Atlanta — DC BLOX has appointed Melih Ileri as Chief Investment Officer to manage its capital and investment strategy as the data centre firm expands operations across the Southeastern United States.
DC BLOX, a US-based digital infrastructure company, said Ileri will continue to oversee capital raising and investment planning to support its new data centre developments.
The company said Ileri has helped arrange more than two billion dollars in green loans and equity since joining in 2022. These funds have supported the growth of its data centre campuses and smaller “edge” facilities, which are built closer to users to reduce data transfer delays.
Ileri said the new role aligns with the company’s plan to meet growing customer demand for data capacity.
“We are seeing a tremendous amount of demand from our customers and forecast deployment of several billion dollars more over the next few years,” said Ileri.
“My role is to ensure alignment on a hyperscale-focused strategy that can attract large-scale access to the most efficient and attractive types of capital available to the sector for our ambitious growth goals,” he said.
DC BLOX leadership and regional focus
DC BLOX CEO Jeff Uphues said Ileri had played a key role in helping the company secure funding for its expansion.
“Melih’s leadership has been transformative in helping DC BLOX secure the capital required to realise our bold vision of building connected, customised hyperscale data centre campuses and edge solutions for the world’s greatest companies,” Uphues said.
“Our ability to win investor confidence and close landmark green financings is a direct result of his and his capital markets team’s strategy and execution,” he added.
Before joining DC BLOX, Ileri worked for a decade at EdgeConneX, where he managed equity and debt financing and led mergers and acquisitions. He studied Mechanical Engineering and Commerce & Financial Services at the University of Virginia.
Green financing, which links borrowing to energy efficiency or environmental targets, has become a part of DC BLOX’s funding approach. Ileri said the use of such loans reflects customer expectations around energy use in data operations.
“Our customers require substantial power to run their infrastructure, and their goals of green energy are aligned with ours,” he said. “Green loans are a reflection of the highly efficient energy usage of our data centre designs.”
DC BLOX said the Southeastern United States is becoming an active area for large-scale data centre development, driven by demand for digital infrastructure and available land.
