Industry veteran brings proven hyperscaler relationships and global data center expertise to accelerate CRG’s fastest-growing vertical
CRG, the real estate development and investment arm of Chicago-based Clayco, today announced the appointment of data center veteran Rohit Kinra as senior vice president and partner, strengthening the firm’s growing data center development platform. Kinra brings more than two decades of real estate and technology experience, including deep expertise in the data center sector, and will lead the platform’s strategic growth.
The expansion of CRG’s dedicated data center business builds on Clayco’s expertise delivering highly complex digital infrastructure for the world’s largest operators. CRG draws on Clayco’s full-service construction and procurement strengths, along with the design and engineering capabilities of LJC, to offer clients a truly vertically integrated development platform. This single-source solution gives hyperscale and enterprise clients the speed, cost certainty and accountability they require across every phase of project delivery.
“Data centers represent one of the most significant development opportunities in commercial real estate today, and CRG is uniquely positioned to capture that opportunity through Clayco’s vertically integrated design-build platform,” said Shawn Clark, chief executive officer of CRG. “Rohit is exactly the leader to help build this business. His relationships with the world’s largest hyperscale operators, combined with his deep understanding of the technical, commercial and operational demands of this asset class, will be invaluable as we scale this platform nationally. Rohit also brings a proven ability to navigate the entitlement process and work alongside municipalities to communicate the full economic potential these projects can deliver for their communities.”
Kinra joins CRG from Iron Mountain, where he served as senior vice president and general manager, hyperscale and global marketing, for the company’s data center business unit. In that role, he was responsible for Iron Mountain’s global hyperscale business, including all commercial activities, strategic direction, delivery, account management and financial oversight.
Prior to his hyperscale leadership role, Kinra held progressive positions at Iron Mountain, including vice president and global head of hyperscale implementation and account management, and vice president of account management and customer success for the data center division. Kinra holds an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
“CRG’s integrated platform, backed by the combined capabilities of Clayco’s construction and procurement expertise and LJC’s design and engineering team, creates a compelling value proposition for hyperscale and enterprise data center clients who need speed, certainty and scale,” said Kinra. “The demand for data center capacity continues to accelerate, driven by cloud computing, AI workloads and digital transformation. I’m excited to build a world-class data center development practice at CRG and deliver the large-scale, high-performance facilities that today’s operators require.”
With more than $14 billion in assets developed over three decades across industrial, student housing, mixed-use and office, CRG brings the same institutional discipline and execution track record to its growing data center vertical. CRG will target hyperscale and large-scale data center development opportunities across key power markets in the United States.
About CRG:
CRG is a privately held real estate development and investment firm with deep expertise in industrial, data centers, student housing and mixed-use assets. The firm serves clients and investors from seven regional offices, benefiting from local expertise in Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Southern California, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Atlanta. CRG has developed more than 12,500 acres of land and delivered over 220 million square feet of assets exceeding $14 billion in value. For more information, visit CRG’s website at www.realcrg.com.
Rohit Kinra, who brings more than two decades of hyperscale experience to CRG, will lead the firm’s growing data center development platform.