Rack Centre, West Africa’s leading Connected Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre, has announced the appointment of Lars Johannisson as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Johannisson, an accomplished leader with extensive experience in transformative industries, assumes the role effective January 1, 2024.
According to the Group Chief Executive Officer of Rack Centre, Jasper Lankhorst, the company Is excited to welcome Lars into the leadership team of Rack Centre with his wealth of experience and robust industry knowledge.
“We are delighted to welcome Lars Johannisson on board as the new Chief Executive Officer of Rack Centre. He brings vast experience, and strategic leadership that will propel Rack Centre to new heights. I have full confidence in Lars’s ability to steer our company towards continued success, and I look forward to working closely with him to advance our position as a leading data centre provider”, said Lankhorst.
Speaking on his new role as the CEO of Rack Centre, Johannisson highlighted the company’s market leadership and its unique position as a provider of premium data centre services in the Nigerian digital ecosystem. He expressed his commitment to contributing to the digital growth in Nigeria and is delighted to be part of a team dedicated to launching a hyperscale-ready 12MW data centre facility in Lagos in Q2 2024.
Lars has extensive experience working in Telecom, IT Delivery, Managed Services, and Digital skilling. He is passionate about leading organizations in transformative industries in Africa. Over the last 14 years, he has executed large B2B projects in over 30 Sub-Saharan countries.
He holds an MBA in General Management/Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics and has completed the Stanford University Executive Program on “Design, Innovation and Business Transformation”. An active participant in “Digital and Economic Inclusion” discussions in Sub-Saharan Africa, he has sponsored economic inclusion initiatives for hiring and training youth in IT through partnerships with major CSV partners.
Before joining Rack-Centre Ltd, Johannisson was the CEO of Teleperformance Sub-Saharan Africa, heading the world’s leading company in digital CX and BPO in the group’s emerging market and previously at Ericsson, SolarNow and the YNV Group.
Rack Centre has a robust ecosystem including 65 telecommunication carriers, Internet Service Providers, global Tier 1 networks, and pan-Africa international carriers. The company recently achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first International Finance Corporation (IFC) EDGE-certified data centre in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This certification officially designates Rack Centre as the first Green Certified Data Centre in Africa, further solidifying its position as the most connected facility in the region, according to its Peering DB ranking.
