Data Center Developer Hires New Real Estate Strategy Head From Google
Google’s Latin American data center chief has left to join Stream Data Centers, where he will lead real estate and development strategy for the growing firm.
Stream hired Mike Lebow as its senior vice president of location strategy and development, the company announced last week. Lebow will lead all aspects of pre-construction project life cycle for the data center provider, from site selection and land acquisition to entitlements, power purchasing and interconnection.
At the same time, Lebow will lead Headwaters Site Development, a new independent affiliate launched in partnership with Stream that will provide site selection, development and energy procurement services for third parties.
“Leadership here is willing to take risks and support new initiatives that solve problems for our customers in this dynamic industry,” Lebow said in a written statement. “I look forward to helping accelerate Stream's new ventures and expansions, identify ideal data center locations, and deliver shovel-ready sites to meet our customers' evolving needs.”
Lebow joins Stream as the company is significantly expanding its U.S. footprint. The Dallas-based firm, which has a foothold in colocation and build-to-suit development for both hyperscalers and smaller enterprise clients, is currently building out a 3M SF campus outside of Phoenix that could support as much as 440 megawatts of capacity once completed. Stream is also planning a 32 MW project in the Chicago suburb of Elk Creek Village. These projects add to the 24 facilities that Stream has already developed or acquired.
Stream has provided few details about Headwaters Site Development, which the company calls “an independent affiliate launched ... in partnership with Stream.” Lebow is listed as a co-founder and partner of the firm, which launched in March, according to his LinkedIn page. According to Headwaters’ website, the venture will provide data center development advisory services to third parties ranging from developers and landowners to local governments and utilities.
“Headwaters creates shared value: landowners improve the marketability of their land, data center developers have easier access to high-quality sites, and communities and utilities benefit from the economic development of successful projects,” the site reads. “In some situations, Headwaters partners directly with communities or utilities to help identify, develop, and sell properties to end users.”
Lebow comes to Stream and Headwaters from Google, where since 2019 he oversaw the company’s Latin American data center portfolio. Previously, he served as a project lead on the company’s data center infrastructure and energy team, a role in which he focused on land acquisition, energy procurement, utility infrastructure and economic development incentives for data centers.
