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Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Data Center Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)Founded 2004
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Digital Realty: CEO History

3 leaders · 2004 to present

Who is the CEO of Digital Realty?

Andrew P. Power is the CEO of Digital Realty, in the role since 2022. The first chief executive was Michael F. Foust, from 2004.

Current CEO
Andrew P. Power (since 2022)
First CEO
Michael F. Foust (2004)
Leaders documented
3
Founded
2004
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Andrew P. PowerChief Executive Officer2022Present4
A. William SteinFormer Chief Executive Officer201420228
Michael F. FoustFounding Chief Executive Officer2004201410
Who was CEO of Digital Realty before Andrew P. Power?
A. William Stein was CEO of Digital Realty from 2014 to 2022, before Andrew P. Power took over in 2022.

Company Overview

When an app says its data lives in the cloud, it physically sits on servers inside buildings owned by companies like Digital Realty. The REIT supplies the land, shell, utility power, backup generation, cooling and fiber meeting points; customers bring their own servers and networking gear. Its customer base spans single-cabinet enterprise tenants up to hyperscalers renting hundreds of megawatts, which makes it the main global rival to Equinix while also competing with private developers backed by infrastructure funds. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Andrew P. Power

Chief Executive Officer

2022 – Present

4 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Since becoming CEO in December 2022, Andy Power has funded growth through joint ventures and private capital rather than balance-sheet debt alone, sold or contributed stabilized assets, and prioritized AI-ready capacity. Under him the company signed its largest-ever lease, a 200 MW hyperscale AI deployment in Charlotte, in Q1 2026.

Legacy

Power joined Digital Realty as CFO in 2015 after a career in real estate investment banking, and later served as President and CFO. As CEO he delivered double-digit Core FFO per share growth in 2025 and guided to another double-digit year in 2026.

Source →

A. William Stein

Former Chief Executive Officer

2014 – 2022

8 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Bill Stein, who joined as CFO at the 2004 IPO and became CEO in 2014, led the acquisitions of Telx (2015), DuPont Fabros (2017), Ascenty (2018), Interxion (2020) and Teraco (2022).

Legacy

Stein is widely credited with transforming Digital Realty from a primarily North American real estate operator into a truly dominant, ubiquitous global technology infrastructure leader. His leadership and aggressive acquisition strategy increased the company's global market share, scale, and overall shareholder value, firmly establishing the foundational network architecture that currently supports much of the modern global digital economy.

Source →

Michael F. Foust

Founding Chief Executive Officer

2004 – 2014

10 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Foust pioneered the highly successful business model of acquiring massive, distressed real estate assets (like the internet gateways built during the dot-com bubble) and converting them into carrier-neutral data centers.

Legacy

As the founding CEO, he built the company from a private equity carve-out into one of the absolute largest publicly traded Data Center REITs in the world before his abrupt departure in 2014.

Source →

Challenges & Strategic Context

Digital Realty faces power scarcity, high interest rates, capital intensity, construction delays, permitting constraints, customer concentration, equipment lead times, and competition for hyperscale demand.

Digital Realty CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Andrew P. Power and when did he become CEO of Digital Realty?

Andrew P. Power became Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty in December 2022. Power joined the company in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer and served as President and CFO from 2021 to 2022, leading the execution of major global acquisitions and capital strategy.

What are CEO Andrew P. Power's primary strategic priorities for Digital Realty?

Andrew Power's strategic agenda focuses on capturing high-margin AI infrastructure demand, accelerating PlatformDIGITAL adoption, expanding private capital joint ventures to finance mega-hyperscale campuses, and driving organic FFO per share growth.

Who was A. William Stein and what was his impact as CEO from 2014 to 2022?

A. William Stein served as CEO for eight years, overseeing Digital Realty's transformation from a US-focused wholesale landlord into a global colocation and interconnection leader, orchestrating landmark acquisitions including Telx, DuPont Fabros, Interxion, Ascenty, and Teraco.

Who was Michael Foust and what was his role as founding CEO of Digital Realty?

Michael Foust was Digital Realty's founding CEO from the 2004 IPO until 2014 and built its turn-key wholesale data-center model.

Who serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Digital Realty?

Mary Hogan Preusse serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Digital Realty. A highly respected REIT industry veteran and former Managing Director at APG Asset Management US, she guides board governance, capital allocation, and executive oversight.

Who are the key executive leaders on Digital Realty's management team?

Alongside CEO Andrew Power, key executive leaders include Matt Mercier (Chief Financial Officer), Gregory S. Wright (Chief Investment Officer), Colin McLean (Chief Revenue Officer), and Chris Sharp (Chief Technology Officer).

How did leadership successfully handle the relocation of corporate headquarters to Austin, Texas?

In 2021, executive leadership relocated Digital Realty's global headquarters from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, expanding its presence in a central, business-friendly tech hub while maintaining major operational centers in Northern Virginia, London, and Singapore.

How has executive management structured Digital Realty's capital allocation during rising interest rates?

Under Andy Power and CFO Matt Mercier, Digital Realty has leaned on joint ventures such as the Blackstone development venture, private funds and asset sales to finance AI-driven growth while keeping investment-grade ratings.

Who is the CEO of Digital Realty?

Andy Power serves as CEO, taking over in 2022 from Bill Stein. Power previously served as the CFO and is aggressively leading the company through the massive global AI boom, where data centers now require exponentially more electricity to cool Nvidia GPUs.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.