The construction and delivery arm of Glasgow-based property developer HFD had hired hyperscale infrastructure veteran Martin Smith as its managing director.
Smith brings more than 30 years of leadership experience across the UK and Europe to HFD Construction, working on hyperscale data centres, large-scale infrastructure and high-profile commercial developments.
He was most recently a group chief executive at Muir Group and prior to that held senior leadership roles at ISG, Interserve, Robertson Group and Miller Construction, where he managed major projects with values exceeding £650 million.
At ISG, he managed the delivery of several hyperscale projects for global technology clients, including Google's €450 million (£396.73), 60MW data centre in Belgium. His portfolio also includes developments such as the Amazon logistics hubs, and film studio and semiconductor facilities.
His experience extends to a wide range of sectors, including education, healthcare, hospitality, and sustainable office developments, "where his leadership has consistently focused on delivering high-quality projects via innovation, operational excellence and stakeholder collaboration," his new business added.
HFD Construction said Smith will manage the build-out of a "diverse and ambitious portfolio of projects" totalling billions of pounds, including the construction of hundreds of megawatts of AI-ready data centres for DataVita, HFD’s data centre division.
He will also work on the development of private-wire microgrids integrating renewable energy generation and storage for sustainable power delivery, the creation of city-centre office developments, including premium flexible workspace for HFD’s serviced office division, Ospa, and the development of current and proposed upper scale hotels across the region.
Smith is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building.
HFD Group chief executive William Hill said in a statement: "Martin joins at an exciting time for the business, with billions of pounds worth of construction scheduled across central Scotland in the coming years. His leadership will be crucial as we deliver on these ambitious projects."