Digital Edge Hires Former JP Morgan Exec Yaniv Ghitis as Chief Investment Officer

Singapore-based Digital Edge has named Yaniv Ghitis chief investment officer, tapping the longtime JP Morgan dealmaker to oversee new market entry, M&A and investor relationships for the Asia-focused data centre platform.

Before joining Digital Edge, Ghitis was a senior member of JP Morgan’s investment team for 17 years, most recently serving as managing director and co-head of technology, media and telecom investment banking for Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

In his new role at the startup backed by Manhattan-based private equity firm Stonepeak, Ghitis is responsible for conducting due diligence and negotiations on prospective investment opportunities and expanding Digital Edge’s capacity for the origination and execution of new transactions, the company said Tuesday in a press release.

“We are very pleased to have Yaniv joining our executive management team,” said Digital Edge CEO Samuel Lee. “His background in Asia and extensive experience in the TMT sector make him a strong addition to our team. Looking forward, we are ready to accelerate the growth of our platform across both existing and new markets leveraging Yaniv’s expertise.”

On the Deal Hunt

Ghitis brings a track record of originating, structuring, negotiating and executing M&A and capital markets deals across Asia Pacific, including in Greater China, Southeast Asia, India, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

His clients have included data centre, fibre, wireless and telecom operators, as well as prominent companies in consumer internet, fintech, software as a service and the shared economy, Digital Edge said.

During his time at the investment arm of JPMorgan Chase, the bank worked on deals with data centre developers like US-based Equinix and China’s GDS, Bloomberg reported in a March story about Ghitis’s imminent jump to Digital Edge. Sources told the news agency that he would continue to be based in Hong Kong, where he spent 13 of his 17 years at JP Morgan.

Before moving to Hong Kong, Ghitis worked on JP Morgan’s TMT investment banking team in New York and on the debt capital markets team in London. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management and economics and a master’s degree in economics with a game theory emphasis from Tel Aviv University.

Pan-Asia Portfolio

Founded just last year with a $1 billion equity commitment from Stonepeak and other investors, Digital Edge has quickly amassed a portfolio of seven data centres across Japan, South Korea and Indonesia.

Ghitis indicated that the opportunity to join the startup’s team was made even more appealing by the digital infrastructure savvy and financial clout of Stonepeak, which has $37 billion in assets under management.

“I am extremely impressed by Digital Edge’s market reach, capabilities and strong network of local partners, developed all within the last 18 months since its formation,” he said. “Digital Edge is led by executives that I have known for the better part of the last decade, and I am excited to join Samuel and the rest of his team to continue with the company’s aggressive growth strategy.”