JLL has tapped an industry veteran to play a significant role in its business that works with data center owners and occupiers to get the most out of their existing facilities and prepare for future needs as the property sector rapidly evolves.
The brokerage said it hired Kristen Vosmaer as a managing director of its data center workplace dynamics business, which works with clients to maximize their commercial property portfolios. Vosmaer, who joined JLL from global data center owner, developer and operator GLP, started last week and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area's North Bay region in Sonoma.
“Our data center clients are facing the challenge of keeping aging facilities relevant and financially viable, while concurrently having to adapt to changing workloads that will usher in a new era of design and facility management methodologies,” Vosmaer said in a statement.
JLL is fortifying its data center workplace dynamics team as demand for the space grows and changes due to the need for more powerful facilities fueled by growth in artificial intelligence and machine learning. As data centers become more powerful, architects and developers are working on ways to cool them more efficiently.
Data center demand has fueled the race to develop new space across the country, according to a recent report from JLL. Total data center space under construction in primary and secondary markets exceeds 5.3 gigawatts, and most of that is preleased as demand jumps due to the "accelerating ... volume of data we create," JLL said. In addition, nearly 12.3 gigawatts of data center power capacity is in the planning stages, JLL spokesperson Kimberly Steele said in an email.
"The data center industry has been experiencing massive, unprecedented growth over the last few years with no sign of abating, and JLL has prioritized helping clients meet that demand," by attracting and retaining industry leaders such as Vosmaer, JLL's Matt Landek said in a statement. Vosmaer reports to Landek, who serves as the Americas managing director for data centers.
Vosmaer has worked in the data center industry for more than 20 years. At GLP, he served as vice president of global operations. Before that, Vosmaer, a Dutch native, worked in Milwaukee and the Amsterdam area as president and managing director of Europe for data center services company Salute Mission Critical.
He also has worked in recruitment for the data center industry at executive staffing firms CFT Eco, where he was a principal, and Critical Facility Search Partners, where he was a partner.
JLL’s data center work dynamics team has experience in data center operations and facilities management and advises clients on sustainability, compliance, change management and maintenance, among other things. The group manages 252 sites across the globe.