Apatura appoints new Chief Financial Officer & CTO

Apatura has appointed Tony Wright as Chief Financial Officer and Benny Benford as Chief Technology Officer, expanding the leadership team at the UK energy and digital infrastructure developer.

Wright brings more than 30 years of executive experience across infrastructure, energy and engineering. Benford will oversee technology as Apatura expands its energy and data centre portfolio.

Apatura, which has offices in Edinburgh and York, has secured more than 5GW of grid connections across the UK, most of it in Scotland. Its digital infrastructure portfolio includes nine data centre sites across Scotland’s Central Belt with Gate 2-compliant grid connections totalling 2.4GW.

Six of those sites are designed for large-scale data centre development. Once completed, the projects are expected to support about £12 billion of development expenditure and a further £30 billion of compute investment.

Finance role

In his new role, Wright will work with the board and executive team on the financial structure supporting Apatura’s growth plans across energy and digital infrastructure.

His previous roles include senior leadership positions at ASCO Group, Lamprell, Leighton International and Global Process Systems. His background also includes working with investors, banks and executive teams on funding, governance, joint ventures and transformation programmes across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Technology brief

Benford will lead the development and implementation of Apatura’s AI strategy. His remit includes identifying where AI and data analytics can improve decision-making and operations across the business.

Before joining Apatura, he founded Datent, a consultancy focused on AI and data transformation. He also served as Chief Data Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, where he established the carmaker’s first Data Office and led work on governance and analytics.

The appointments come as data centre developers and energy infrastructure groups seek senior executives with experience in finance, grid access and data-led operations. In Scotland, developers have increasingly tied data centre plans to the availability of power connections as demand for computing infrastructure rises.

Chief Executive Officer Giles Hanglin said the appointments reflect the company’s next phase of growth.

“As we enter the next era of growth and opportunity, it is essential that we continue to strengthen the leadership capability needed to support our ambitions across energy and digital infrastructure. Tony brings exceptional experience in financial leadership, governance and strategic growth. Throughout his career, he has advised boards, secured investment, supported major infrastructure projects and helped organisations navigate periods of significant growth and transformation. His experience will be invaluable as we continue to expand our portfolio and create long-term value. Meanwhile, Benny will help us unlock the opportunities presented by AI, data and digital innovation. His expertise will play an important role in strengthening decision-making, enhancing performance and ensuring we remain well-positioned for the future. Together, these appointments strengthen the foundations for our next phase of growth and reinforce our commitment to building a business that combines financial discipline, innovation and long-term value creation,” Hanglin said.