Data Centres Council
techUK’s Data Centres Council provides strategic direction for all activity relating to data centres. Elected every two years by techUK industry members, it comprises twenty individual members who represent the full spectrum of business interests and business models across the data centre sector. The Council was established in 2009 and has been instrumental in delivering significant policy outcomes for the UK data centre sector, from our Climate Change Agreement to key worker status.
Data Centres Council members include:
Amazon Web Services | Ben Connolly | Infrastructure Policy Manager, UK and Ireland
Ark Data Centres | Allan Bosley | Director, Public Affairs
AtlasEdge Data Centres | Duncan White | Senior Communications & Marketing Director
Carbon3IT Ltd | John Booth | MD
CBRE | Andrew Jay | Head of Data Centre Advisory
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP | Rebecca Roffe | Partner
Colt Data Centre Services | David Knox | Global Director of Energy & Sustainability
Computacenter | Neil Woollam | UK Head of Data Centre Operations
CyrusONe | Emma Fryer | Director, Public Policy Europe
Digital Realty | Howard Pearson | Energy & Sustainability Manager
Equinix | James Tyler | Managing Director, UK
Global Switch | Derek Allen | Director Operational Engineering and Technology
Kao Data | Adam Nethersole | VP Marketing
London Internet Exchange Limited | Richard Petrie | CTO & Executive Director
Microsoft | Manuel Abellan San Martin | EMEA - Government Affairs Data Center Strategy Director
nLighten | Luke Sheppard | UK Operations Director
NTT Global Data Centers | Steven Campbell-Ferguson | Global Product Design Lead
Pulsant | Sabine Heine-Bickle | Head of Risk & Assurance
Pure Data Centres Group | Chris Talago | Head of Corporate Affairs & Communication
RED Engineering ltd | Iain MacDougall | Director, Head of Sustainability
Spa Communications | Rory Flashman | Managing Director
Telehouse UK | Mark Pestridge | Executive VP & General Manager
Vantage Data Centers | Alex Read | Senior Public Policy Manager, UK, Ireland and the Nordics
VIRTUS Data Centres | David Watkins | Solutions Director
Lucas BanachProgramme AssistanttechUK
Jade Van ZuydamJunior Programme Manager - Energy and UtilitiestechUK
Allan BosleyDirector, Public AffairsArk Data Centres
Andrew JayHead of Data Centre Solutions, Advisory, EMEA, CBRECBRE LIMITED
Council members
Derek Allen
Group Operations Director
Global Switch Ltd
Ivana Bartolac
Vantage Data Centers

John Booth
Managing Director
Carbon3IT LTD
John Booth is a well-known figure in EU data centre circles, primarily for his role as reviewer for the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres (Energy Efficiency) (EUCOC) (https://e3p.jrc.ec.europa.eu/communities/data-centres-code-conduct) programme and his work with the Certified Energy Efficiency Data Centre Award (CEEDA) (https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/ceeda/) & Data Centre Alliance Certification https://dca-global.org/data-centre-certification) (which assesses data centres to a subset of the EUCOC best practices and EN 50600 respectively.) He is also the chair of the Data Centre Alliance’s (DCA) Energy Efficiency & member of the Sustainability steering group, shaping the DCA’s policy on these topics as well as providing support to the DCA in other steering groups and the Alliance’s wider activities. He is the Vice Chair of the British Computer Society, Chartered Institute for IT, Green IT specialist group. He is also the Chair of the BSI TCT7/3 committee that works upon the EN 50600 Data Centres Design and Build Standards and ISO/IEC 30134 series of Data Centre KPI’s (PUE ETC). John also sits on the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (https://sdialliance.org/) and on the Infrastructure Masons (https://imasons.org/) Sustainability Committee. He has recently been elected to the Tech UK Data Centre Council (Feb 24) He runs his own Green IT consultancy, Carbon3IT Ltd, providing support to organisations that are preparing to adopt various data centre standards including the more general standards such as Quality, Environment, Business Continuity, Information Security, and Energy Management. They also provide specialist niche consultancy in the field of Green IT including Data Centre Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Carbon3IT Ltd is currently working on a number of data centre carbon footprinting projects for 2 major clients. John is recently worked with the TIC Council developing audit criteria for the EU Taxonomy regulations. John is a lead auditor for ISO50001: (2011/2018) Energy Management Systems and ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Systems, is a Certified Data Centre Audit Professional CDCAP TM (Recert 2021), a Certified Data Centre Sustainability Professional CDCSP™ (2021) and is an EMA ESOS registered Assessor. John was recently received the Data Centre Solutions Magazine “Outstanding contribution to efficiency and sustainability” award for 2023. He is also the Technical Director of the National Data Centre Academy, (www.nationaldatacentre.academy) which provides practical technical, management and sales training to the data centre community.
Daniel Burgon
Director of Risk & Compliance
Telehouse UK
Steve Campbell-Ferguson
Global Lead for Design
NTT Global Data Centers EMEA UK Ltd
Brad Chuck
Marketing Manager
nLighten
Ben Connolly
Public Policy Program Manager
Amazon Web Services UK
Rory Flashman-Wells
Managing Director
Spa Communications

Emma Fryer
Director Public Policy Europe
CyrusOne
Emma leads CyrusOne’s public policy activity in Europe in a role that spans both strategic and operational functions. She is responsible for identifying, monitoring and responding to regulatory developments across multiple jurisdictions. In addition to advocacy she supports the company’s community engagement and outreach activities. Immediately prior to joining CyrusOne she spent almost two years at environmental consultancy ERM where she specialised in data centre sustainability and resilience. Previously Emma spent over a decade at trade body techUK where she provided a collective voice for operators on matters of policy, compliance and reputation. She successfully negotiated a number of important concessions for UK operators, including a climate change agreement and key worker status. Emma has produced over 250 sector-specific publications on topics ranging from data protection to climate change adaptation and is recognised for thought leadership and clarity of expression. Emma has a comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing this growing sector, from power provisioning to public perception. She sits on the Board of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, and was appointed to the Infrastructure Mason’s Advisory Council in 2021. She is a judge on several international award platforms.
Gabriel Harris
CBRE LIMITED
Sabine Heine-Bickle
Head of Risk and Assurance
Pulsant Limited
Simon Jones
Computacenter (UK) Ltd
Gary Kilmister
Compliance Director
Kao Data
David Knox
Energy & Sustainability Director
Colt Data Centre Services UK Ltd
Iain MacDougall
Director, Head of Sustainability
RED Engineering Design Ltd
Manuel Abellan San Martin
Data Center Government Affairs Director for the EMEA region
Microsoft Ltd
Charlotte Miller
Senior Associate
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

Helen Munro
Head of Environment & Sustainability
Pulsant Limited
Helen leads environmental sustainability at Pulsant, whose 14 regional UK data centres, connectivity and infrastructure services delivers a unique edge infrastructure platform. She holds degrees in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield, as well as Accounting and Finance from LSE, and has worked in operations and assurance serving electrical and mechanical industries in the UK and Australia. In sustainability, she leads the development, execution and reporting of Pulsant’s sustainability strategy, and engages on the wider systemic challenges around digital infrastructure efficiency and the energy transition. She additionally is a member of TechUK's Data Centre Council.
Katherine Mustard
ESG Analyst
CyrusOne

Justin Nesbitt
nLighten
Justin Nesbitt is the UK Sales Director at nLighten, with over 30 years of experience in the data centre and communications industry. He has a strong track record of driving innovation and leading successful teams, particularly during his 14 years at Equinix, where he managed the Finance Sector and built strategic relationships with major financial institutions. Known for his forward-thinking approach, Justin is passionate about shaping the future of digital infrastructure and remains an active voice in the tech community.
Adam Nethersole
VP Marketing
Kao Data

Susannah Odell
Government Affairs Manager
Microsoft Ltd
Susannah Odell is UK Government Affairs Manager at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft, Susannah was Deputy Director for Technology Policy at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), representing businesses of all sizes and sectors on policy matters, leading strategic projects on AI, cybersecurity, online safety, tech sector growth and Covid business support, and facilitating business engagement with the UK’s digital regulators. She also founded the CBI's Women in Technology Network. Susannah began her career at The Royal Society, where she focused on AI and data policy and facilitated international scientific and policy collaborations with the US and Japan. She holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics.
Howard Pearson
Energy & Sustainability Manager
Digital Realty (UK) Ltd
Mark Pestridge
Executive VP & General Manager
Telehouse UK
Richard Petrie
CTO
The London Internet Exchange Ltd
Neil Ratcliffe
The London Internet Exchange Ltd
Alex Read
Senior Manager, Public Policy, Northern Europe
Vantage Data Centers
Clive Richardson
Senior Manager, UK Public Policy
Amazon Web Services UK
Rebecca Roffe
Partner
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Anthea van Scherpenzeel
Sustainability Manager
Colt Data Centre Services UK Ltd
Luke Sheppard
Operations Director
nLighten

Mark Smith
RED Engineering Design Ltd
Anna Solar-Bassett
Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy
EQUINIX (UK) LIMITED
Chris Talago
Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications
Pure Data Centres
James Tyler
Managing Director UK
EQUINIX (UK) LIMITED
Rebecca Wall-Morris
Regional Marketing Director
CyrusOne
David Watkins
Solutions Director
VIRTUS Data Centres
Damien Wells
Spa Communications
Duncan White
Communications Director
AtlasEdge Data Centres
Neil Woollam
UK Head of Data Centres
Computacenter (UK) Ltd
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