CyrusOne Hires Data Center Outsider As Its New CEO

Longtime real estate veteran Bruce Duncan is the new CEO of data center provider CyrusOne, effective today.

Data center provider CyrusOne, which was reportedly an acquisition target last year, has hired real estate veteran Bruce Duncan as its new CEO, replacing interim president and CEO Tesh Durvasula.

Effective today, Duncan is the new CEO of CyrusOne, bringing in more than 40 years of real estate management, development, and global investment experience to the Dallas-based company. However, he has no specific experience in the data center industry. Prior to joining CyrusOne, Duncan held CEO and director positions in public companies including Cadillac Fairview Corp., Equity Residential, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and First Industrial Realty Trust.

In a recent research note by Colby Synesael, a research analyst at Cowen and Company, Duncan has the reputation as a “deal guy” with Synesael pointing at his successful sale of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 2016.

[Related: CyrusOne And CEO Donate $300K For Coronavirus Relief]

The decision to appoint Duncan, a data center industry outsider, “may ultimately” result “in a sale of CyrusOne,” said Synesael in his note.

In 2019, CyrusOne was rumored to be eyed for an acquisition several times including by data center giant Digital Realty. CyrusOne, which was named in CRN’s 2020 Data Center 50 list, currently says it is not currently pursuing a sale.

CyrusOne’s stock has been hovering at around the $75 per share mark over the past several weeks. The company’s stock is trading slightly down at $75.44 per share as of Monday afternoon.

In a statement, Duncan said he plans to help lead the company’s global expansion and deepen its partnerships with customers.

“CyrusOne is an industry leader because of an extraordinary team of professionals who are passionate about developing innovative solutions to support the significant demand for data center infrastructure,” he said. “I look forward to joining the company and being a part of its continued success.”

CyrusOne’s former president and CEO Gary Wojtaszek resigned in February after nine years of running the company. Wojtaszek played a critical role in taking the data center specialist public in 2013 and growing it into a nearly $1 billion company. Durvasula, CyrusOne’s president of its European business at the time, took over as interim president and CEO.

In April, the Dallas-based company lowered its 2020 revenue guidance by approximately $10 million due to coronavirus concerns, despite increasing sales by 9 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

During its recent first quarter, CyrusOne reported revenue of $246 million, up 9 percent year over year. In addition, the company reported an $88 million backlog in annualized revenue, representing $610 million in total contract value. CyrusOne generated net income of $14.7 million in the first quarter, a decrease of 84 percent year over year.

CyrusOne operates nearly 50 data centers throughout the world, providing mission-critical data centers and services to protect its 1,000 customers including more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies.

This year, the $1 billion data center colocation company donated $250,000 on behalf of its employees to various U.S.-based food assistance agencies and charities in Europe to aid communities hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Durvasula personally donated $50,000 on top of the company’s $250,000 to help fund meals for people in need.