John Freeman

In his first five months as CEO, John Freeman says he has concentrated on institutionalising ESG principles while preparing the company for substantial growth. 

Founded in 2020, Digital Edge provides high-quality colocation and interconnect services across APAC, specifically in China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines and South Korea. It has expanded its workforce quickly from its initial co-founders to more than 570 employees and seeks to confront both opportunities and challenges while staying true to its operational philosophy of supporting mission-critical business operations.

Having been at the helm as CEO since January 2025, John explains that environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles have guided the company from its inception in late 2019.

“ESG has been embedded as part of our culture and framework from day one when we formed the company,” he says. “It's really been a core pillar for us and drives every decision that we make across the platform and the entire lifecycle of the data centre, whether it's site selection, operations, power procurement, or water usage.”

ESG as the foundation

In a region where data demands continue to grow and infrastructure requirements become increasingly complex, Digital Edge has positioned itself as a provider focused on sustainable expansion across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) data centre market. 

The company, which now manages 24 data centres in operations or under development, recently secured a US$1.6bn capital injection that signals confidence in its expansion strategy during a period of changing hyperscale demands.

In order to achieve this, John says the company structures its sustainability approach around three principles: respect for resources, respect for people and communities and respect for transparency. 

“Those core pillars drive everything that we do as an organisation especially across the data centre lifecycle,” he explains. “From selecting a site for construction of a new data centre facility, where we want to make sure that data centre has a minimal ecological impact in terms of where we build it to how we design that data centre by making sure that it’s the most efficient in terms of power or water efficiency. These principles are embedded in all of our new data centre projects, including NARRA1 in the Philippines and EDGE2 in Indonesia, which have design PUEs of 1.23 and are already fully powered by 100% renewable energy.”

This comprehensive approach extends to power procurement, with Digital Edge working closely with utility providers to secure renewable energy sources where available, or by looking at what John refers to as “greener power” alternatives where renewable options remain limited. 

As this strategy demonstrates, sustainability considerations have become central to Digital Edge’s operational planning, rather than being an offshoot to the side.

John says: “Sustainability is in our culture and embedded in our DNA.”

The US$1.6bn advantage

The recent US$1.6bn capital injection that Digital Edge was closed in January 2025 provides the company with resources to accelerate its expansion strategy. This funding, provided by infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak, suggests high confidence in the positive direction Digital Edge is going.

“We’re proud to have gained the trust of our investors in securing this capital,” John tells us. “Stonepeak is a great shareholder and partner and this additional capital infusion is a validation of our strategy and our ability to execute.”

Looking ahead, Digital Edge plans to deploy this capital over the next 12-18 months, with two primary focus areas. First, the company intends to expand its presence in existing markets to support the growing demands from its customers. Second, it aims to enter several new markets to complete its regional footprint and support its customers expansion plans.

 “We started this platform as an APAC platform provider, supporting our customers and the digital economy in these markets. As we grow, we will continue to focus on Asia, adding some new markets to complete our digital footprint in the region,” John says.

To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.