Data center firm CyrusOne has appointed company stalwart John Hatem as its new CEO.

Hatem, who has been with CyrusOne since 2011, succeeds Eric Schwartz in the top job, and will also take a seat on the Dallas-based company’s board.

In what the company describes as a planned transition, Schwartz will step down immediately, but continue working with Hatem to ensure a smooth transition. He had been in the post for four years.

CyrusOne, which is jointly owned by private equity firms KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), operates more than 60 data centers across the US and Europe.

Hatem joined the company in 2011 and has held a number of roles, most recently serving as president, responsible for global sales, global procurement, and design, engineering, and construction in the United States.

“In his nearly 15 years with CyrusOne, John has become the heart and soul of the company, having established a strong track record of building outstanding teams, carrying out winning strategies, and leading operations that must continue to move at the speed of technological innovation,” said Waldemar Szlezak, partner at KKR, and Will Brilliant, partner at Global Infrastructure Partners, in a joint statement.

The pair continued: “He has earned the trust of many of the world’s leading enterprises, the local communities in which CyrusOne operates, and his teammates. The opportunity for CyrusOne has never been greater, and we are confident that John is the right person to guide the company forward. No one understands the company’s customers, capabilities, and potential more deeply than he does.”

Hatem began his career as a network operations engineer, working at some of the largest financial services firms in the US, including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley. Prior to joining CyrusOne, he served as the director of design and construction for ConceptCSI Global Data Center Solutions.

Hatem said he has “never been more excited about what lies ahead” for CyrusOne. He added: “As workloads become more power-intensive and demand for faster delivery grows, our structural advantages have never mattered more.”

Schwartz said: “It has been a privilege to lead CyrusOne and I could not be more confident in John’s leadership to take the company into its next phase of growth.”