JLL Positions Itself to Take Advantage of EMEA Data Centre Boom With KPMG Hire Assad Noori

LONDON, May 19, 2026 — JLL has appointed Assad Noori as Head of Data Centres, Work Dynamics EMEA, the firm announced, bringing in a veteran of KPMG, Digital Realty, NTT, and Atos to lead its regional data centre platform at a moment of accelerating demand and tightening supply across European markets.

Noori will report to Martin Jensen, Division President for EMEA, Work Dynamics, at JLL, and will be based primarily in London. In addition to his EMEA remit, he will support Global Work Dynamics Data Centre Industry development.

A High-Profile Hire as JLL Positions Itself to Take Advantage of Market Momentum

The appointment signals JLL's intent to deepen its capabilities in digital infrastructure at a time the firm describes as a "pivotal moment" shaped by surging demand and a "fundamental geographical rebalancing" of where data centre capacity is being built and leased across the EMEA region.

Noori brings more than 20 years of experience in large-scale customer operations and digital infrastructure transformations across domestic and global markets. He joins JLL from KPMG, one of the Big Four global professional services firms, where he served as Head of Digital Infrastructure Advisory, leading consulting across digital infrastructure, AI, and Telco practices. Prior to KPMG, he held senior leadership roles at NTT, Atos, and Digital Realty, where he served as UK Managing Director.

"We are delighted to welcome Assad to the business at a transformational moment for the EMEA data centre market," Jensen said in a statement. "He joins at a time of great opportunity, with grid constraints in primary markets and strong rental growth driving demand into secondary locations across the Nordics and Southern Europe, while the top five hyperscalers have announced massive planned capital expenditure for 2026."

Jensen added that Noori's "deep operator experience, combined with his strong c-suite network across UK and European data centre firms, positions him perfectly to lead our platform in this unprecedented environment, as we help clients secure capacity in an increasingly competitive landscape."

FLAP-D Capacity Doubles, Pre-Leasing Overtakes Immediate Demand

The hire follows the publication of JLL's EMEA Year End Data Centre Report 2025, which documented a rapid expansion of capacity across the region's five primary markets — Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin, collectively known as FLAP-D. According to the report, those markets more than doubled capacity from 1.8 gigawatts in 2019 to 3.6 gigawatts by year-end 2025, despite significant regulatory and grid constraints.

The report also found that pre-leasing has overtaken immediate demand as the primary route to market, with forward commitments reaching 361 megawatts in 2025.

AI is identified as a central force reshaping the market. Neocloud signings for AI capacity almost tripled across Europe in 2025, according to JLL's research. The firm forecasts AI will represent approximately half of all data centre workloads by 2030, and that inference workloads are expected to overtake training by late 2026 — a transition that is accelerating distributed demand into new markets and driving development in secondary locations across the Nordics and Southern Europe.

Noori's Role: Expanding Client Solutions Across JLL Service Lines

In his new role, Noori's responsibilities will include expanding client solutions across all JLL service lines and strengthening the firm's position in key markets across the EMEA region.

"The EMEA data centre market is evolving faster than traditional models can keep pace, and the next phase will be defined by innovation, sophistication, and true lifecycle intelligence," Noori said. "Clients are navigating unprecedented complexity across power, sustainability, connectivity, and AI-driven demand, and they need partners who can respond with speed, depth, and conviction."

Noori added: "JLL's strength lies in the trust we've built — strong relationships that give us the mandate to lead across a converging digital infrastructure ecosystem. I am incredibly excited to be joining at a pivotal moment where we can elevate the standard of lifecycle solutions in EMEA, leveraging our position to shape that trajectory with clarity, capability, and long-term partnership."

JLL (NYSE: JLL) reported annual revenue of $26.1 billion and operates in over 80 countries with a global workforce of more than 113,000 as of March 31, 2026, according to the firm.

Sources

JLL Newsroom: JLL Makes High-Profile KPMG Hire to Head Up Its EMEA Data Centre Business (May 19, 2026)