# Derek Garnier

> Derek Garnier is the CEO of Evocative, a global digital infrastructure provider headquartered in Los Angeles, California. With over 35 years in the industry, he has built, operated, and sold multiple companies across data centers, fiber networks, and managed services. A former engineer turned strategist, Garnier co-founded Arcadian Infracom, led Layer42 Networks through a successful acquisition by Wave Broadband in 2015, and returned to Evocative as CEO in February 2023. He champions hybrid cloud, AI-ready infrastructure, and inclusion as core business pillars, guiding Evocative through a significant debt financing round in December 2025 to expand high-density colocation and network capacity for next-generation AI applications.

- **Role:** CEO at Evocative
- **Organizations:** Evocative, Arcadian Infracom, Layer42 Networks, Wave Broadband, QTS Datacenters, AboveNet Communications, Sitesmith, ISI / Global Crossing, Zenzu
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Built and sold Layer42 Networks to Wave Broadband in 2015 after restructuring the company from bankruptcy to profitability, Co-founded Arcadian Infracom to bring diverse long-haul fiber routes to underserved rural and tribal communities in the US Southwest, Helped grow Evocative from a single data center to eight locations across five markets during first tenure as President and COO

## Career timeline

- **Early 1990s** — Started career as engineer at ISI (later renamed Global Crossing), a network and data center provider
- **Mid-1990s** — Worked at MFS Datanet and Cabletron Systems, building network infrastructure expertise
- **Late 1990s-2000s** — Early employee at Sitesmith, a global managed services provider; followed through acquisition by AboveNet Communications
- **2000s** — Held management positions at QTS Datacenters
- **c.2010-2015** — CEO of Layer42 Networks, a national network services and colocation provider; restructured the company from bankruptcy to profitability
- **2015** — Sold Layer42 Networks to Wave Broadband; continued as SVP of Datacenter Services post-acquisition
- **c.2017-2019** — Served as President and COO of Evocative Datacenters; helped grow the company from one location to eight across five markets; incorporated five acquisitions and a successful capital raise
- **2018-2019** — Co-founded Arcadian Infracom, a long-haul dark fiber company operating in the Southwest US, routing fiber through rural and tribal communities
- **c.2019-2022** — Consulting work with Zenzu, advising private equity investors on telecom assets
- **March 2022** — Rejoined Evocative as President and COO
- **February 2023** — Appointed CEO of Evocative, succeeding founder Arman Khalili
- **September 2025** — Spoke at Datacloud USA 2025 panel 'Designing for Uncertainty in the Era of AI' alongside Nvidia, Stanford, and STACK Infrastructure
- **December 2025** — Led Evocative's debt financing round backed by a large global investment firm and Crestline Investors, Inc., to fund AI-driven data center expansion

## Achievements

- Built and sold Layer42 Networks to Wave Broadband in 2015 after restructuring the company from bankruptcy to profitability
- Co-founded Arcadian Infracom to bring diverse long-haul fiber routes to underserved rural and tribal communities in the US Southwest
- Helped grow Evocative from a single data center to eight locations across five markets during first tenure as President and COO
- Led Evocative's expansion from a regional provider to a global data center, network, and cloud provider with 20+ locations
- Closed significant debt financing in December 2025 to fund high-density AI infrastructure expansion
- Championed inclusion and diversity as core operating values at a globally distributed technology company
- Keynote and panel speaker at major industry events including Datacloud USA 2025, ONE Houlihan Lokey Conference 2025, and PTC 2024

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Led Evocative's debt financing round from a large global investment firm, backed by Crestline Investors, Inc., to fund AI-driven high-density colocation expansion and metro market growth
- **2025-09** — Spoke at Datacloud USA 2025 on the panel 'Designing for Uncertainty in the Era of AI' alongside executives from Nvidia, STACK Infrastructure, and Stanford University
- **2025-05** — Spoke at ONE Houlihan Lokey Global Conference 2025 in New York on a panel about data centers, colocation, and AI
- **2025-05** — Discussed data center workforce development at Datacloud USA
- **2023-02** — Appointed CEO of Evocative, succeeding founder Arman Khalili

## Links

- Website: https://evocative.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekgarnier

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/derek-garnier
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17