Riot Platforms hired Jonathan Gibbs as its first Chief Data Center Officer on June 2, 20251. The role was built to lead a new data center platform, separate from Riot's Bitcoin mining business. Riot's announcement said Gibbs would focus on building data centers for hyperscale and enterprise tenants. The work was meant to diversify Riot's revenue beyond Bitcoin. Gibbs joined from Prime Data Centers, where he had served as executive vice president of product delivery, Data Center Dynamics reported2.
The second executive hire at Riot Platforms on the record since 2022
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Riot Platforms, by year
- 2025: 6
- 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 | 2 |
59 executive hires on the record in 2025, the most of any year
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 59
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
Riot's release credited Gibbs with over 15 years of experience building large-scale data centers1. He had overseen more than a gigawatt of capacity across North America, Europe and Asia. His career touched infrastructure investment exceeding $17 billion. Jason Les, Riot's chief executive, framed the hire as central to the company's new direction. “We are excited to bring Jonathan on as Chief Data Center Officer to lead our new platform,” Les said. “Jonathan brings extensive expertise, strong industry relationships, and a proven track record of successfully developing data centers for hyperscale and enterprise tenants”. Gibbs, in the same release, pointed to Riot's existing power position as the draw. “I'm incredibly excited to join Riot and lead this new platform which will leverage Riot's unique development expertise and asset portfolio,” he said. “With a pipeline of over 1.7 gigawatts of power immediately available and in close proximity to major markets, Riot is uniquely positioned to develop data centers which will address the strong market demand”.
The data center push before and after
Data Center Dynamics reported that Gibbs had also held roles at 7x24 Exchange, Arco Murray, Server Farm, Faith Technologies and TÜV Rheinland North America2. Those roles came before his four years at Prime Data Centers. The outlet placed the hire inside a shift already underway at Riot. Riot had resisted an AI pivot at first, then entered preliminary talks with AI and HPC customers in October 2024. Activist investors pushed for a faster move in December 2024. Doug Mouton, the former Meta and Microsoft data center executive, had joined Riot's board in February 2025, part of the same reshuffle Data Center Dynamics described.
What came next
Riot disclosed in a Form 4 filed with the SEC that Gibbs departed effective April 12, 20263. His hire dated to June 2, 2025, about ten months earlier. He forfeited more than 1.1 million unvested restricted shares, worth roughly $18.7 million, The Block reported. Riot kept the reasons behind the departure off the public record, The Block reported. The outlet noted that Riot's shift toward AI and hyperscale infrastructure had begun before Gibbs arrived. That shift rested on spare capacity at Riot's Corsicana, Texas site.
Sources
- Riot Platforms (PR Newswire), "Riot Platforms Announces Hiring of Jonathan Gibbs as Chief Data Center Officer to Lead Data Center Platform," PR Newswire, June 2, 2025, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/riot-platforms-announces-hiring-of-jonathan-gibbs-as-chief-data-center-officer-to-lead-data-center-platform-302470239.html
- Data Center Dynamics, "Jonathan Gibbs joins crypto giant Riot Platforms from Prime as chief data center officer," Data Center Dynamics, June 4, 2025, https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/jonathan-gibbs-joins-crypto-giant-riot-platforms-from-prime-as-chief-data-center-officer/
- Kyle Baird, "Riot loses top data center exec as AI and hyperscale buildout ramps up; shares dip 6%," The Block, April 15, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiyAFBVV95cUxQdGdKMkJ1RFhsdzd6X3hOVGI1WVdqSVhCMGgzemhmT2hMQ1ktNWZYcEtHUDhvQkhDQkRIUHpZTFRMWURKcUR3WDJqR3FYclBuX0VZT2d2OWh5RTBIZWp5cWF1TXRoTmR2c2lGZXA4Q011ZFFpRnJnUGRrWUMzTENja2R0UjJnTGRvTzd3aVVjMUxZV2Zna1A2d0JMUnBQUHJHZzZ2VUJ1QW5ISExwNWJoVjluR1ZBQzNIVzdydmhpN0tUd0hpOUs4bA?oc=5