'In this business, security is of prime importance'

Before John Corcoran took the helm at Global Switch as chief executive officer in 2014, he had nearly 30 years' experience in the global property and finance industries under his belt.

He believes his extensive career background had helped him land the top job at the data center giant. Acquiring land, building up data centers and leasing them to customers echo his previous role as chief financial officer at Multiplex Group - a major diversified Australian property group.

Just like running real estate, Corcoran says security is of paramount importance to the business. Given the highly confidential nature of the data customers host with an outsourced data center, he strives to convince his clients, who do not have direct control over the server, that the data is absolutely safe with them.

"We convince all our customers that we can only access the area to maintain the equipment, we go in there to maintain their power and cooling services, and that access to these areas is strictly controlled, with the high level of security and access control applied to each area," assures Corcoran.

The seasoned executive stresses that discipline and integrity are critical to the data center operator.

Corcoran, an Australian, reckons that hard work plays an essential role in one's success. As a CEO, he's at his desk in his London office each day at 5:30 am, making sure he's always on call if anything crops up at their Sydney or Singapore offices.

He's involved in every project to get a detailed understanding of the complex requirements of every client. With around 250 employees under his supervision around the world, Corcoran knows each and everyone of them. He maintains a very flat management structure and is open to all his staff.

"I always encourage people to work hard and be responsible. Once they take up such responsibility, they'll have the confidence in making the right decisions."

evelyn@chinadailyhk.com