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Strategic Advisor·Data Centers

Susanna Kass

Operating Partner at Digital Gravity Infrastructure Partners

Silicon Valley, California, USA

SK
Why they matter

Ex-eBay/HP/Oracle data-center operations chief turned infrastructure investor whose Absolute Zero framework and hyperscaler relationships make her a sharp technical diligence call for colocation deals.

Background

Susanna Kass is a 30+ year data center operations executive turned sustainable-infrastructure investor, having held senior roles as COO of eBay International, GM of HP Asia Pacific Data Center Operations, VP of Global Data Center Business Operations at Sun Microsystems/Oracle, and EVP of Innovation & Sustainability at NextEra Energy and Baselayer I/O. She is now Operating Partner at Digital Gravity Infrastructure Partners and co-founder of InfraPrime, an EU-funded net-zero data center startup, where she developed the "Absolute Zero" carbon-free data center design framework used in discussions with hyperscalers including Google, Microsoft, Meta, AWS, and Equinix. She is also a Stanford Energy Fellow and Data Center Advisor to the UN Sustainable Development Goals program.

Notable deals

  • 2026
    Named to the Datacloud Power 50 list of global data center industry leaders
  • 2025
    Delivered Data Centre LIVE keynote unveiling the Absolute Zero carbon-free data center design framework
  • 2025
    Authored TechHQ feature detailing Absolute Zero fuel-cell and CO2 heat-recovery architecture for hyperscale data centers
  • 2024
    Profiled for prefabricated ISO-container modular data center design deployable in 45 days

Call-prep brief

Background

  • 30+ years running global data center operations: COO eBay International, GM HP APAC Data Center Ops, VP Global DC Business Ops at Sun/Oracle, EVP Innovation at NextEra Energy and Baselayer I/O.
  • Now Operating Partner at Digital Gravity Infrastructure Partners (data center/AI infrastructure investing) and co-founder of InfraPrime, an EU-funded net-zero infrastructure startup.
  • Stanford Energy Fellow; Data Center Advisor to the UN Sustainable Development Goals program.

Current focus

  • "Absolute Zero", a carbon-free (not offset-based) data center design standard using on-site fuel cells, green hydrogen/ammonia, and CO2-based heat recovery, pitched directly at hyperscaler capacity buildouts.
  • Positioning sustainability/power availability as the binding constraint on new colocation and AI data center capacity.

What she cares about

  • On-site clean power generation vs. grid-dependent buildouts, a likely lens for evaluating any colo asset's power strategy.
  • Circular economy design (heat reuse, modular/prefab construction) as a cost and speed-to-market lever, not just an ESG checkbox.

Recent moves

  • Named to the 2026 Datacloud Power 50; keynoted Data Centre LIVE 2025 on Absolute Zero design and build.

Sensitivities

  • Heavily booked on the speaking/awards circuit. Treat outreach as competing for scarce time against high-profile industry events.
  • Strong personal IP/authorship stake in "Absolute Zero". Frame questions around application to the target, not as generic ESG diligence.

Questions to ask

  1. How would you assess this asset's power procurement strategy against an Absolute Zero-style standard, and what would remediation cost?
  2. Which hyperscaler or colo operators are furthest along on on-site generation/heat reuse, and how does that affect their capacity economics?
  3. What operational or power risks would you flag before underwriting a colocation platform in this market?

Outreach draft

Subject
Quick call on colocation power strategy diligence
Hi Susanna, I'm working with a private equity team evaluating a data center colocation platform, and your Absolute Zero work on on-site generation and heat recovery is directly relevant to how we're thinking about the asset's power strategy and capacity risk. Would you be open to a 30-minute call in the next couple of weeks to get your read on power procurement approaches and what separates a well-positioned colo operator from one facing near-term constraints? Happy to work around your schedule. Thanks for considering it, [Placeholder Name]

Sources