Edible Apple

Apple recently hired former eBay Data Center executive Olivier Sanche to take on the role of Apple’s Director of Global Data Center Operations.  The timing of the hire isn’t coincidental (then again, are they ever?) in light of Apple’s recent decision to open an enormous $1 billion data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

Dave Ohara writes for greenm3:

Personally, I think Olivier is the absolute right guy for Apple at the right time.  Coincidentally, I recently wrote this post about Greenpeace possibly targeting Apple Data Centers. There is no other person I can think of who could better prepare Apple for Greening the Data Center.  Olivier is one of the few data center managers who uses a Mac, and he craves the moment he can drop the blackberry and switch to the iPhone.

According to Sanche’s Linkedln profile, he used to work, at of all places, AT&T, where he began his career and served as the Director of Global Data Center Operations.

But what exactly does a director of Global Data Center Operations do?  We’re not exactly sure, but a 2009 profile of Sanche may shed some light on what his duties at Apple will entail.

Olivier Sanche is responsible for eBay’s global datacenter operation, architecture and strategy. In his current role, Mr. Sanche is focusing on energy efficient designs and delivering world-class availability to the eBay site. eBay’s data centers host over 15,000 servers worldwide in support of 84 million active users, and more than 130 million listings, with 8 million new listings added every day. A strong advocate for green initiatives, Mr. Sanche is currently in the final design stages of eBay’s newest datacenter. Under Mr. Sanche’s leadership, this LEED silver certifiable center plans to deliver advanced efficiencies in cooling and power management.

And while at AT&T:

… Mr. Sanche was responsible for all aspects of operations including IT services, electrical and mechanical systems, space allocation and optimization, network connectivity (WAN/LAN), data storage components, physical security, as well as disaster recovery plans. Supporting over 1,000 premier enterprise customers, Mr. Sanche had direct oversight of over 200,000 sqft of raised floor in 7 Eastern US locations. He successfully implemented disaster recovery procedures in two sites as a result of floods and tornadoes, and oversaw site expansions in multiple locations adding over 40,000 sqft of raised floor to live data centers.

So yeah, this guy’s legit.