Willis, a business of WTW, has launched a dedicated Data Centre Industry Practice for Asia, the global broker announced on Monday, and has appointed Lay See Ong as Practice Leader.
According to Willis, the move responds to the rapid growth of data centre development in Asia. Citing Global Data, the firm noted that planned projects across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia total about US$160 billion. It added that demand in Indonesia, the Philippines and India is expected to drive further regional expansion in the coming years.
“The world’s largest technology firms are moving to Southeast Asia to build data centres at a time when demand for infrastructure and computing power to enable AI is rapidly rising,” said Luke Ware, Head of Asia at WTW.
“Data centres face a broad spectrum of risks, including natural hazards, business interruption, environmental exposures and cyber threats, across every stage of their lifecycle, from financing and construction to operations,” Ware added.
Willis said the new practice will draw on expertise from all lines of business, working with global and regional specialists to provide a “single, integrated proposition” to support companies in managing data centre risks.
Ong will lead the practice alongside her current responsibilities as Strategic Client Leader for Large Accounts Asia. She has more than 25 years of experience in risk advisory, broking and client leadership, and has been with Willis for 10 years.
“We are committed to building specialist expertise for data centres, and this appointment reflects our dedication to supporting clients with innovative solutions and industry-leading risk advisory services for this sector,” Ware said.
