Patrick Lynch, Executive Managing Director at CBRE: on Power, Pace & the Reality of Scaling Digital Infrastructure | Season Ten, Episode Six

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

In this episode, our host Jenny Gladman is joined by Patrick Lynch, Executive Managing Director at CBRE - a market leader with a front-row seat to some of the industry’s biggest infrastructure decisions.

With more than three decades in digital infrastructure, Patrick brings a rare perspective on how the market is evolving under real-world constraint. As demand accelerates and supply struggles to keep pace, he shares how power availability is reshaping site selection, why speed-to-market has changed deal dynamics, and what it now takes to deliver capacity at scale.

From hyperscale growth and edge deployment to supply chain pressure and talent gaps, this conversation offers a practical look at how digital infrastructure is really being built.

For anyone curious about where the market is heading - and what it will take to keep up - this is a conversation well worth your time.

01:01 - Introduction to Patrick
02:44 - Could you briefly share your career journey and how you came to your current role?
04:20 - What feels fundamentally different about where we are today compared to 10-15 years ago?
05:59 - You’re a father of four, with some of your children now entering the industry - how has that shaped the way you think about the space?
08:00 - How do your children challenge your thinking, and what does that feel like?
09:32 - From your vantage point, what’s driving demand right now and what core forces are shaping decision-making?
12:06 - What are the key differences in how decisions are being made today compared to a few years ago?
14:20 - From your perspective, how is power influencing transactions and site selection today?
16:59 - How does the gap between sustainable ambition and what’s viable at scale or in location shape decision-making?
19:09 - From a global perspective, how do the US, Europe, and APAC differ in terms of opportunity and constraints?
21:26 - What are your top tips for people wanting to get into the sector?
23:02 - Where do you see the greatest need for talent in this sector, and which backgrounds are best positioned to move into it?
26:23 - As projects scale from 100MW to multi-gigawatt campuses, how has that changed how deals are structured and executed?
28:56 - At this scale, what’s the hardest point in a deal - what breaks first?
32:37 - For those building or investing in this space, what’s the one takeaway you’d want them to leave with?

Connect with your host, Jenny Gladman, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Patrick Lynch, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

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