Equinix CEO Steve Smith Resigns

Equinix, Inc. announced that CEO Steve Smith has made the decision to resign as CEO, and from the Equinix board of directors, after exercising poor judgment with respect to an employee matter.

The board has accepted his resignation and appointed executive chairman Peter Van Camp interim CEO of the company, effective immediately.

The board will commence a formal process to appoint a new CEO.

“The board gave this matter the deepest consideration and recognizes the many contributions Steve made over the past eleven years to achieve the global scale, reach and market leadership the company enjoys today. He has worked hard to grow and sustain the business, and we greatly appreciate his efforts,” said Van Camp. “I also want to emphasize that this action was not related to the company’s operational performance or financial condition, both of which remain strong. The board and leadership team remain fully committed to the strategy.”

Van Camp has been with Equinix in key roles for more than 17 years. He served as CEO of Equinix for seven years (2000 to 2007). Since 2007, he has served as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. During his tenure, he has remained engaged in the day-to-day business and has played an active role in every major decision the company has made. He will retain his executive chairman responsibilities during the interim period.

He added: “The company is well-positioned strategically, with tremendous depth at the leadership level and a passionate team that will guide the business and continue to drive the performance of the company. With our 2018 strategy and plan securely in place, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the role Equinix plays in helping companies evolve from their traditional business practices to the digital world by globally interconnecting with the people, locations, cloud services and data critical to their operations.“