognised that the industry is in a period of change and determined that the association needed to be able to evolve in order to best serve its members. The task of leading the association during this period falls to the new chairman, Apostolos Kakkos, CEO of Lamda Helix, the Greek Data Centre Operator together with a newly appointed board. Speaking about Nicola’s appointment, Apostolos says “in order to ensure the growth of the association and its relevance to operators of all sizes across Europe, it was determined that a managing director, independent of the member organisations, should be taken on. We are delighted to have Nicola on board. Her long history of working within the industry at both European and International levels as well as her experience of working with other national trade associations will prove invaluable to the long term success of the European Data Centre Association”.

The association has also announced the addition of international operators Equinix and Digital Realty to its membership and board.  Apostolos states “the European Data Centre Association now has as members the three largest pan-European operators, all of whom fully support our updated aims and objectives and will play a large role in ensuring the association’s success and relevance to the industry, both commercially and politically”.

Michael Winterson, VP Sales Equinix was appointed to the board at the June meeting. Speaking about Equinix’s decision to join the association, Michael commented “it has become increasingly obvious that there is a need for an industry body representing data centres across Europe. On a political level, whilst some counties have effective national trade associations working on our behalf, this isn’t always the case. Commercially, there is a strong argument for an organisation offering the dissemination of information; representation outside the continent; and a forum for discussion. Equinix is confident that the European Data Centre Association is strategically well placed to serve the interests of European data centre operators and I look forward to working with the organisation”.

Nicola Hayes together with board members will be present at the BroadGroup DataCloud Nordic event in Stockholm on the 20th October, www.datacloudnordic.com,  where a briefing will be held explaining the Associations aims, objectives and member benefits. If you are interested in attending please contact Nicola Hayes, nicola.hayes@eudca.org.

About The European Data Centre Association

The European Data Centre Association is a not-for-profit industry trade association with Royal Assent in Belgium. Membership is open to all commercial data centre operators with a presence in Europe. Its mission is to support and develop the data centre industry in Europe and this includes commercial as well as political aims. For further information please contact Nicola Hayes, nicola.hayes@eudca.org