Ameya Gumaste Executive Director and Country Head, Linesight, India
As executive director and country head of Linesight, India, Ameya Gumaste is responsible for strategy, people and business growth. The company supports clients in the construction and delivery of their built assets, including the construction of telcos’ and tech companies’ data centres.
As per Gumaste, one of the key challenges in the way data centres are designed and built is adopting rapidly changing technologies and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions. The lack of skilled labour also presents an acute challenge. He feels that the construction industry needs to consider and address this shortage of a digitally skilled and enabled workforce. “Moreover, sustainability challenges will increase as growth continues, with key players in the data centre market jostling to offer innovative solutions to improve environmental outcomes,” he adds.
Gumaste has over 27 years of experience in project and cost management. He has worked with world-class firms, including many Fortune 500 firms, throughout his career in the construction industry, and has helped deliver major projects across a range of sectors, including technology, infrastructure, data centres, commerce and life sciences.
He believes that the rise of AI applications in technology and data centre construction will lead to a threefold increase in AI power consumption by 2028. “This surge in AI demand is expected to lead to increased rack density, impacting heating, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as air-cooling requirements,” he says. He feels that sustainability initiatives are a welcome development within the industry, and a trend that will become more and more prevalent. “Renewable energy options, such as green walls and PV systems, are being introduced to enhance sustainability efforts,” he notes.
Gumaste believes in following a laissez-faire or delegation-oriented approach to management. “My leadership style aligns very closely with two of our Linesight operating principles in particular–own and empower–whereby we take ownership of solutions to challenges or opportunities, empower our teams to lead and execute with excellence, and lead by example. We act as role models for our culture and values in our day-to-day tasks; we value clarity in our communication, processes and relationships; and we embrace simplicity,” he says.
In his spare time, he enjoys reading and travelling. “I am currently reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight,” he says. He is also passionate about cricket and supports Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
