Skip to content

Data Centres Council

Elected

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

Group Contact
  • Lucas BanachLucas BanachProgramme AssistanttechUK
  • Jade Van ZuydamJade Van ZuydamJunior Programme Manager - Energy and UtilitiestechUK
Chair and Vice Chair
  • Allan BosleyAllan BosleyDirector, Public AffairsArk Data Centres
  • Andrew JayAndrew 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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

Related Groups

VIEW ALL

Data Centres ESG+ Group

Member OnlyWorking Group

The Data Centres ESG+ Group focuses on ESG and sustainability-related issues and trends that are relevant to data centre providers and organisations in their supply chains.

Data Centres Policy Working Group

Request AccessWorking Group

The Data Centres Policy Working Group keeps members informed on key policy updates, regulatory developments, and industry best practices.

Cloud Council

ElectedSteering Board

The Cloud Council provides strategic direction for techUK’s Cloud Computing Programme, ensuring our work accurately reflects members’ priorities.

Data Centres Energy Working Group

Request AccessWorking Group

Focused on ensuring that the UK’s energy policy and infrastructure planning effectively supports the rapid growth and sustainability of data centres.

Energy Digitalisation Working Group

Member OnlyWorking Group

Uniting members focused on accelerating the digital transformation of the UK’s energy system

Rail Policy Working Group

Member OnlyWorking Group

Bringing together businesses from across the membership to support and inform techUK’s work on the rail sector.