In conversation with Dame Dawn Childs, CEO of Pure Data Centres

Question: "Congratulations on your DCD Award Dawn! Could you share some highlights from your career"?

Thanks - I was truly thrilled to win the award. There have been some definite highlights (and matching lowlights!) of my career, but a few stand out moments are; being honoured with a Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (the highest professional accolade for engineers in the UK), getting my first Executive Board role as the Transformation Director at National Grid, being promoted to CEO here at Pure Data Centres Group and of course the amazing honour of being bestowed with a Damehood by the King in His Majesty's 2023 New Years Honours.

Question: "My understanding is that diversity and inclusion is a topic close to your heart. Could you share some of the achievements you are most proud of"?

Most definitely it is! Having struggled in the earlier parts of my career, I really had to work to fit in and get ahead and it was harder than it should have been to give the contribution I was capable of. So, as soon as I was able, I have tried to help ensure that any company I work in enables everyone to contribute to their best ability by driving and promoting inclusion. The achievements that I am most proud of are when people have said that I have helped them and made a difference. There are too many individuals to list but each one means a lot. As well as helping individuals I also feel very proud if any of my advice over the years has helped companies to be more inclusive as I know that any company that can improve inclusion will go from strength to strength.

Question: "You've worked in the data centres sector for quite some time. What are some of the challenges you think the sector has overcome and what do you think still needs a lot of work"?

I cannot believe that I have already worked in the industry for over 3 years! I think the sector has started to face into the significant challenges ahead. We have started to navigate the ambiguity and transition in design for higher density compute, started coming out from behind the shadows to ensure we can balance against the negative PR on 'power hungry' data centres and been very thoughtful about how to meet those future challenges around power. But I do think there is still a lot more focus needed on diversity in the round. Both in diversifying the supply chain and widening the talent pool to enable our industry to keep growing at the pace needed.

Question: "Do you have any predictions or hopes for the future of the sector"?

There is no doubt that however AI plays out over the next year or so, the sector will keep growing significantly. We will all have to innovate to grow at the speed needed and I think one innovation will be that our industry helps to affect the green transition of the electricity grids in numerous countries. The large PPAs and work with renewables and nuclear that has already happened has started to catalyse the power sector, but this will need to increase, and our industry will be driving this from the front!

Question: "Could you share something surprising about you or something most people in the sector wouldn't know"?

I love horse riding and used to compete in eventing and show jumping whilst in the Royal Air Force - one year I won the inter-service show jumping and was presented with the cup by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. I do still ride but having had several major accidents (broken neck, back and pelvis over the years) it is more of a hobby now!

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In today’s interconnected world, timing resilience is a critical yet often overlooked component of national infrastructure. Precision in time and frequency distribution underpins essential services, ensuring they remain accurate and dependable even in the face of disruptions. From data centres to energy grids, telecommunications networks, and water systems, the requirements of resilient timing services are becoming increasingly apparent.

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