By Lana FergusonEnergy and Natural Resources Reporter

DataBank CEO Raul Martynek is passionate about the internet, and said he loves telling people how it works.

Like, seriously. Colorful posters line the walls of his downtown Dallas offices, with visualizations and maps of the “whole internet,” submarine cables, the global internet and Africa telecommunications.

Born in Spain and raised in New York, Martynek’s career has taken him to places throughout the world. He most recently moved to Dallas in 2017, when he joined DataBank.

At the time, he said the “small” company had six data centers in three markets. They’ve since exploded to 65 across more than two dozen markets. In North Texas, the company has hubs in Dallas, Richardson, Plano and Red Oak.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

“Dallas — even before the AI boom — was a top five data center market in the U.S.," Martynek said. “And with some of the other markets reaching some constraints around land, around power, like in Northern Virginia, Dallas is poised to continue to grow. Could it even challenge Ashburn in a couple years to be the dominant location for data center capacity here in the U.S.?”

He said if current course and speed continue, he thinks it will.

Martynek recently gave The Dallas Morning News a tour of DataBank’s office and data center in the historic former Federal Reserve Bank building on Akard Street, and chatted about the future of the industry. Here are the highlights, edited for length and clarity:

Do you feel like your background prepared you to lead DataBank?