By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Peter Lantry is Managing Director for Ireland at Equinix
Peter Lantry is Managing Director for Ireland at Equinix, a digital infrastructure company. Digital leaders use Equinix’s platform to bring together and interconnect infrastructure at software speed.
What was your first job?
My first full time job was with Arup as a structural design engineer in Dublin. I designed and supervised the construction of some buildings in Dublin’s IFSC back in 1998. They are still standing so I must have done something right!
What pushed you to pursue a career in this field?
I was drawn to this field because it plays a significant role in peoples’ everyday lives. Data centres support every conceivable aspect of our lives from transport infrastructures, government services, and telecommunications to entertainment, business processes, online shopping and social networks. Data centres are essential for innovative technologies like connected cars, streaming services and augmented reality gaming.
This job also marries two passions of mine: engineering and sustainability.
The growth of the industry to support people’s digital lives comes with a responsibility to ensure that we support that growth in the most sustainable way possible – and this requires working with some of the finest engineering and operations minds in the business. Seeing how integral the data centre and energy sectors have become, I was delighted to join the Equinix team.
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
At the risk of sounding corny, without a doubt my greatest achievement has been bringing up my two kids with my wife. I also believe the work I do is helping to make the world a better place with sustainable digital integration.
Career wise, would you do anything differently?
There is never a perfect story for anyone’s career, but I am very happy with where I am at now in my career and honestly, I wouldn’t change much. I’ve been lucky to have had a very varied career, and if I was to do something differently it would have been to move into people management earlier, as I find it such a fascinating aspect of any business.
In one sentence, how would you define success?
Success for me is having a happy and healthy family at home and team at work, where everyone can feel safe, belong, know that they matter, and can be their true selves.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
There are a couple of things that have stuck with me. Always gather a strong team around you and develop a wide network of support, and nobody who ever gave their best regretted it.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
People generally want their work to be part of something which is making a positive impact on society and the world. We are lucky in Equinix to be doing exactly that as the world’s digital infrastructure company, where we connect people and businesses to each other across the globe. Wherever Equinix is located, the prosperity of those countries has improved which is great motivation. People also want to be part of a team which is inclusive and gives them a sense of belonging.
Keeping this front of mind and making sure the business continues to be successful keeps the team motivated.
How do you handle adversity?
Communicate, communicate, communicate! Adversity often stems from a lack of mutual understanding and lack of awareness or knowledge. As they say, clarity is kindness. It’s also good to remember to keep calm and breathe deeply when under stress.
How do you relax?
Exercise is the best way for me. I love heading out for a 10k jog to clear the mind and listen to some music or podcasts. I’ve recently mixed in some long walks too which is good for relaxing the mind.
What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
The value of the digital services Equinix offers to customers is compelling, so I have great faith in our ongoing success. Naturally, I want to grow the business and help more Irish businesses expand sustainably into other countries using our services. For example, we were really excited earlier this year to announce that Irish businesses have access to quantum computing through our Equinix Fabric network.
The digital infrastructure space is fast-moving, and we are always looking to evolve and adapt and be as efficient as possible while also delivering for our customers.
I am passionate about sustainability, so I want to drive more and more innovations in this space over the coming years and showcase how Equinix is a leader in this area in Ireland. Equinix has a very bright future in Ireland and across the world.
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