Vantage Data Centers appoints Alicia Ruckteschler to lead global procurement strategy, supply chain optimization, and strategic sourcing initiatives.
Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, has announced the appointment of Alicia Ruckteschler as its new chief procurement officer (CPO), reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and strategic growth amid accelerating global demand for digital infrastructure.
Ruckteschler joins Vantage at a pivotal time for the data center industry. As hyperscale cloud providers, AI innovators and enterprise customers continue to expand their digital footprints, the need for resilient, scalable and efficiently delivered infrastructure has never been greater. In her new role, Ruckteschler will lead Vantage’s global procurement function, overseeing end-to-end sourcing strategy, supplier partnerships and procurement operations. She will report directly to Jeff Tench, global executive vice president, and will be based in Denver.
Strengthening Procurement as a Strategic Growth Engine
As chief procurement officer, Ruckteschler will be responsible for shaping how Vantage delivers its data center campuses worldwide. Rather than functioning solely as a transactional or cost-control department, procurement under her leadership will operate as a deeply integrated, execution-driven capability embedded across the full lifecycle of every project—from early design and engineering to construction, commissioning and long-term operations.
Her mandate includes aligning sourcing decisions with Vantage’s technical, financial and operational priorities. This means partnering closely with internal engineering, development and construction teams, as well as cultivating strategic relationships with global vendors and suppliers. The objective is to ensure that procurement decisions not only support immediate project timelines but also enhance long-term performance, resilience and sustainability across the company’s growing global platform.
Ruckteschler will play a central role in advancing a globally coordinated procurement model. By strengthening supplier ecosystems, diversifying sourcing strategies and embedding risk mitigation frameworks, she is expected to enhance Vantage’s ability to navigate supply chain volatility while maintaining speed and cost discipline. This is particularly important in an era when the data center industry is contending with constrained equipment supply, evolving energy markets and rapidly increasing AI-related power and infrastructure requirements.
Supporting Rapid Global Expansion
Vantage Data Centers has established itself as a premier digital infrastructure partner for many of the world’s most influential AI and cloud providers. With operations spanning North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, the company has built a reputation for delivering capacity at unmatched speed and scale. As hyperscale customers accelerate deployments to support generative AI workloads, high-performance computing and cloud services, Vantage continues to expand its global campus footprint.
In this environment, procurement becomes a critical lever for execution. The sourcing of major capital equipment—such as generators, transformers, cooling systems and electrical infrastructure—must be tightly coordinated with construction schedules and regional regulatory frameworks. Additionally, power procurement strategies must account for sustainability goals, grid constraints and long-term cost predictability.
Ruckteschler’s leadership is expected to reinforce Vantage’s ability to manage these complexities at scale. By embedding procurement expertise early in project planning and aligning it with engineering standards and global design templates, she will help ensure consistency and efficiency across markets. This integrated approach is designed to enhance resilience, improve cost optimization and strengthen supplier performance worldwide.
A Proven Leader in Global Data Center Procurement
Ruckteschler brings more than two decades of procurement and supply chain leadership experience supporting large-scale data center, infrastructure and technology organizations. Her career reflects a consistent focus on building global sourcing organizations capable of delivering complex projects under demanding timelines.
Most recently, she served as senior vice president and chief procurement officer at Equinix. In that role, she led a global organization of more than 140 professionals overseeing procurement activities across a portfolio of 275 data centers in 75 global markets. Her scope included major capital equipment sourcing, power procurement strategies, network infrastructure, software procurement and construction services.
At Equinix, Ruckteschler was instrumental in driving operational resilience and cost optimization initiatives while advancing sustainability objectives. She helped establish procurement frameworks that balanced speed and scale with disciplined governance, enabling the organization to continue expanding its global footprint despite market uncertainties and supply chain disruptions.
Her leadership extended beyond corporate operations. In 2024, she served as an advisor to the bipartisan U.S. House AI Task Force, contributing expertise on data center infrastructure, energy and supply chain considerations. Her insights helped inform policymakers as they evaluated the infrastructure implications and opportunities associated with the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence technologies.
Earlier in her career, Ruckteschler led infrastructure commodity management at Google. There, she played a key role in building and scaling global sourcing strategies to support the company’s large-scale data center deployments. She focused on mitigating supply chain risks, fostering supplier innovation and delivering significant cost savings through strategic partnerships and long-term agreements.
Her experience also includes hands-on procurement leadership in construction and development environments, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end lifecycle required to deliver complex infrastructure projects on time and on budget. This blend of strategic oversight and operational execution is expected to be particularly valuable as Vantage continues its aggressive expansion.
Executive Perspectives on the Appointment
Jeff Tench, Vantage’s global executive vice president, emphasized the strategic importance of the appointment. He noted that Ruckteschler brings an exceptional combination of strategic vision, operational rigor and deep hyperscale infrastructure experience to the leadership team. Her track record of optimizing global procurement organizations, strengthening supplier ecosystems and executing rapid growth aligns closely with Vantage’s objectives.
According to Tench, her ability to drive cost optimization while maintaining supplier collaboration and resilience will be critical as Vantage expands its platform to meet unprecedented AI and hyperscale demand. As data center campuses become more sophisticated and power-intensive, disciplined procurement strategies are essential to maintaining competitive advantage.
For her part, Ruckteschler expressed enthusiasm about joining Vantage during a period of significant growth for both the company and the broader industry. She highlighted Vantage’s focus on disciplined execution, collaboration and long-term value creation as closely aligned with her approach to strategic procurement.
She emphasized her commitment to partnering across the organization to build and optimize scalable procurement and sourcing capabilities. By integrating procurement early and consistently into development processes, she aims to support customers while enabling sustainable global growth.
Positioning for the AI-Driven Future
The timing of Ruckteschler’s appointment underscores the broader transformation underway in the digital infrastructure landscape. Artificial intelligence workloads are driving unprecedented increases in data center power density, cooling requirements and overall campus scale. At the same time, customers expect rapid deployment timelines and sustainable operations.
Procurement sits at the intersection of these demands. Securing reliable access to critical equipment, negotiating long-term energy contracts and aligning with sustainability goals require a sophisticated, globally coordinated strategy. Ruckteschler’s experience advising policymakers on AI infrastructure considerations further positions her to help Vantage navigate the evolving regulatory and technological environment.
By strengthening supplier relationships and embedding resilience into sourcing strategies, Vantage aims to ensure continuity of delivery even amid market volatility. The company’s focus on building a cohesive global procurement model reflects a recognition that speed, scale and reliability must be achieved simultaneously.
About Vantage Data Centers
Vantage Data Centers is a global leader in digital infrastructure serving the world’s most influential AI and cloud providers. The company operates across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, delivering capacity at unrivaled speed and scale. Its campus-based model emphasizes operational excellence, customer-centric design and long-term partnerships.
As digital transformation accelerates worldwide, Vantage continues to expand its global footprint to meet growing demand. Through disciplined execution, innovative design and a relentless commitment to reliability, the company is empowering transformative enterprises to shape the future of technology.
With the addition of Alicia Ruckteschler as chief procurement officer, Vantage strengthens its executive bench and reinforces its strategic focus on resilient, scalable growth. Her leadership is expected to play a central role in ensuring that procurement not only supports expansion but actively drives competitive advantage in an increasingly complex and AI-powered world.
