ADCA Executive Team

Managing Director ADCA
Paul-Francois Cattier (Venture Partner Energy Access Venture Africa)

As VP Economic Development, Paul-Francois Cattier focuses on off-grid energy, the water grid and data centers. In the past, he was Schneider Electric President of French speaking Africa & Islands, covering over 60 countries.
Prior to Schneider Electric, he held different positions in sales and general management functions in companies like Alcatel, Philips, Digital Equipment Corporation, Cabletron & Anixter.
Paul-François is also Founder and former President of ADCA (Africa Data Center Association), and Founding Member of Club Abidjan Ville Durable (Abidjan Smart City club).

Marketing Manager Digital Infrastructure ADCA
Mary Kariuki

Mary is a highly motivated Marketing Communication professional with extensive experience in the data center industry. Her journey in the African digital infrastructure sector is marked by her strategic acumen, relationship-building prowess, and a commitment to staying at the forefront of market trends and dynamics. Her multifaceted approach to her work has contributed significantly to shaping the narrative of digital infrastructure in the African context.

Administrator ADCA
Angela Karanja

Angela is a financial management specialist with over 15 years experience in the development and relief sector. She has successfully managed several projects funded by donors and government agencies from Africa, Europe and USA.

Chairperson
Faith Waithaka (Sales Lead East Africa Schneider Electric)

Faith Waithaka is an accomplished leader in the Data Centre Industry with over a decade of experience and thought leadership. She currently works for Schneider as Cloud and Service Provider Segment Sales Lead and is a passionate Board Member of the Africa Data Centers Association. As an Engineer and Sales professional, she has delivered the infrastructure that makes digital possible, driving growth in the data centre Industry having a distinguished career in companies like Schneider, Vertiv, Emerson Network Power, Flexenclosure and Ericsson. Faith is a Working Mother, STEM Fanatic, Functional Tinker and Environmental Conservation Advocate who is passionate about Sustainability in Digital Infrastructure.

Secretary General
Nikki Blake (CEO and Co-Founder Global Technology Sustainable Solutions)

Nikki Blake is a results-oriented business development professional with 18 years of experience in identifying and nurturing strategic partnerships, expanding market presence, and driving revenue growth. Currently serving as CEO of Global Technology Sustainable Solutions (GTSS), she leverages her extensive expertise to develop innovative strategies that align with organizational goals and promote sustainable technological advancements.Throughout her career, Nikki has demonstrated a keen ability to analyze market trends, identify new business opportunities, and cultivate strong relationships with stakeholders across various industries. Her proactive approach and commitment to excellence have consistently resulted in the successful execution of projects and significant business growth.​Passionate about sustainability and technology, Nikki is dedicated to creating solutions that not only drive business success but also contribute positively to the environment and society. Her collaborative mindset and strategic vision make her an invaluable asset to any organization seeking to navigate the complexities of today’s dynamic market landscape.

Treasurer
Lee Perrin (Director MEA CBRE)

As a seasoned leader in the data center industry, Lee’s contributions to the African market have spanned across three key focus areas: skills development, supply chain optimization, and market research advancement. 

These key focus areas reflect his personal commitment to fostering sustainable growth, operational excellence, and market advancement across the African data center landscape. Through collaboration with the Africa Data Centre Association and leveraging CBRE’s global expertise, Lee plans to scale these initiatives regionally.

Board Member
Wouter van Hulten (CEO PAIX Data Centres)

Wouter is the founder and CEO of PAIX data centres, a Pan African cloud and carrier neutral data centre operator. In 2018, PAIX completed its first African investment in RackAfrica, Ghana’s leading carrier-neutral data centre.
Before founding PAIX, Wouter worked for Interxion in Europe. Over the years, he was involved in various industry initiatives: the Euro-IX Association, the Swiss Internet Exchange, the France-IX and the launch of the Datacenters World Map. He was a Board Member of the European Data Centre Association, and co-founder of the ADCA.

Board Member
Dr. Ayotunde Coker (CEO Open Access Data Centres)

Dr Ayotunde Coker is one of the leading players in the development of the data centre industry in Africa and is the Chairperson of an influential industry group, the Africa Data Centres Association. Before joining OADC as Chief Executive Officer, Dr Coker led Rack Centre to becoming a household name in Nigeria and a leading brand in Africa, with global recognition and numerous prestigious international awards. Throughout a distinguished international career as a technology and business leader, Dr Coker has held senior positions in finance, energy, management consulting and U.K Government. His achievements have been recognised by numerous awards, including the Distinguished Manufacturing Alumni Awards (Cranfield Institute of Technology) 2020, and in the same year, he was recognised as one of the Global Top 30 Edge Computing Leaders by Data Economy Magazine.

Board Member
Dr Angus Hay (Regional Executive SA at Africa Data Centres )

Dr Angus Hay PrEng, CEng, MIET, MIEEE, FSAIEE was part of the team that established Africa Data Centres as the colocation data centre business of Cassava Technologies, a technology group rooted in Africa that seeks to create a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind. His involvement with data centres started 15 years ago at Neotel (now Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa), a national telecoms operator, where he held various roles, including CTO. Throughout his career, he has been involved in a variety of aspects of information and communications technology and infrastrucure. Dr Hay has been President of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) and Chair of the Management Committee of the West Africa Cable System (WACS). As a postgraduate student in the early 1990s, he took part in the establishment of the Internet in South Africa, connecting Africa to the world.

Board Member
Stephane Duproz (Owner SDC Consulting)

With over 25 years of leading data center operators both in Europe and Africa, Stephane has forged a reputation for driving transformative growth and operational excellence.
Leveraging this unique expertise, he now channels his energies into empowering data center operators and suppliers, as well as supporting investment funds in formulating and executing development strategies tailored to their unique needs and challenges.

Board Member
Paul Schonborn (CEO STELLARIX Madagascar)

For more than 20 years, Paul has focused his career within the data centre, ISP, telecommunications, ICT and corporate communications industries.He has held various roles across Africa and the United Kingdom, including chief executive leadership, business development, sales, channel, service delivery, marketing and partner & product management.His is experienced in structuring businesses from an organizational design perspective and has a keen interest in defining and driving business strategies. He also believes in building sincere and strong relationships with peers, seniors and especially with partners, customers and the broader data centre industry. Paul has  a diploma in business studies and a MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits Business School) in Johannesburg, where his dissertation was focused on the “key drivers and critical success factors of telecommuting”. He has previously served on 2 school boards for 19 years and understands the commitment and effort it takes to positively contribute as a board member to an organization like ADCA.

Board Member
Snehar Shah (CEO IXAfrica Data Centres)

 Snehar has 25 years in the tech sector of which 15 years is in East Africa, a scale up specialist – grown businesses in Towerco and Paygo Energy Sector. He is Ex CEO and Chair Position at Moringa School, leading tech training provider in the region and has Blue Chip experience at PwC, HSBC and C Level experience at Orange, Eaton Towers, Azuri technologies and Moringa School. He is currently building and running East Africas largest carrier neutral hyperscale and AI ready Data Centre. With a background in Electrical Engineering, he is also a  Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst and was awarded Top 40 Under 40 by Business Daily Africa and member of Exco at Young Presidents Organisation (YPO).

Board Member
Roderick de Boer (Director of Business Development Equinix Africa, Middle East)

Roderick is the Director of Business Development for Africa and the Middle East at Equinix and leads a team that works with large Service Provider and Content customers to place Interconnection at the heart of their digital strategy. Roderick has also been involved in defining strategy at Equinix globally on topics including 5G, Edge-Computing, and new Market Entry.He has led service design, digital infrastructure, operations and application design teams at a number of large international network service providers and consultancy firms and is passionate about the role of digital ecosystems in business today.