Guy Willner
Managing Director – Digital Infrastructure, PE Team
Africa is currently only 1% of the world’s datacentre capacity, so there is enormous growth potential in this dynamic market.
Sector expertise
Guy Willner joined Helios in December 2022 as Managing Director within the Digital Infrastructure Investment Team, bringing more than two decades of leadership experience in data centre development, scaling, and strategic exits across Europe and Africa.
Most recently, he has focused on investing in and supporting the growth of digital infrastructure platforms, with particular emphasis on data centres and connectivity ecosystems in high-growth markets. His experience spans founder-led scaling, public market listings, cross-border M&A, and institutional partnerships.
Mr Willner founded IXEurope in 1998 and grew it from a single London data centre into a 14-site platform across four European countries. He led eight acquisitions between 2004 and 2006 to accelerate expansion. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market in 2006 and received the Queen’s Award for International Trade that year. In 2007, IXEurope was acquired by Equinix for $555 million, after which he served as President of Equinix’s European division until 2008.
In 2008, he invested in Teraco Data Environments in South Africa and joined its board, remaining until its sale to Permira in 2014.
He holds a BSc in Engineering from Oxford Polytechnic (Oxford Brookes University) and is a UK citizen.
