Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, has announced the appointment of Rob Coupland as Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), responsible for Digital Realty’s operations in the region.
Rob Coupland joined Digital Realty in conjunction with the company’s acquisition of eight European data centers earlier this year, and he will assume his new role on October 1, 2016. He will be based in London and will report directly to Chris Kenney, Senior Vice President, International.
Digital Realty bought the eight European data centers from Equinix – five in London, two in Amsterdam and one in Frankfurt. The total purchase price was approximately $874 million. Equinix committed to selling these facilities as an important condition for regulatory approval of its $3.8 billion acquisition of TelecityGroup.
“Rob is uniquely qualified to lead our growing EMEA platform, given his extensive industry and leadership experience in the region, and we are delighted to expand his role within the organization,” said A. William Stein, Digital Realty’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Rob Coupland most recently served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the former TelecityGroup data center business, which Digital Realty acquired on July 5, 2016.  Prior to TelecityGroup, he was Head of Product Marketing at NTL Business and spent 12 years at Cable and Wireless in senior product management roles. He currently serves on the Data Centre Alliance Board of Governors and the TechUK Data Centre Council.
“I am very excited to be a part of the talented Digital Realty team,” said Rob Coupland. “With highly strategic holdings in all of Europe’s major interconnection centers, Digital Realty is well positioned to address the strong demand for data center solutions and to meet our customers’ needs throughout the region.”
Over the course of his more than 20 years in the telecommunications and technology sectors, Mr. Coupland has spearheaded several critical growth initiatives. When he joined TelecityGroup in 2007, he played a key role in the company’s initial public offering before becoming the group’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2008. As COO, Coupland established a data center expansion program that doubled capacity between 2008 and 2012.
Mr. Coupland also led the efforts to acquire and integrate a number of businesses, including transactions in Ireland, Manchester, and Helsinki. He became the Managing Director for TelecityGroup’s UK division in 2013 and led the turnaround of the business from one experiencing significant churn to one characterized by accelerating sales and revenue performance.
