Ex-JLL Data Center Chief Matt Landek Tapped to Run Walbridge’s New Operations Venture L5 Mission Critical

Ex-JLL Data Center Chief Matt Landek Tapped to Run Walbridge’s New Operations Venture L5 Mission Critical

Detroit-based construction firm Walbridge has launched a new company focused on data center operations and management, and it has recruited a longtime industry executive to lead it. L5 Mission Critical announced Wednesday that Matt Landek will serve as the firm’s first president and chief executive officer.

Landek arrives with 14 years of experience at JLL, the commercial real estate services giant, where he most recently led the company’s data centers and critical environments division out of Chicago. He began at JLL in 2012 as an account executive and rose to oversee operations spanning 340 data centers after a promotion in late 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile. His tenure overlapped with a period of rapid growth for the brokerage’s data center platform. Before JLL, Landek handled facilities management for Cook County, Illinois, and he holds a finance degree from the University of Illinois Chicago.

From its Chicago headquarters, L5 Mission Critical will provide operations, facilities management, and workforce training to third-party data center owners across the country, as well as to existing Walbridge construction clients. Landek will partner with John Rakolta III, Walbridge’s president and chief administrative officer.

In a statement, Rakolta said Landek’s background positions the company to extend its construction practice into a build-to-operate offering covering the full life cycle of a data center, a service depth he described as increasingly necessary for clients navigating current market conditions.

The move reflects broader activity in the data center sector, where surging demand for digital infrastructure has pushed construction firms and real estate services providers alike to broaden their capabilities beyond development and leasing into long-term operations. JLL, which manages data centers among its commercial property portfolio, traded at $348.46 in recent action, up 2.14% from its prior close of $341.15, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $15.8 billion. A representative for JLL’s Chicago office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Landek’s departure.

The launch places Walbridge in direct competition with established facilities management providers at a time when hyperscale and enterprise data center operators are increasingly outsourcing day-to-day operations.

What to watch

• JLL’s upcoming earnings report, which may address leadership changes and the trajectory of its data center services division
• Announcements from L5 Mission Critical regarding its first third-party client contracts and hiring plans
• Walbridge’s disclosures on whether the new firm expands into additional markets or service lines
• Broader data center sector activity, including operations outsourcing deals among competing providers

Source: original release