IXAfrica Appoints Snehar Shar As New CEO

IXAfrica Data Centre Limited (IXAfrica) has announced the appointment of Snehar Shah as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Snehar brings to the IXAfrica team an impressive and well rounded background spanning over 25 years in various industries and geographies. His extensive expertise in building and running businesses is poised to propel IXAfrica to new heights, as he takes the helm to guide the company through its next phase of growth.

He joins after an extensive period of over 15 years at Global Telecoms Operator, Orange, covering various leadership roles in Finance & Strategy across UK, Europe and East Africa. He has been at the helm of the Start-up ecosystem on the African continent having built businesses such as Eaton Towers as Regional CFO, Azuri Technologies as GM, Africa and most recently Moringa School as CEO and stepping up to Non Exec and Chair of their Tech Advisory Board.

Speaking on the appointment, Guy Willner, the Chairman of IXAfrica, said that the company has always had bold plans and ambitions and has been consistently delivering those.

“Our company has always had bold plans and ambitions and, we’ve been consistently delivering on those, not in the least by strengthening our team, adding the brightest talent with a well-proven track record in the global market. The Board of directors and I are welcoming Snehar, who is joining IXAfrica at a critical moment in the company’s breakthrough growth, defining the next strategic steps for our continued investment in Kenya,” Willner said.

Tosin Awoyinka, Senior Vice President at Helios Investment Partners also spoke highly of the new IXAfrica CEO noting that Snehar is a highly anticipated and welcome addition to the IXAfrica team.

“Our business is extremely well-placed to facilitate the evolution of the Kenyan and East African digital ecosystem, and Snehar augments this trajectory with his leadership track record, organizational development capabilities and impressive enterprise network,” Awoyinka remarked.

On his part, Snehar said that he is ready to get the ball rolling after the confirmation of his new position promising to bring in his vast experience to IXAfrica.

“The businesses I have led in the telecoms, mobile payments, infrastructure, renewable energy and tech education have formed the pillars that will drive the GDP growth of Africa and as CEO of IXAfrica I am excited to build the leading Data Centres in the Region to accelerate the Cloud and AI revolution that is currently happening,” Snehar said.

Prompted by soaring demand for Kenyan internet connectivity from a young and fast-growing population, IXAfrica received a $50 million investment to accelerate development of its Nairobi campus and recently announced a secondary data centre campus. The Company will establish a leading position in Kenya, delivering much-needed, hyperscale-ready capacity to the market.

Snehar holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, London, as well as qualifications in Chartered Accountancy from PwC and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA); has been recognised among the Top 40 under 40 by Business Daily Africa and in active leadership positions at Young Presidents Organisation (YPO).