Digital Realty Appoints Scott E. Peterson as Chief Investment Officer

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR), the leading global provider of data center solutions, announced today that Scott E. Peterson has been appointed Chief Investment Officer, effective immediately.  Mr. Peterson previously served as the company's Chief Acquisitions Officer, and in his expanded role, he will be responsible for evaluating capital allocation decisions with a mandate to drive improvement in return on invested capital.  The company will not seek a replacement for the Chief Acquisitions Officer role. 

Digital Realty's Interim Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein stated, "We are pleased to announce Scott's well-deserved appointment to the role of Chief Investment Officer.  As a co-founder of the company and former Chief Acquisitions Officer, he has been an invaluable member of our senior management team, and is the clear-cut choice to lead our efforts to optimize the return on our overall portfolio, rationalize our inventory management, and standardize the underwriting process across all investment disciplines." 

Scott Peterson said, "I am honored to have this opportunity, and eager to harness the considerable real estate investing expertise of our talented acquisitions team, which has been responsible for closing approximately $6 billion in data center transactions.  I look forward to working with my partners across the organization to further our corporate objective of optimizing the return on our overall portfolio." 

Mr. Peterson has led the company's acquisition activities since 2004.  Prior to Digital Realty, he was a Managing Director at GI Partners, the company's predecessor private equity fund.  Mr. Peterson has 27 years of real estate experience, including as Senior Vice President with GIC Real Estate, the real estate investment entity for the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.  He was also active in investments, development and asset management with LaSalle Partners, a real estate services company, and Trammel Crow Company, a real estate developer.  Mr. Peterson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University. 

About Digital Realty
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. focuses on delivering customer-driven data center solutions by providing secure, reliable and cost-effective facilities that meet each customer's unique data center needs.  Digital Realty's customers include domestic and international companies across multiple industry verticals ranging from financial services, cloud and information technology services, to manufacturing, energy, health care and consumer products.  Digital Realty's 131 properties, including 12 properties held as investments in unconsolidated joint ventures, comprised approximately 24.5 million square feet as of December 31, 2013, including approximately 1.8 million square feet of space under active development and 1.3 million square feet of space held for future development.  Digital Realty's portfolio is located in 33 markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.  Additional information about Digital Realty is included in the Company Overview, which is available on the Investors page of Digital Realty's website at http://www.digitalrealty.com. 

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the company's plans and organization.  These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following: the impact of current global economic, credit and market conditions; current local economic conditions in our geographic markets; decreases in information technology spending, including as a result of economic slowdowns or recession; adverse economic or real estate developments in our industry or the industry sectors that we sell to (including risks relating to decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges); our dependence upon significant tenants; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by tenants; our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing; risks associated with using debt to fund our business activities, including re-financing and interest rate risks, our failure to repay debt when due, adverse changes in our credit ratings or our breach of covenants or other terms contained in our loan facilities and agreements; financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; our inability to manage our growth effectively; difficulty acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions; our failure to successfully integrate and operate acquired or developed properties or businesses; the suitability of our properties and data center infrastructure, delays or disruptions in connectivity, failure of our physical infrastructure or services or availability of power; risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of such investments; delays or unexpected costs in development of properties; decreased rental rates, increased operating costs or increased vacancy rates; increased competition or available supply of data center space; our inability to successfully develop and lease new properties and development space; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; our inability to acquire off-market properties; our inability to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to reporting companies; our failure to maintain our status as a REIT; possible adverse changes to tax laws; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; losses in excess of our insurance coverage; changes in foreign laws and regulations, including those related to taxation and real estate ownership and operation; and changes in local, state and federal regulatory requirements, including changes in real estate and zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates.  For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended December 31, 2013.  The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

SOURCE Digital Realty Trust, Inc.