Vice President, Commercial & Customer Partnerships

Job description

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry. Job Description Job Description About Ada Infrastructure Ada Infrastructure is a global data center business committed to being a positive force for technology, people, and the planet. As part of the digital infrastructure platform of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager, Ada Infrastructure is positioned to be a leader in reliable, safe, secure, and sustainable digital infrastructure. With a growing global portfolio spanning North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, Ada develops and operates world-class digital infrastructure solutions for hyperscale and enterprise customers. Why Join Us This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping Ada Infrastructure's commercial strategy and customer relationships during a period of significant global growth. As Vice President, Commercial & Customer Partnerships (North America), you will work alongside senior executives, investors, technical experts, and development leaders to originate, structure, negotiate, and deliver some of the industry's most complex data center transactions. This role offers a unique combination of strategic account leadership, transaction execution, and cross-functional influence, allowing you to directly impact the growth and long-term success of Ada's global platform. The Team You Are Joining The Revenue team serves as the commercial bridge between customers and Ada's Investments, Legal, Solutions Engineering, Design, Development, Delivery, and Operations organizations. The team is responsible for developing strategic customer relationships, leading complex commercial negotiations, and ensuring customer requirements are translated into executable, commercially viable solutions that support Ada's long-term objectives. Job Description The Vice President, Commercial & Customer Partnerships serves as a senior commercial leader responsible for Ada Infrastructure's strategic hyperscale customer relationships and complex data center transactions from initial engagement through contracting, development, delivery, and ongoing account management. This is not a traditional transactional sales role. The Vice President acts as the commercial owner for designated customers and transactions, bringing together investments, legal, engineering, development, delivery, and operational teams to develop solutions that meet customer requirements while protecting company economics and managing risk. The successful candidate will combine the relationship orientation of a senior strategic account executive with the commercial judgment of an infrastructure transaction professional, possessing the financial, technical, and contractual expertise necessary to drive decisions, manage tradeoffs, and maintain alignment between Ada and its customers. Key Responsibilities Strategic Account Leadership Serve as the senior relationship owner for designated hyperscale and strategic customers, building trusted relationships across capacity planning, real estate, engineering, procurement, legal, finance, and executive leadership teams. Develop a deep understanding of customer infrastructure strategies, capacity requirements, procurement processes, technical priorities, and long-term growth plans, translating those insights into strategic account plans. Coordinate executive engagement, business reviews, and major commercial escalations while maintaining continuity of customer relationships from initial engagement through operational delivery. Provide customer and market intelligence to internal stakeholders to inform site selection, product strategy, investment decisions, and portfolio planning. Commercial, Contract, and Transaction Leadership Serve as the commercial lead across Investments, Legal, Finance, Development, Engineering, and Delivery functions, aligning stakeholders on key decisions and transaction strategy. Lead the structuring, negotiation, and execution of complex hyperscale transactions, including procurement processes, commercial terms, lease agreements, and risk allocation frameworks. Maintain end-to-end ownership of commercial, contractual, and technical issues throughout the transaction lifecycle. Balance customer requirements with Ada's economic objectives, delivery capabilities, schedule commitments, and risk profile to ensure transactions are executable and financially sound. Partner closely with Investments teams throughout underwriting and internal approval processes, evaluating the impact of customer requirements and deal terms on project economics, capital deployment, risk, and returns. Support Investment Committee reviews and approval processes by presenting transaction structures, assumptions, risks, and overall strategic rationale. Collaborate with Solutions Engineering, Design, Development, and Delivery teams to translate customer requirements into commercially viable technical solutions. Maintain strong technical fluency to assess commercial implications associated with design decisions, power availability, cooling systems, density requirements, phased deployments, and construction delivery strategies. Qualifications Bachelor’s Degree required, advanced degree preferred Required Experience 12+ years of relevant experience within the data center industry, including substantial exposure to hyperscale customers and large-scale infrastructure transactions. Demonstrated success leading complex data center lease negotiations and commercial transactions, with expertise across wholesale, build-to-suit, and hyperscale deployment models. Strong financial and investment acumen, including experience evaluating project underwriting and investment considerations. Technical understanding of large-scale data center infrastructure, including power, cooling, connectivity, density, and delivery requirements. Leadership Competencies Exceptional commercial judgment and negotiation expertise. Strong cross-functional leadership capabilities with the ability to influence senior technical, legal, investment, operational, and executive stakeholders. Outstanding executive presence, communication, and relationship management skills. Proven ability to manage multiple complex transactions simultaneously in a dynamic growth environment. Travel Willingness and ability to travel as business needs require. Reporting Relationships SVP, Acquisitions & Commercial Compensation The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role. $250,000.00 - $275,000.00 The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings. Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit. Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more. There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.