Hannah Kramer, Chief Legal Officer, Apto: Working with Hyperscale customers
Jul 15, 2024
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Hannah Kramer, Chief Legal Officer at Apto, discusses her career transition to the data center sector, nuances of working with hyperscale customers, and attracting legal professionals to the industry. Topics include differences in lease provisions, attracting diverse talent, and challenges in sustainable power solutions for AI facilities.
Legal expertise is essential in navigating the complexities of lease provisions for hyperscale customers.
Attracting legal professionals to the data center sector requires demystifying its roles and showcasing diverse opportunities.
Deep dives
Transition to Data Centers: An Unexpected Journey
Hannah Kramer shares her unique career progression from family law to real estate and eventually into the world of data centers. Initially unaware of data centers, she stumbled into this sector through a role at Amazon, where she found excitement in the dynamic real estate opportunities presented by data centers. Her shift to the landlord side at Apto was driven by a desire to improve the understanding and experience of hyperscale leases for both landlords and tenants.
Navigating the Legal Landscape of Data Centers
Hannah delves into the legal nuances of the data center industry, highlighting the differences between traditional leasing structures and those specific to data centers. She emphasizes the need for in-house legal expertise to navigate the complexities of lease provisions, occupational structures, and risk management. The legal considerations extend beyond standard real estate practices due to the specialized requirements of hyperscale customers.
Attracting Talent and Fostering Understanding
Discussing talent attraction, Hannah emphasizes the importance of demystifying the data center sector to broaden its appeal to legal professionals and other professionals. She advocates for showcasing the diversity of roles within the industry, highlighting opportunities across various fields such as environmental law, construction, and energy. By fostering a better understanding of the sector's scope and impact, Hannah aims to attract a more diverse talent pool.
Challenges on the Horizon: Power and Permitting
Looking ahead, Hannah points out key challenges facing the data center sector, notably the need for sustainable power solutions to support the growing demands of AI and ML technologies. She also underscores the persistent issues related to permitting processes, calling for clearer and standardized guidelines across regions to streamline data center development. Improving communication and transparency about data center operations remain critical for industry advancement.
In this episode I am joined by Hannah Kramer, Chief Legal Officer at Apto. We discuss Hannah's career in the sector, the dynamics of working with hyperscale customers, and how we can attract more legal professionals to the world of data centres,
Hannah shares how she started her career, how she made the transition to the data centre sector, and the differences between working for the customer and the landlord.
We discuss the nuances of working with hyperscale customers, how hyperscale lease provisions differ from institutional leases, and the importance of legal professionals within the sector.
Finally, Hannah shares some advice on how we can attract more legal professionals to the data centre sector.
The Inside Data Centre Podcast is recorded in partnership with DataX Connect, a specialist data centre recruitment company based in the UK. They operate on a global scale to place passionate individuals at the heart of leading data centre companies.
To learn more about Andy Davis and the rest of the DataX team, click here: DataX Connect
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