The Executive to Scale a National Data Center Platform
CLIENT
PE-backed North American infrastructure services platform
ROLE
CDO, National data center delivery & field trades
SECTOR
Data center & network infrastructure
THE CHALLENGE: A NARROW TALENT POOL
A private equity-backed national provider of mission-critical data center infrastructure and field services, with $100M+ in revenue and a nationwide skilled-trades workforce. Following investment, the platform is scaling into surging hyperscale demand and required operational leadership to lift execution, profitability, and client delivery.
Few operators pair hyperscale delivery depth with disciplined P&L ownership, skilled-trades command, and the field presence to scale in a high-growth environment. L. Maxwell calibrated the search to that operating reality, not to a generic résumé.
THE SOLUTION
L.Maxwell reshaped the mandate before launching the search, narrowing a broad C-suite backfill into a clearly defined delivery P&L leadership role and shifting the target from IT-services executives to trades-fluent operators with the credibility to lead in the field. A partner-led, proprietary market map expanded the search beyond the obvious competitor set to owners, developers, and operators closer to the work, where the eventual hire was identified. With cash compensation roughly a third below market, L. Maxwell used senior-level relationships and a compelling articulation of the opportunity to engage executives who would not have responded to conventional outreach.
The CDO Placement
15+
YEARS IN DESIGN, BUILD & OPS
1 GW+
CAPACITY OVERSEEN
200 MW+
GREENFIELD DELIVERED
90 days
SEARCH LAUNCH TO SIGNED OFFER
Feb 2026
EXECUTIVE IN SEAT
THE OUTCOME & EARLY IMPACTS, 6 MONTHS IN
A data center design and construction leader who had delivered large hyperscale campuses across major U.S. markets, from site selection and greenfield build through startup and operations. A former military officer with BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering, built greenfield delivery functions from scratch and owned multi-year capital programs across five hyperscale campuses.
Delivery organization rebuilt: roles realigned, accountability and real-time KPI visibility installed.
Commercial-risk discipline brought to large-scale hyperscale contracts.
Founder-era operations moved to an institutional standard.
THE INVESTMENT THESIS
Skilled-trades delivery is what turns data center capacity into an operating asset: mission-critical, non-deferrable work governed by uptime and safety standards. For PE investors, an AI-driven buildout, aging infrastructure, and a persistent trades shortage create durable demand and real consolidation runway in a large, fragmented market; and unlike most sectors, it is work that AI accelerates rather than replaces.