Former Pure DC CEO Dame Dawn Childs has joined European Edge operator nLighten.

I Squared Capital-owned nLighten this week announced the appointments of Dame Childs as CEO and Matthew Harris as CFO. Childs replaces founding CEO, Harro Beusker, taking over the position from June 1.

Childs stepped down as CEO of Pure in March after three years, with former CyrusOne CEO Gary Wojtaszek temporarily taking the helm. nLighten said she will continue as a non-executive director for Pure Data Centres as part of this transition.

Nick Read, chairman of nLighten, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dawn and Matthew to nLighten. Dawn’s deep experience leading complex, mission-critical infrastructure businesses makes her exceptionally well-suited to guide the company’s continued growth, while Matthew’s strong financial and strategic expertise will be invaluable as we scale the platform. As AI drives unprecedented demand for digital infrastructure and edge capacity across Europe, nLighten is uniquely positioned to capture this opportunity.”

He added: “I would also like to thank Harro Beusker for his leadership and the pivotal role he has played in building nLighten into the platform it is today. With such strong foundations in place, we are well-positioned to continue delivering sustainable, high-performance data center solutions for our customers.”

A veteran of the Royal Air Force, Dawn is a Dame of the British Empire. She joined Pure in 2021 (becoming CEO in 2023) following stints at Gatwick Airport, theme park company Merlin, and National Grid.

Childs said: “I am thrilled to be joining the team at nLighten at such a pivotal time for both the company and the broader digital infrastructure sector. The opportunity for nLighten to play a meaningful role in supporting Europe’s growing need for digital sovereignty is significant, particularly as demand for secure, high-performance, and sustainable infrastructure continues to accelerate.”

Regional Edge operator nLighten, owned by I Squared Capital’s ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III, launched in 2024 after acquiring ten initial data centers in Germany from Exa Infrastructure (another I Squared Capital company), later acquiring another seven across Europe from the fiber firm.

The company then acquired French operator Euclyde Data Centers, taking over six facilities across the country. After acquiring a Dutch data center in Amsterdam, nLighten then acquired UK Edge firm Proximity in September, taking over a further ten facilities. It acquired another facility in Paris in February. Today, its portfolio totals 34 facilities and 22MW of capacity.

Outgoing CEO and co-founder Beusker led nLighten since its founding. He previously spent more than 18 years at Equinix, also holding roles at IXEurope, InterXion, and KPN. Beusker will remain on the nLighten board as a non-executive director and serve as a senior advisor to I Squared Capital.

Incoming CFO Harris said: “I am excited to join nLighten as it continues to build momentum across Europe. The company has a clear strategy and strong platform on which to build from. I look forward to working with the team to support its continued expansion and deliver long-term value for customers and stakeholders.”