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NCTA Executive Spotlight: Brian Baker - Cyrus One

Brian Baker is the Senior Business Development Manager for CyrusOne and servers on the board for the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA). CyrusOne is a national provider of enterprise class data center services. They design, build, own and operate world class facilities that host mission critical applications. Their data centers support every type of software you can imagine. This includes media, search engines, social networks, banking platforms, and on and on. When you ask, "What is the Cloud?" the answer is that it resides in their data centers.

CyrusOne’s Corporate Culture? Dedicated. Collaborative. Fast.

He is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee but moved to North Carolina over 30 years ago. He graduated with a degree in History from East Carolina University. He’s married with two daughters and cites them as his greatest achievement! “My wife is my best friend. My daughters are amazing and make me smile every day. They are my motivation to be a good person.”

Favorite Books? His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson and The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Brian spends his free-time enjoying family outings and kid’s sports. He is a voracious reader and finds it a great way to escape!

Favorite Movie? Star Wars Favorite TV show = Game of Thrones.

When asked what led him to NC he responded, “I've been in technology my entire career. The first 7-8 years in telecommunications and then I migrated to data center and managed services sector in 2004. I was VP Sales with a regional data center provider that was headquartered in Raleigh called HostedSolutions. After 6 years and a great run, I left and started a consulting practice and then returned to the data center sector with Sentinel Data Centers where I served as their VP Business Development. Sentinel was acquired in February by CyrusOne which is how I arrived at my current position today.”

If you could trade persons with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? Lionel Messi. He is the best soccer player in the world. When I was a kid I wanted to be a professional soccer player.

Lessons Learned in Business? That good leadership does not require you to be the "loudest person in the room." Good leadership is about being an example to your team. The best leaders I have ever worked with are collaborative with their teams rather than giving orders.

Favorite thing about NC? By far the best thing about NC is the people. What’s on your bucket list? I'd like to live in Europe for a couple years after I retire.

Greatest professional achievement? I've had many achievements in business that include being promoted to leadership positions, participating in an executive team that grew a business to a great financial exit, and developing sales teams. That said, I was very proud to be recognized by my peers a few years ago for the TBJ's "40 Under 40" award.

Know someone who should be featured in our next NCTA Executive Spotlight? Please contact Rachel Kennedy at rkennedy@nctechnology.org.