Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Data Center Knowledge published its Q&A with Eric Schwartz on December 29, 2022, after he became CyrusOne’s CEO that October. The interview, conducted November 17, captured his plans to scale the company’s existing hyperscale business, expand in Europe, strengthen execution and address power and supply-chain constraints. It is a historical snapshot: CyrusOne appointed John Hatem CEO effective July 30, 2026, and Schwartz stepped down.
A new CEO, but not a new strategy
When Schwartz took the helm in October 2022, CyrusOne had recently been acquired by funds managed by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners and was privately held. The interview framed his arrival against a period of senior-leadership turnover. Schwartz described CyrusOne as having a strong trajectory, established customer relationships and a focus on hyperscale customers and companies with comparable scale. His stated aim was to accelerate that direction, not to recast the company’s business. Read the original Q&A; for the acquisition context, see CyrusOne’s 2023 sustainability report.
That distinction matters: a strategy can be clear on paper and still be difficult to deliver. CyrusOne’s work was to translate customer demand into sites, power, equipment and completed facilities. Schwartz emphasized growing the organization’s capacity to execute along with its physical data-center capacity—through processes and internal capabilities that could support a larger development pipeline. Customers approaching the company with new capacity needs and development ideas were an important part of the growth opportunity, but demand alone would not ensure timely delivery.
Why his Equinix experience was relevant
Schwartz brought two kinds of experience he said were useful to CyrusOne. He had spent about 11 years as president of Equinix EMEA, then returned to the United States in 2019 and became Equinix’s chief strategy and development officer. In that later role, he was involved with Equinix’s xScale hyperscale data-center program. That background connected regional market experience in Europe with work on hyperscale development and organizational growth.
#1 Best Overall
- Save valuable floor space: 6U wall mount server cabinet Dimensions: 13.78" H x21.65" W x17.72" D.Maximum mounting depth is 14.2"
- Keep critical network equipment secure: glass door and side panels are lockable to prevent unauthorized access. Front door can be installed on either side of the front of the cabinet to satisfy your door swing orientation preference
- Easy equipment configuration: Fully adjustable mounting rails and numbered U positions, with square holes for easy equipment mounting with top and bottom punch-out panels for easy cable access
- Durability: Made of high quality cold rolled steel holds up to 110lb (50kg) (Easy Assembly Required)
- PCI & HIPPA and EIA/ECA-310-E compliant
It does not mean the two companies had identical strategies or operating models. Rather, Schwartz’s experience gave him relevant familiarity with European markets, large-scale infrastructure development and customers with substantial capacity requirements.
Europe, with Spain as a concrete example
At the time of the interview, CyrusOne was building a data center in Spain, a new market for the company. Schwartz had worked with Spain during his Equinix career. The interview situated the project alongside CyrusOne’s existing European presence in Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin. Spain illustrated a broader expansion effort; the Q&A did not call it the company’s sole or largest opportunity.
Entering a market is only one step in expansion. Data-center projects also depend on securing power, equipment, permits and construction capacity, as well as meeting customer schedules. The interview did not provide project-level delivery dates or quantify how these factors affected the Spain development.
Two different supply-chain problems
Schwartz distinguished between supply chains serving customers and those affecting CyrusOne’s facilities. Server and other technology supply chains were primarily customers’ concern. CyrusOne faced constraints on the equipment and power infrastructure needed to deliver data centers. He said conditions remained abnormal but were improving, and described years of managing delivery challenges through early procurement and scheduling commitments. He also pointed to the company’s financial resources as enabling advance commitments and stressed transparency and collaboration with customers when delays arose.
Rank #2
- Save valuable floor space: 12U wall mount server cabinet Dimensions: 24.25" H x21.65" W x17.72" D. MAXIMUM MOUNTING DEPTH is 14.2".
- Keep critical network equipment secure: glass door and side panels are lockable to prevent unauthorized access; Front door can be installed on either side of the front of the cabinet to satisfy your door swing orientation preference
- Easy equipment configuration: Fully adjustable mounting rails and numbered U positions, with square holes for easy equipment mounting with top and bottom punchout panels for easy cable access
- Durability: Made of high quality cold rolled steel holds up to 110lb (50kg) (Easy Assembly Required)
- PCI & HIPPA and EIA/ECA-310-E compliant
Those are Schwartz’s management assessments, not independently verified delivery results. The interview gives no quantified delay figures, customer-by-customer impacts or detailed inventory of affected equipment. Its useful point is the distinction: cloud customers may be waiting on servers, while a colocation provider may separately be waiting on the electrical and facility infrastructure needed to make space available.
Leadership turnover and a promise of stability
Asked about earlier leadership turnover, Schwartz said he had not been at CyrusOne during that period and could not say precisely what caused it. He argued that, despite the disruption, the company had continued executing and investing, and said he personally viewed his role as a commitment to stability and longevity. He hoped that within a year or two questions about CEO stability would no longer be central.
Those comments should remain attributed to him: the interview did not independently establish that operations or performance were unaffected. In retrospect, the stability pledge also has a clear endpoint. CyrusOne announced that John Hatem would become CEO effective immediately on July 30, 2026, with Schwartz stepping down and assisting with the transition. The company described the change as part of long-term succession planning. That later transition does not establish that Schwartz’s leadership failed, but it does mean his stated hope for long tenure did not describe an indefinite outcome. CyrusOne’s succession announcement and its current leadership page identify Hatem as President & CEO.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
What “self-powered” meant—and did not mean
Schwartz did not describe CyrusOne’s facilities as energy-independent. He said sites were connected to the electrical grid and generators provided backup, rather than serving as a model in which data centers routinely powered themselves. He discussed exploring ways to supplement grid capacity and participate in demand response, potentially reducing electricity use when the grid was stressed. He also raised the possibility that data centers could, in some circumstances, supply power back to the grid and anticipated more intelligent, two-way grid management.
Rank #3
- Sturdy:4u server rack is construct from cold rolled steel, with a weight capacity of 110lbs(50kg); Electrostatic powder coat prevents rust and corrosion,quality finish
- Direct use:Open and use, not having to assemble it.Network rack can be placed flat or mounted on the wall,also can be installed vertically under the table
- Design Features:maximum mounting depth of 14 in,cables can be fixed on the side panel;Open frame server rack achieves effortless inspection, replacement and assemble
- Installation:wall mount network rack is easy to install,with instructions or videos for reference;Equipped with multiple accessories, suitable for different needs
- Application:EIA/ECA-310-E Compliant;wall mounted 4u rack fits all 19" racks and cabinets to hold various IT, network, and AV equipment;wall mount rack available in 4U, 6U, and 8U to choose
- Grid-connected: the facility relies on an electricity network for normal supply.
- Backup generation: generators can provide power during outages or other defined situations; their presence does not make a site self-powered.
- On-site generation: equipment at a facility generates electricity, but a site may still remain connected to the grid.
- Demand response: a facility adjusts or curtails consumption in response to grid conditions or a utility program.
- Islanded operation or export: a site operates temporarily apart from the grid or sends electricity to it—distinct capabilities that require suitable systems and arrangements.
The interview described exploration and possible future applications, not a completed CyrusOne commercial self-powered model. Later power-related projects should likewise be kept separate from Schwartz’s 2022 remarks. CyrusOne subsequently announced a joint venture with Japan’s Kansai Electric Power Company and a partnership with Eolian for a planned 200-megawatt Fort Worth campus; those announcements indicate later activity in power and infrastructure coordination, not proof that the earlier grid concepts had been deployed as described. See the KEPCO announcement and the Eolian partnership announcement.
What happened after the interview
The Q&A predates several developments in CyrusOne’s later company positioning and expansion. The company now describes offerings that include build-to-suit, colocation and interconnection, and its later materials discuss AI-related infrastructure. It also announced a first data-center project in Italy. These are later company developments, not initiatives that should be retroactively attributed to Schwartz’s 2022 interview. CyrusOne’s current company description and its Italy announcement provide that subsequent context.
As of 2026, CyrusOne’s leadership page lists Hatem as President & CEO. The company’s homepage publishes current footprint and capacity figures, but those figures are date-sensitive and should not be read as measurements from the 2022 interview. For readers revisiting the Q&A, the clearest way to interpret it is as Schwartz’s initial account of an execution agenda: grow an established hyperscale platform, add international capacity, build organizational capability and navigate dependence on equipment supply and the grid.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
