About Us
Culture
At Evolution, our purpose-driven culture fuels our determination to achieve our clear vision. We enjoy the experience of continual learning and building something truly groundbreaking and innovative. This unique culture allows us to attract exceptional talent, ensuring that our team is the best in the industry.
Mission
Empower our customers through the relentless provision of digital infrastructure in emerging markets. We redefine excellence by delivering high-quality, large-scale and sustainable data centres that drive innovation and transform industries.
Values
The principles that drive Evolution are
Be a Challenger
We dare to challenge the norms, embracing bravery and constant innovation. Individually and collectively, we push ourselves to achieve more each day, shaping a future that defies expectations.
Create Positive Societal Impact
While financial success is important, sustainability lies at the heart of our endeavors. We strive to leave a lasting, positive legacy, ensuring that Evolution’s footprint uplifts society and the environment.
Act with Unwavering Integrity
Transparency is our guiding principle, empowering us to be open with one another, our customers, suppliers and the wider ecosystem. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of ethical conduct.
Embrace the Journey
At Evolution, we are drivers, not mere passengers. We take control of our path, steering our organisation towards success. Sitting in the back of the car you may have some great views, but you aren’t in control of where we are heading.
Darren Webb
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
As co-founder and CEO, Darren’s role is to ensure Evolution Data Centres delivers on its strategic vision to become the next-generation leading pan-Asian data centre platform, delivering digital growth, reliably and sustainably, into high growth markets. Darren founded Evolution because he believed that customers deserved a greater choice of sustainable data centre infrastructure in Asia.
Darren has been in Asia for 10 years and he has worked in all aspects of the digital infrastructure ecosystem, including telco, data centre and artificial intelligence. Based in Singapore Darren was the MD for Asia for IO Data Centres (a next-generation, modular data centre operator), where he led the business to net cash flow positive and ultimately to a successful exit.
With his co-founder, and leadership team, Darren is passionate about workplace culture. He aspires for Evolution to be a company where everyone makes an active contribution and is accountable. Darren’s mantra is to enjoy the journey, rather than being obsessed with reaching the destination.
Darren has a personal commitment to improving health and sustainability. He regularly walks 10km to the office and refuses to take any shop offered plastic bags.
Ed Martin-Sperry
Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer
Ed’s role as Chief Investment Officer is to drive Evolution’s investment program while developing and managing relationships with capital and strategic partners. Ed co-founded Evolution due to his conviction that underserved Southeast Asian markets are set to become the next frontier of data centre growth in Asia, as well as the attraction of addressing the tremendous challenge of sustainability in the industry.
Ed was previously an investment banker to the digital infrastructure and renewable power sectors in Asia. In his role as Head of Asian TMT Investment Banking at ING, he has advised several digital infrastructure businesses on fundraising, M&A and capital strategy in emerging markets, including winning Infrastructure Investor’s 2020 “Digital Infrastructure Deal of the Year in Asia Pacific”. Since moving to Asia a decade ago, he has advised clients on more than 30 corporate finance transactions across Asia, including renewable power companies operating across geothermal, solar and wind.
Ed is a Civil Engineering graduate and has been fascinated throughout his career by sustainable solutions to infrastructure development challenges in growth markets. Ed’s personal sustainability pledge is to reduce his carbon footprint by going meat and dairy free three days a week.
Simon Hamer
Chief Technology Officer
As Chief Technology Officer, Simon brings to life Evolution Data Centres’ vision by implementing data centres that deliver high availability, performance, sustainability and scalability to meet our customer’s requirements. Simon’s extensive career includes design, commissioning and leadership roles for general contractors, consultants and clients.
Simon has been involved with a range of projects that have enabled him to implement innovative data centre designs. His experience of control systems will enable Evolution to be able to track metrics, performance and target sustainability goals across all facilities.
Simon’s recent data experience spans leading the APAC data centre team for an international consultancy, to most recently heading the APAC co-location engineering team for Amazon Web Services.
He has been in Asia for 25 years with 20 of those being based in Singapore and has travelled extensively through the region for work and pleasure. He is committed to sustainability and cycles or walks to work at least three times a week and insists on drinking his coffee from reusable cups.
Corliss Ching
Financial Controller
Corliss’s role as Financial Controller is to oversee the Group finance activities including financial reporting, planning, budget, treasury and corporate governance.
Corliss has extensive experience and specialises in finance, treasury and compliance and pioneering the establishment of start-up to fast growth companies in APAC. Corliss joins Evolution with great experience within the Data Centre industry, having led the initial finance setup and ongoing expansion of another platform. This experience brings unique value to Evolution as we drive for accelerated growth across the emerging markets in Asia.
Corliss’s personal commitment to health and sustainability is to walk regularly, eat clean & green and to minimise electricity consumption.
Owen Irving
Head of Commercial
Owen’s role is to ensure data centre construction and operations meet the commercial demands of our prospective customers, balancing price and performance through optimal project design, build and operational delivery.
Owen has been based in Singapore for 20 years, initially leading Cable & Wireless’ and then Vodafone’s Global Enterprise commercial teams in APAC; this role involved responsibility for bids, pricing and in-contract commercial management for Enterprise and Carrier customers. He also previously ran Cable & Wireless’ International Carrier Sales and APAC Sales Operations. Most recently he worked within the Property function at Standard Chartered Bank, evolving the strategy of IT-enabled colleague collaboration and smart building technology to enable more efficient use of office real estate.
Owen has a Bachelor of Commerce from Auckland University, New Zealand and started his professional career at Deloitte in New Zealand, originally qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, working in Business Advisory, Corporate Advisory Services and Consulting.
When not cycling to work, Owen is a keen user and advocate of public transport. He avoids use of single use plastics and can be regularly observed picking up plastic litter around his neighbourhood during his early morning dog walks.
Alexander Shepherd
General Counsel and interim Chief Operations Officer
Alex’s role as General Counsel is to support legal and regulatory aspects of the business in relation to its strategic partners, site acquisition, construction, customer contracts and operations. His role as interim COO is to manage and oversee the day-to-day administrative and operational aspects of the group during its development phase. His responsibilities cover our head office in Singapore and each of our operating markets.
Alex has more than 25 years’ experience as a lawyer specialised in technology, media and telecoms (TMT). He was previously a partner at Pinsent Masons MPillay and Bird & Bird ATMD in Singapore, and Simmons & Simmons in Dubai, having trained with Linklaters in London and New York. In March 2023 he was recognised by Asian Legal Business as one of the “Super 50 TMT Lawyers” in Asia and has consistently been highly ranked by Legal500 and Chambers & Partners. He has extensive experience of technology and telecommunications matters, including data centres, subsea cables, and IT system and software development, and in relation to data privacy, data security and data sovereignty.
Alex has a Computer Science degree and is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and the Republic of Ireland, and is a registered foreign lawyer in Singapore.
Alex’s personal sustainability pledge has been to swap from taxis to his bicycle and the MRT for his daily commute.
Matt Coleman
Principal – Strategy and Investment
Matt’s role as Principal – Strategy and Investment is to support the senior leadership team in delivering Evolution’s strategy, execute on growth initiatives in new markets and manage relationships with key capital providers and strategic stakeholders. Matt joined Evolution in order to be part of the solution to Asia’s technological and sustainability challenges.
Matt has been living in Asia for three years. Prior to joining Evolution, he obtained his MBA from INSEAD in Singapore and before that, Matt was a Vice President with Investcorp in Singapore and London where he led the launch of the Southeast Asia private equity team and Investcorp’s first investment in Southeast Asia.
Matt has an MBA from INSEAD and an MA from the University of St Andrews. He is also a CFA Charterholder.
Matt’s personal commitment to health and sustainability is to complete a triathlon in 2022 as well as reduce his intake of beef and dairy and maximise his use of public transportation.
Josh Lam
Investment Manager
Josh’s role as Investment Manager is to evaluate, execute and manage investment opportunities and capital-related activities. Whilst working across all of Evolution’s target markets, Josh has a particular passion, as a native Filipino in helping to deliver the digital transformation in the Philippines.
Prior to joining the team, Josh was an investment banker in the digital infrastructure and renewable energy space in Southeast Asia. Josh undertook fundraising projects for regional telco conglomerates as an Associate under Credit Suisse’s Southeast Asia TMT sectors team and landmark Philippine M&A transactions while working under ING Corporate Finance.
Josh completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Accountancy from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He has also passed the Philippine CPA exam (2015) and CFA Exam Level II (2016).
Josh’s commitment to sustainability incorporates avoidance of single-use grocery products, conscious selection of meat sourced from animals with a lower carbon footprint, and day-to-day power conservation efforts in the household. Josh also takes the bus or MRT in his daily morning commute and walks back home after work.
