Kao Data has promoted Fraser Clarke to Vice President of Operations, expanding his remit across day-to-day data centre operations. 

The promotion, which is effective immediately, will see Clarke reporting directly to Chief Operating Officer Pete Judson. In the role, he will oversee data centre operations, customer implementation, contracts and procurement, live projects, and service management.

Clarke commented, “I’m honoured to take on this expanded role at such an exciting time for the business. Our operations teams are the backbone of everything we do, and I’m committed to building on the strong foundations we’ve established to support our customers and drive the company’s growth in the years ahead.”

Judson added, “Fraser has demonstrated outstanding leadership and has consistently brought a high level of guidance and focus to the business. This promotion is thoroughly well-deserved, and I have every confidence that Fraser will excel in his new role as we continue to scale.”

Clarke’s promotion comes at a key time for Kao Data, as the company gears up to launch its KLON-03 facility in Harlow. That facility, which was recently tipped to be partially powered by a 40MW private wire solar farm constructed by Downing, is expected to form part of the UK’s largest data centre campus currently under development. 

That’s why it was key to get Clarke into position, as his  expanded remit spans both the ‘keep it running’ side of the business (operations and service management) and the functions that shape delivery and scale (customer implementation, contracts and procurement, and live projects). It’s a portfolio that becomes more complex as new capacity is commissioned and customer demands become more varied.

Kao Data said the promotion reflects a need to ensure operational standards keep pace with its growth, as it expands its customer portfolio and supports organisations running more demanding compute workloads.