Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a global provider of data center, colocation, and interconnection services today announced that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) A. William (Bill) Stein has “departed from his role as CEO and resigned from the Board of Directors”, adding he will “remain an employee of the company through December 31, 2022”. To replace Bill Stein, Digital Realty’s Board of Directors has appointed current President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Andrew (Andy) Power, as its CEO and to the Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Digital Realty’s Board of Directors has approved the termination of Bill Stein as Chief Executive Officer of the company without cause, effective immediately.
Notably, Andy Power will remain President of Digital Realty and will continue to serve as CFO of the company, with plans to announce a permanent successor in early 2023. At present, Andy Power will not serve on any committees of Digital Realty’s Board of Directors.
Recently, Digital Realty’s business model has been under scrutiny, particularly from Jim Chanos, a notable short seller who has taken aim at the data center sector (see CNBC’s interview with Bill Stein below). Additionally, earlier this month, Digital Realty scaled back its plans to offload two data centers to Digital Core REIT (SGX: DCRU), a Singapore-listed vehicle sponsored by Digital Realty, by excluding the sale of a data center in Dallas, Texas from the transaction.
Digital Realty’s CEO Bill Stein Discusses the Data Center Sector on CNBC
Below, Dgtl Infra summarizes Bill Stein and Andy Power’s roles at Digital Realty and their professional experience prior to joining the company. Additionally, we review Digital Realty’s current data center portfolio and key leasing metrics for the most recent quarter, Q3 2022.
Bill Stein – Digital Realty – Outgoing CEO
Bill Stein has served as Digital Realty’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as a director since November 2014. Prior to being named CEO in 2014, Bill Stein served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Digital Realty.
Separation Payments
In connection with the termination of Bill Stein’s employment, Digital Realty anticipates that he will be eligible to receive a cash separation payment of $10.7 million, as well as various other separation payments and benefits. Accordingly, Digital Realty expects to record a one-time charge in Q4 2022 of $15 million related to Bill Stein’s separation compensation.
Professional Experience
Before joining Digital Realty in 2004, Bill Stein was with GI Partners, a private equity fund of which Digital Realty was a portfolio company. Past positions of Bill Stein include:
- Co-Head of VentureBank@PNC and Media and Communications Finance at PNC Financial Services
- President and Chief Operating Officer of TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust, that was acquired by Starwood Financial Trust (now called iStar Financial)
- Senior investment and financial management positions with Westinghouse Electric, Westinghouse Financial Services, and Duquesne Light Company
In 2020, Bill Stein was Chairman of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit) and he has been part of the Executive Board of Nareit since November 2015. Finally, Bill Stein is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and The Florida Bar.
Education
Bill Stein holds an AB from Princeton University, a JD from the University of Pittsburgh, and a MS from Carnegie Mellon University.
Other Current Public Company Boards
Since July 2017, Bill Stein has served as a member of the board of directors of Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ: HST). He is a current member of the Audit Committee and Culture and Compensation Committee at Host Hotels & Resorts.
Andy Power – Digital Realty – Incoming CEO
Andy Power has served as President of Digital Realty since November 2021 and as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2015. Specifically, Andy Power has had responsibility for Digital Realty’s global portfolio operations, technology development and innovation, service provider and enterprise customer solutions, asset management and information technology as well as the company’s financial functions.
Professional Experience
Prior to joining Digital Realty, Andy Power held various investment banking positions, having most recently served as a Managing Director of Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Also, Andy Power was a member of the lead underwriting team that advised Digital Realty on its initial public offering (IPO) in 2004.
Presently, Andy Power is Chair of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit) Multinational U.S. REIT Council.
Education
Andy Power holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Analytical Finance from Wake Forest University.
Other Current Public Company Boards
Since January 2018, Andy Power has served as a member of the board of directors of Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD). He is a current member of the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee at Americold Realty Trust.
Digital Realty – Data Centers
Digital Realty operates a global footprint of 304 data centers comprising 2,166 megawatts of white space IT load and 36.7 million net rentable square feet. In total, these data centers serve 4,000+ customers and offer 188,000 cross-connects.
Leasing Activity in Q3 2022
In Q3 2022, Digital Realty’s new lease signings were $176.2 million, representing 100.7 megawatts of power capacity and 1.38 million square feet. This can be further attributed to:
- Hyperscale: over 1-megawatt signings were $118 million, equivalent to 67% of total signings (84% of hyperscale signings came from the Americas)
- Colocation: under 1-megawatt signings were $29.2 million, equivalent to 16.6% of total signings
- Interconnection: contributed $13.0 million, equivalent to 7.4% of total signings
- Powered Shell/Other: added $15.9 million, equivalent to 9.0% of total signings
Geographic Breakdown – New Leases in Q3 2022
Digital Realty’s mix of new lease signings (excluding Interconnection), in terms of base rent, were weighted towards the Americas during Q3 2022:
- Americas: new lease signings were $129.4 million for 78.8 megawatts of power capacity
- EMEA: new lease signings were $29.3 million for 19.4 megawatts of power capacity
- Asia Pacific: new lease signings were $4.5 million for 2.5 megawatts of power capacity
Digital Realty signed renewal leases representing $156 million of rental revenue during Q3 2022. On a cash basis, lease renewals were down -0.5%, and on a GAAP basis, lease renewals were up 2.3%. Focusing on hyperscale renewals, on a cash basis, over 1-megawatt lease renewals were down -8.8%, and on a GAAP basis, over 1-megawatt lease renewals were down -2.2%.
