About Us - Data Center First

OUR COMMITMENT

A shared passion and belief that
change is constant

As the global economy and its supply chain infrastructure moves rapidly from the internet world to the digital world, data centre and subsea cable operators are providing the fundamental underlying physical infrastructure that is a key catalyst to this business transformation.

Brought together by a shared passion and belief that change is not just unavertable, but is a continual phenomenon best expressed by the “Fibonacci Sequences”, the root of development in Humanity.

Mission

To build a connected infrastructure that supports a networked and digitised Asia.

Vision

Grow the business through the acquisition of Customer Communities, Data Centre Assets and Intellectual Properties.

Values

Cultivate and invest in human capital with a focus on a constantly changing dynamic business environment.

Our Investor

Gaw Capital Partners

Gaw Capital Partners is a uniquely positioned private equity fund management company focusing on real estate markets in Asia Pacific and other high barrier-to-entry markets globally.

Specializing in adding strategic value to under-utilized real estate through redesign and repositioning, Gaw Capital runs an integrated business model with its own in-house asset management operating platforms in retail, hospitality, property development, logistics, IDC and Education. The firm’s investments span the entire spectrum of real estate sectors, including residential development, offices, retail malls, hospitality, logistics warehouses and IDC projects.

Gaw Capital has raised six commingled funds targeting the Greater China and APAC regions since 2005. The firm also manages value-add/opportunistic funds in Vietnam and the US, a Pan-Asia hospitality fund, a European hospitality fund, a Growth Equity Fund and also provides services for separate account direct investments globally.

Since 2005, Gaw Capital commands assets of USD$30.7 billion under management as of Q1 2021.

Board of Directors

Kenneth Gaw
Chairman
President, Managing Principal, Co-Founder
Gaw Capital Partners

Wong Ka Vin
Director
Chief Executive Officer
Data Center First Pte Ltd

Ong Kok Chye
Director
Head of IDC Platform, (Ex-China)
Gaw Capital Partners

Management Team

Wong Ka Vin
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Ka Vin built his first data centre company i-STT in 1999 and brought Equinix to Asia with a merger in 2002. He spent the next 5 years growing the Equinix platform in Asia. Well-connected in the data centre industry, Ka Vin co-founded Data Center First with the vision of building the NexGen DC platform that will be the crossroads of the digital world.
Lee Kok Lek
Head of Engineering
Kok Lek brings over a wealth of practical experience in data centre design and implementation. Over the last 3 decades he has implemented all types of data centres across geography in Asia stretching from Tokyo to Sydney. He is well known within the customer community for his focus on detail and desire to share his knowledge. Kok Lek leads the Engineering team in Data Center First overseeing the design and implementation of the data center platform. He was instrumental in building most of Equinix’s data centre infrastructure in Asia.
Felix Lai
Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Felix is the Chief Investment Officer and he is responsible for the company’s business development, joint venture and acquisition activities. Prior to Data Center First, Felix was the Senior Investment Director at Gaw Capital where he successfully led the investment of assets in Vietnam, Australia and several regional markets. Felix started his career with Bain & Company and thereafter Citigroup where he worked on high-yield financing of private equity buyout and cross-border M&A transactions. Felix is a CFA Charterholder and earned his Bachelor and Master degrees in Engineering from Cambridge University.
Goh Eng Teong
Chief Technology Officer
Eng Teong was a key member of the Equinix Asia internal infrastructure team responsible for the development of the OSS and BSS platform. He brings with him the knowledge of integrating the IT platform with the M&E platform to create a more effective data center management environment. After Equinix, he spent 5 years working at Savvis playing a major role in the development of their VPDC Symphony Cloud infrastructure. Eng Teong holds a MSc in Knowledge Management from NTU and a Master of Technology from NUS.
Kwong Pei Meng
Senior VP, Finance
Pei Meng brings with him more than 20 years of financial experience and management across various industries with crucial time spent at both Pacific Internet and Equinix. He has vast operating experience in various Asian economies in telecommunication, investment holdings, manufacturing and healthcare industries. He holds a Bachelor degree in Accountancy from RMIT University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Jessica Ho
Senior VP, Corporate Services
Jessica is an experienced practitioner in the development of human capital for high-tech companies. At Data Center First, Jessica is responsible for taking the leadership role for building the customer and partner communities within our data centre development besides her role in Corporate Services.