Digital Realty SVP Schaap Named CEO of Aligned Energy

Aligned Energy, the recently launched data center provider with a unique business model enabled by the design of its cooling system, has appointed a new CEO. Andrew Schaap takes company helm after 11 years at Digital Realty Trust, one of the world’s largest data center providers.

Aligned’s current CEO, Jakob Carnemark, who is also its founder, vice chairman, and CTO, will focus on technology and strategy. In a statement, Carnemark said he’s always planned to eventually bring on another chief exec:

In his most recent senior VP role at Digital Realty, Schaap focused on global large-scale data center projects for clients, according to the announcement Aligned released Monday, which also said Schaap was part of the executive team that grew the San Francisco-based data center REIT’s revenue to $2 billion.

See also: Aligned Beefs Up Management Team with Hires from Rival Firms

Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned Energy

Aligned launched its first data center, located in Plano, Texas, in 2015, and earlier this year it announced that the first phase of the facility has been fully leased. Also earlier this year Aligned announced the launch of its second data center, this time in the Phoenix market.

The company has a unique business model for a colocation provider. It offers data center capacity on-demand, allowing customers not only to expand both capacity and the price of their lease in small increments, but also to contract it.

Read more: Modular Cooling system Enables On-Demand Data Center Capacity

This is enabled by a modular cooling system designed by Aligned’s subsidiary Inertech. Aligned Energy, a holding company backed by the hedge fund BlueMountain Capital Management, provides data center services under the name Aligned Data Centers.