Greetings,

The battle for AI dominance has moved from the software lab to the construction site. As Anissa Gardizy reports this week, the most sought-after professionals in tech right now aren't just AI researchers—they are the executives capable of building the massive physical infrastructure that keeps those models running.

We are seeing a scale of development that was unimaginable a few years ago. Many of these new AI campuses are designed for 1 gigawatt of power or more, which is 10 times the size of traditional data centers. The stakes are so high that some of these leaders are now commanding $10 million compensation packages to stay in their roles or jump to a competitor.

Why it caught my eye:

• Sky-High Pay: Top data center managers are seeing $10 million+ packages as firms fight to secure their expertise.
• Extreme Scale: New AI campuses now require 1 gigawatt of power, a ten-fold increase over traditional facilities.
• Financial Risk: Lenders are now using "key man" clauses to pull funding if a specific executive leaves a project mid-build.

This week, we launched the Talent Tracker: The Executives Leading the Data Center Race. We've identified 16 of the most influential leaders at companies like Oracle, OpenAI, and Meta who are actually delivering this infrastructure on the ground.

You can view the full list and read the deep dive into how these power players are being courted by the industry's biggest names by joining our Pro community today.

Best,

Jessica Lessin
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Meet 16 Data Center Executives Leading the AI Buildout

The battle for AI talent is no longer just about landing the best AI researcher. People with experience developing giant AI data centers suddenly are among the most sought-after professionals in tech right now.

While an array of big tech firms and other developers is committing billions to data centers for AI, few people have designed and built centers at the scale now required. Many of the large AI campuses are designed for around 1 gigawatt of power or more, more than 10 times the size of traditional data centers.

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