Core Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq: CORZ), a leader in digital infrastructure for high-density colocation services, has appointed Steve Smith to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Smith brings over 35 years of leadership experience across the data center, digital infrastructure, and technology industries — including a decade-long tenure as CEO of Equinix during which he scaled the company from $400 million to more than $4 billion in annual revenue. The appointment signals Core Scientific's accelerating ambition to become the defining force in AI infrastructure build-out at scale.
Who Is Steve Smith?
Steve Smith is one of the most decorated executives in the global data center industry. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Zayo Group, a global internet network provider — a role he has held since 2020. Before Zayo, Smith spent over a decade as CEO and President of Equinix (2007–2018), one of the world's largest data center and colocation companies, where he transformed a mid-size enterprise into a global powerhouse, scaling annual revenue from approximately $400 million to more than $4 billion and overseeing more than 20 acquisitions.
Prior to Equinix, Smith held senior leadership roles at HP Services, Lucent Technologies, and Electronic Data Systems Corporation. He currently sits on the boards of both Zayo and NEXTDC, a publicly traded Australian data center company. Smith is also a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering — a foundation that speaks to the operational discipline he brings to every leadership role.
Why This Appointment Matters for Core Scientific
Core Scientific is in the midst of one of the most consequential strategic pivots in digital infrastructure — transitioning its operations from Bitcoin mining to high-density colocation services for AI workloads. The company operates 11 facilities across Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas, and is actively executing what it describes as one of the market's largest multi-site AI infrastructure build-outs.
Adding Smith to the board at this moment is a deliberate strategic choice. His deep commercial relationships in the data center ecosystem, his proven ability to manage large-scale capital deployment, and his experience scaling infrastructure businesses through M&A directly align with the operational challenges Core Scientific faces as it races to meet surging enterprise demand for AI-driven, high-density computing infrastructure.
Smith will also serve on the Company's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, reinforcing the board's focus on structured growth and long-term value creation.
"Steve is a respected industry veteran with a proven record of value creation, deep commercial relationships and extensive operational expertise. His experience will be highly valuable as Core Scientific executes one of the market's largest multi-site AI infrastructure build-outs."— Adam Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, Core Scientific
"Core Scientific is well-positioned to capture the meaningful opportunities ahead as demand for high-performance compute infrastructure continues to accelerate. The Company has demonstrated an impressive ability to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects, and I am excited to work alongside the Board and management team to help build on that momentum and support the Company's continued growth and value creation."— Steve Smith, Incoming Board Member, Core Scientific
What This Signals for the Data Center and AI Infrastructure Market
The appointment of Steve Smith reflects a broader trend playing out across the AI infrastructure sector: companies that once operated at the margins of enterprise technology are rapidly professionalising their governance to compete for hyperscaler and enterprise contracts. Board-level credibility matters when negotiating long-term power and colocation agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Smith's track record at Equinix — where he scaled revenue tenfold and integrated over 20 acquisitions — gives Core Scientific a credible voice on inorganic growth strategy at a time when land, power, and fibre are increasingly contested resources. His current role at Zayo Group also positions him at the intersection of networking and compute infrastructure — precisely the convergence that AI workloads demand.
For investors and industry observers, this appointment reinforces the message that Core Scientific's strategic transformation is real, funded, and now guided by operators who have built this kind of business before.