Nearly two decades of managing critical facilities has taught Matt Landek that military veterans can serve their country in a different way: filling crucial roles in the U.S. data center boom.
Landek spent years in charge of government buildings, laboratories, banks and other facilities where even a brief loss of power, cooling or computer networks could bring down an organization. That set the stage for his career at JLL, beginning as an account executive in 2012 and getting promoted to global president of data centers and critical environments 18 months ago.
In his current role, the Chicago-based executive is tapping multiple sources to fill jobs in data center construction and real estate management. It comes as tech giants invest hundreds of billions in data centers at a faster clip than firms can build, power and train staff for the facilities.
Among the most prized recruits are so-called "Navy nukes," the highly trained sailors and officers responsible for operating and maintaining nuclear reactors that power the Navy's fleet of aircraft carriers and submarines.
"We can't get our hands on enough Navy nukes," Landek said in an interview. "There's a long history of trying to find appropriate roles for veterans as they return, and data centers have been a great home for them."
Landek is part of JLL's senior executive team that leads the world's second-largest real estate services firm's global business in data centers, commercial real estate's fastest-growing sector.
Consulting giant McKinsey & Co. estimates that companies will spend nearly $7 trillion on data centers to support massive artificial intelligence networks by 2030, with more than 40% of the investments in the United States.
Creating opportunity
Landek spent nearly a decade managing contracted engineering and facilities services at Chicago-based JLL before being named to his first data center leadership role in 2021, three years before he was promoted to global president, where he oversees over 2,000 data center employees at more than 340 facilities and projects.
“It’s hard to fathom the pace of change,” Landek said. “Until you look back, you just don't appreciate the technology renaissance that we’ve seen.”
Landek is especially proud of the number of high-paying jobs created at data center projects managed by JLL in places such as West Texas.
Although he can't discuss specific projects, Abilene and El Paso are home to one of the world's largest emerging data center clusters. Thousands of construction workers and other personnel are employed at projects by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank's Stargate, and major developments by Crusoe Energy and Vantage Data Centers, among others.
"I have people in West Texas that were making minimum wage, barely getting by," Landek said. "Fast forward, and many are now making six-figure salaries. There's one project we're working on where there are 5,000 construction jobs in a multiyear project. For me, it’s life changing as an employer."
The University of Illinois at Chicago graduate has actively recruited military veterans for construction jobs, among the hottest and most in-demand occupations in the United States — as well as alongside him in the real estate executive suite.
Landek recently hired Brandon Keesee, a former data center operations leader at Apple, and promoted Michael Martin to managing director of national data center operations.
Keesee and Martin are Navy veterans "who exemplify the discipline, strategic thinking and operational excellence sharpened through years of service in mission-critical environments,” he said.
Data center evolution
Landek's clients have included AT&T, CyrusOne, Microsoft, the London Stock Exchange, Prudential, UnitedHealth Group, U.S. Bank and Verizon. But data centers were “more of an afterthought” for large real estate services firms when Landek started in the sector 15 years ago, around the time that big tech began migrating data to cloud computing.
With the advent of the AI boom, he said, data center leaders have now caught the ear of top executives at real estate companies, lured by the prospect of profits from brokering land deals and managing multibillion-dollar projects to build and run hyperscale facilities.
Among Landek's important duties are commissioning data centers, a rigorous process to ensure that all mechanical, electrical, security and backup systems are tested and performing precisely, with zero downtime, before the facility goes live.
“Our clients trust us with their most critical assets," he said. "We keep their operations running."
Government origins
Landek got his start in facilities management during nearly six years with Cook County, the nation's second-most populous county after Los Angeles as the county for Chicago.
He started in government in 2006 working in public policy for the president of the county board of commissioners before pivoting to facilities management, where he maintained the county computer system that tracks building and maintenance work orders, among other duties.
"I was at the ground floor, working in many unique assets, everything from corrections, the courthouse, government buildings, hospitals," he said. "It was a major part of my foundation."
The experience landed Landek a job at JLL's facilities and project management in 2012.
He rose steadily to become a managing director in 2021 for data center work dynamics — JLL’s service that works with data center owners and occupiers to get the most out of their existing facilities and prepare for future needs as the property sector rapidly evolves.
Since being elevated to global president of data centers in late 2024, Landek has helped steer the division's substantial growth, working with other top JLL data center leaders such as Andy Cvengros in leasing advisory, Carl Beardsley in U.S. capital markets and Andrew Batson, global head of data center research.
JLL doesn't break out how much data centers contributed to the firm's $20 billion in revenue from real estate management services in 2025 — an 11% annual jump for the arm that generated more than three-quarters of the firm's global revenue for the year.
"But I can tell you, and our CEO has said, that we are growing exponentially in this space," Landek said.