Leadership Team

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E Our team E Leadership Team E Peter HANNAFORD

PETER HANNAFORD

Peter received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Datacloud EMEA Congress in Monaco, acknowledging his exceptional career accomplishments. His journey began with groundbreaking efforts in Nigeria during the 1970s, where he implemented the country’s first online banking system. In the 1980s, he played a pivotal role in developing foreign exchange systems for global banks. Transitioning to the 1990s, he founded one of Europe’s earliest datacenter construction firms.

Peter’s impact continued into the 2000s when he founded a company that pioneered the first water-cooled rack for high-density servers. This innovation was acquired by APC in 2003, catalyzing the development of In-Row cooling and Containment, establishing dominance in the datacenter market. In 2010, he founded the first global recruitment firm exclusively dedicated to the datacenter sector.

His entrepreneurial journey persisted with the establishment of Portman Partners in 2018, where he currently contributes, leveraging his extensive personal network and reputation. Peter focuses on aiding firms in the digital infrastructure space in their quest for leadership talent globally. Recognizing his influential role, he earned a spot on the 2019 Power 200 list, celebrating individuals worldwide leading the datacenter and cloud sectors through innovation, technological breakthroughs, investment acumen, or exceptional entrepreneurial skills.

Other TEAM MEMBERS

Mike MEYER

Mike MEYER

Managing Director

Mike has 25+ years experience across digital infrastructure, data center, IT, telecoms and construction businesses.

Dave PYE

Dave PYE

Chairman

Dave is a recognised business leader with a 25-year background in the professional services and recruitment sector.

Paul CUTCLIFFE

Paul CUTCLIFFE

EMEA Partner

Paul is an Executive Search specialist with 25+ years experience headhunting across multiple sectors.

Julie TAN

Julie TAN

APAC Partner

Julie has 25+ years’ experience in Asia Pacific HR, in particular Recruitment and Rewards.

Pieter MEISSENHEIMER

Pieter MEISSENHEIMER

UAE Partner

Pieter is a finance professional with 15+ years’ experience with a specific focus on cloud solution integration.

Adelle DESOUZA

Adelle DESOUZA

Adelle’s created and led an award winning early careers function for an international telco firm.

Prof. Ian BITTERLIN

Prof. Ian BITTERLIN

Ian is a Chartered Engineer with more than 27 years’ experience in data center power and cooling. He has been awarded ‘Outstanding Contribution to the DC Industry’ twice, by Data Centres Europe in ’09 and by DataCenterDynamics in ’15.