Appointment of experienced infrastructure finance leader Tony Wright and a dedicated CTO role for Benny Benford strengthens financial leadership, AI capability and digital innovation
As Apatura enters its next phase of growth, the company has strengthened its executive leadership team by appointing Tony Wright as Chief Financial Officer and Benny Benford as Chief Technology Officer.
The appointments reflect Apatura’s continued focus on building the leadership capability required to support its expanding energy and digital infrastructure portfolio. With offices in Edinburgh and York, Apatura has secured more than 5 GW of grid connections across the UK, the majority of which are in Scotland.
Its digital infrastructure portfolio includes nine strategically located data centre sites across Scotland’s Central Belt, with Gate 2-compliant grid connections totalling 2.4 GW of capacity. Six of these sites have been specifically designed for large-scale data centre development and are expected to support approximately £12 billion of development expenditure and a further £30 billion of compute investment once delivered.
Tony joins Apatura on 1 July, bringing more than 30 years of international executive leadership experience across the infrastructure, energy and engineering sectors.
A highly experienced Chief Financial Officer and board director, he has led complex finance functions across multiple global markets and has played a central role in supporting major capital projects, strategic growth initiatives and business transformation programmes throughout his career.
Tony brings extensive experience working with investors, banks, and executive teams to secure funding, strengthen governance, and create long-term value. Throughout his career, he has helped organisations raise significant debt and equity, establish strategic joint ventures, lead large-scale operational and digital transformation programmes, and improve business performance across complex international organisations.
His previous roles include senior leadership positions at ASCO Group, Lamprell, Leighton International and Global Process Systems, where he advised boards and executive teams on strategic financial matters and supported businesses operating across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
As Group Chief Financial Officer, Tony will work closely with Apatura’s Board and Executive Team to strengthen the financial foundations underpinning the company’s continued growth across its energy and digital infrastructure portfolio.
Alongside Tony’s appointment, Benny Benford assumes the role of Chief Technology Officer. As such, he will lead the development and implementation of Apatura’s AI strategy, identifying opportunities to apply AI and advanced data analytics across the business to improve decision-making, enhance operational performance and generate long-term commercial value.
Working across the organisation, Benny will play a central role in harnessing AI and data-driven insights to strengthen decision-making, enhance performance and support long-term value creation, while ensuring Apatura remains at the forefront of digital innovation.
Prior to joining Apatura, Benny founded Datent, a consultancy that helps organisations build the leadership, capability and culture needed to deliver successful AI and data transformations. He previously served as Chief Data Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, where he established the company’s first Data Office and led initiatives to maximise the value of data through governance, analytics and organisational capability.
Giles Hanglin, Chief Executive Officer of Apatura, said:
“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.”
