Lee Perrin is a senior data centre and critical infrastructure leader with over 20 years of experience delivering, operating, and scaling mission-critical data centre environments from the ground up starting with 14 years in the UK DC market.

As Data Centre Director, MEA for CBRE, Lee plays a key role in the strategy, growth, and operational delivery of CBRE’s Data Centre Solutions (DCS) business across the region. He has been instrumental in building data centre operations from concept through to live operations, including early-stage site mobilisation, technical due diligence, go-live transitions, and long-term operational optimisation across Tier 1 African markets such as South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Lee brings deep hands-on experience across the full data centre lifecycle — from design and construction handover, commissioning, and operational readiness, through to steady-state operations, risk management, and continuous improvement. His work consistently focuses on enabling uptime, resilience, and scalability in challenging markets where power availability, policy alignment, skills shortages, and supply chain maturity are critical constraints.

A strong advocate for local talent development, Lee has built and led world-class technical and management teams, hiring and onboarding 100+ staff across multiple geographies to support major data centre transitions and live operations. His leadership style emphasises empowerment, accountability, and the transfer of global best practice into local operating models.

Beyond CBRE, Lee serves on the Board of Directors of the African Data Centre Association (ADCA) and acts as Treasurer, working closely with operators, utilities, regulators, and policymakers to strengthen Africa’s data centre ecosystem. His focus includes skills development, grid capacity challenges, regulatory harmonisation, and collaborative supply chain development to support sustainable growth across the continent.

Lee is widely recognised for combining technical depth, commercial insight, and ecosystem leadership, helping global operators, hyperscalers, and investors successfully enter and scale within Africa’s rapidly evolving digital infrastructure landscape.