FINDING BALANCE
IN A CLOUD-BASED DATA BUSINESS WORLD
The new Equinix CEO strives to stay centered as he works to keep the global data firm on the cutting edge of an evolving digital landscape
Charles Meyers believes in balance. So much so that he believes wholeheartedly in how yoga can make him a better boss at Redwood City-based Equinix.
“This ability to have time to rebalance myself, and have it be a stated purpose of that time, not just to work out, but to try to achieve some level of balance and introspection, I just find myself to be a better version of myself when I’m doing it,” Meyers said.
In a recent interview at Equinix’s headquarters, Meyers discussed not only his penchant for yoga, but for running Equinix, one of the world’s leaders in providing data centers and the interconnection points and services companies use to manage and access their information on the ground and in cloud environments. The company has a presence in 52 markets in 24 countries around the world.
Meyers, who joined Equinix in 2010, had most recently been the company’s president for strategy, services and innovation. He also talked about how he became CEO several months after the unexpected departure of former company Chief Executive Steve Smith, who stepped down in January 2018.
Meyers’ comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Q
Before we talk about Equinix, is it true that you were struck by lightning when you were 11 years old?
A
Yes, that’s true. I was living just outside of Boulder, Colorado, in Broomfield, and playing baseball. A lightning bolt hit the water tower about a mile away and our coach said, “Let’s get out of here.” So, everybody else started rounding up the balls from the field, but I went to my coach to lobby to pitch the next day. And then, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and BAM … next thing I knew, I woke up in an ambulance. I spent the night in the hospital for observation. There was a light burn on my leg, and my eyes were kind of messed up for a couple of days, but that was it. Nothing significant, but it gave me a perspective shift in terms of realizing how fragile life is.
Q
Equinix isn’t the kind of company that the average person is going to see or think about on a daily basis. With that in mind, how would you describe what it is that Equinix specializes in?
A
The shorthand version for most people is that we are a global data center provider. We build and operate large-scale data centers around the world that house some of the most-important digital assets.
But, I don’t think of ourselves as a data center company. I think of ourselves much more as an interconnection platform. This notion of interconnecting people, and companies, in a digital world is really what we do. I like to say that Equinix is evolving to be the trusted center of a cloud-first world. We were very central to the “internet era,” in which we became a central part of the internet’s infrastructure. The majority of internet traffic traverses an Equinix facility at some point. But now, in this cloud world, the nature of digital infrastructure is changing and becoming far more dependent upon the cloud. And we are now finding that for many companies, hybrid-cloud and multicloud environments are their choices for the cloud-based data world.
Q
With that in mind, what is the difference between hybrid cloud and multi-cloud?
A
Hybrid cloud simply refers to the fact that people are still utilizing their private infrastructure, but they are also combining that with public cloud services like AWS (Amazon Web Services), or Microsoft Azure. You’re using some things like more traditional IT where you own and operate infrastructure of your own, but then you tie that into public cloud services. And if you interface it with a large number of other clouds, that’s multi-cloud. These days, virtually any enterprise of any size is hybrid and multi-cloud. The reason that we’re so important is that companies want their infrastructure to be immediately in proximate to the cloud for reasons of security, compliance and costs, and we are seen as a trusted adviser to help these companies accomplish what they want with the cloud.
Q
You’ve been CEO for almost four months now, and you became CEO under nontraditional circumstances. Do you feel that created a different approach to coming into the job than you would have taken otherwise?
A
Well, they were not circumstances I would have expected, or wanted. Steve’s departure was a difficult time for the company. But, there was a pretty significant period between when he stepped aside and I came into the job. We had the luxury of Peter (Van Camp), the chairman, being in that position to come in and stabilize things (as interim CEO), and we had a very good plan for the year that we were set to execute. (Van Camp had also been CEO of Equinix from 2000 to 2007.) And I think that gave us the time to make a transition that was well thought through and that people can feel comfortable with. The board went through a process that was a little longer than I thought it would take. And I’m very excited that the board selected me to play this role.
Q
You’ve been with Equinix for several years and seem to have a handle on what was needed to bring it through an unexpected transition.
A
One thing I think was disappointing is that because of the circumstances of Steve’s departure, inevitably that provided some sort of a cloud under which people might question the culture of the company. I felt it was really important to stress that there is a great culture here. It’s not perfect by any means, and I’m working on thoughts on how to make it better because there is a real commonality of purpose of the people who work here and want to accomplish things together.
We need to continue to make Equinix a place where people feel safe, believe that they belong, and know that they matter. I hope to make those hallmarks of my tenure as CEO.
Q
When you aren’t running Equinix, you are big into yoga and not just practicing it.
A
My wife introduced me to it about 15 years ago. We actually have a business partner, and we franchise and own 31 studios under the name Core Power Yoga. It’s been a great business.