NEXTDC names Jodi Pearce Alliance Director for AI push

NEXTDC has appointed Jodi Pearce as Alliance Director, a newly created role focused on partnerships linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure and services.

Pearce joins the Australian data centre operator with more than 15 years' experience in enterprise technology sales and partner development. Her background spans cloud infrastructure, digital transformation and emerging technologies.

The appointment gives NEXTDC a senior executive responsible for alliance strategy as Australian organisations invest in AI projects that require large-scale compute and specialist infrastructure. It also reflects the influence of vendors, platform providers and systems integrators on how enterprises and public sector agencies procure and deploy AI systems.

Alliance remit

Pearce will lead NEXTDC's alliance strategy, focusing on building partnerships tied to AI offerings. Her remit includes shaping partner go-to-market activity and aligning partner programmes with customer demand across enterprise and government accounts.

A key part of the role involves NEXTDC's NVIDIA DGX-Ready facilities. DGX-Ready is a data centre designation for sites that can host NVIDIA DGX systems and related infrastructure. NEXTDC has positioned these facilities as part of its offering for customers running AI workloads.

The role sits alongside NEXTDC's existing colocation and cloud adjacency business. NEXTDC has argued that customers increasingly want bundled approaches, where infrastructure and partner services are delivered under a single commercial and delivery model.

Pearce described the partner challenge as coordinating multiple components of an AI deployment.

"Partners play a critical role in helping customers navigate the complexity of enterprise AI," said Jodi Pearce, Alliance Director, NEXTDC.

"My focus is on creating strong, aligned ecosystems that combine infrastructure, platforms, and expertise to accelerate customer outcomes," she said.

Market context

Demand for AI infrastructure is reshaping procurement decisions in the data centre sector. Organisations building and operating models require high-density power, resilient connectivity and cooling systems that can handle sustained compute loads. Many also need proximity to cloud platforms, specialist software stacks and managed services.

These conditions have expanded the role of partners. Cloud service providers, software vendors, consultancies and systems integrators often bundle infrastructure with professional services, governance frameworks and operational support. For data centre operators, partner relationships can affect utilisation and influence which workloads are placed in facilities.

Pearce will develop a broader ecosystem around NEXTDC's AI-related infrastructure. NEXTDC framed the effort as part of its customer-led go-to-market execution, with partner offerings forming part of the proposition delivered to end customers.

Executive backing

Chris Losco, Head of Colocation at NEXTDC, said the hire strengthens the leadership team as customer demand shifts towards bundled solutions.

"Jodi's deep experience in enterprise technology and partner-led growth makes her a strong addition to the NEXTDC leadership team," said Losco.

"As AI adoption accelerates, our customers are seeking integrated solutions that combine infrastructure, platforms, and expertise, and Jodi will play a key role in shaping the alliances that underpin customer success and support our next phase of growth," he said.

Broader strategy

NEXTDC also linked the appointment to its next-generation data centre growth strategy. Pearce will support efforts to embed partners across design, delivery and go-to-market execution.

The approach points to closer coordination between partner requirements and facility planning, particularly where customers need configurations suited to AI use cases. It also signals further collaboration with technology vendors and service providers that package AI infrastructure with software and consulting services.

NEXTDC has built its business around colocation services for enterprise and government customers. In recent years, it has expanded its messaging to include AI-driven workloads and partner ecosystems as core themes. Pearce's appointment formalises that focus within the executive structure, with responsibility for alliance direction tied to AI partnerships and customer-facing delivery models.

Losco said alliances will sit at the centre of the company's next stage of growth.