Are you familiar with Charles J. Meyers, the CEO of Equinix? You might know a thing or two about the company, as it is one of the most prevalent data center and internet connection companies in the United States. The company itself operates in no less than five different countries, but how much do you really know about the person that’s behind it all? If you’re curious to know more, here are 10 things about Meyers that might surprise you.
1. He serves as the company’s CEO and also their President
Meyers serves as the CEO of Equinix, and he also serves as their President. That isn’t exactly a small thing to undertake, yet he has managed to do it with relative ease. As a matter of fact, he’s been with the company for more than a decade now, coming on board in 2010. During that time, he has been responsible for many of the developments that have allowed the company to become as successful as it has. In fact, he almost single-handedly changed the entire trajectory of the company’s performance when he came on board and he’s still going strong today.
2. He’s doubled the number of data centers the company has
One way that he changed things is by doubling the number of data centers that the company has in place. When he first came on board, this was an area that they weren’t entirely proficient in. At the time, they were still a leading company, but there was a great deal of improvement that needed to occur. Meyers was able to use his extensive experience as a business professional in order to achieve these types of goals and set the company on an entirely new path. Many people attribute the company’s success to his ability to lead others effectively, thanks in large part to his charismatic attitude and his desire to allow every person on his team to shine as opposed to taking all of the credit for himself.
3. He’s also responsible for the fact that they’ve quadrupled their profits
As a direct result of his efforts, the company was able to quadruple their profits over the course of the last 10 years. It largely serves as a testament to his leadership, which is why it is important in this particular context. Most people agree that without his leadership, this type of success never would have been possible in the first place.
4. He’s environmentally responsible
One of the things that truly sets him apart is that he is extremely environmentally conscientious. In fact, he makes an active effort to utilize his position in the business world to work with other businesses for the sole purpose of helping to reduce their carbon footprint and make a more eco-friendly environment in all of the areas where he or the partners he collaborates with exist.
5. He prefers to collaborate with people from all walks of life
Another thing that makes him unique is that he enjoys collaborating with people from all walks of life. He doesn’t have a tendency to put other people in a box and then expect them to perform accordingly. Instead, he makes it a habit to see each individual for the person that they truly are. More importantly, he has a tendency to bring out the best in each of those individuals so that they all have an opportunity to shine in their own right. According to Meyers himself, there are few things more pleasing than watching someone become empowered to be the best version of themselves. He has gone on to state that most people simply need someone else to believe in them in order for them to do great things.
6. He has a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering
He attended the University of Colorado and achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. That’s easily one of the more difficult degree programs in existence, one that most people don’t want to get anywhere near. For him, it was something that was easily within his reach, thanks to his innate ability to understand mathematics in a way that most people only wish they could.
7. He also holds two Master’s degrees
For his Master’s degrees, he decided to attend graduate schools associated with Northwestern University. The first was for a Master’s degree in Management and the second was for Engineering. This puts him in a unique position to understand the business side of things while also having a very detailed understanding of the operational side of the business. Many people would argue that it makes him uniquely qualified to run a business like Equinix because it requires a deep understanding of both sides in order to truly operate the business successfully.
8. He also served as the company’s COO for a time
As a matter of fact, he served as the Chief Operating Officer for Equinix for quite a long time. His tenure in that position began in October of 2013 and lasted until August of 2017. All the while, he was performing a number of other duties as well. Needless to say, he has demonstrated that he is more than capable of not only running a business, but also serving in multiple positions at one time successfully.
9. He owns a lot of stock in Equinix
It isn’t surprising for a CEO to own shares of stock in the company that they had up. What is surprising is that he owns so many shares of stock in Equinix, more than 8,000 shares to be exact. That fact alone is enough to make most people’s heads spin, but it’s true that he has acquired a little more than 8,800 shares during the time that he’s worked there.
10. He has a substantial net worth
At the moment, he has a net worth that is estimated to be approximately $7 million. That is certainly more money than most will ever see in their lifetime. Much of that comes from his salary as well as the stock that he has in the company. It also serves as proof of his dedication to hard work and his ability to remain in one location in his professional life as opposed to bouncing around from place to place.
