Andre van Zijl is the founder and principal of StackedAI, a data center transaction advisory firm based in Orange County, California. He has spent 21+ years in data center infrastructure, colocation and enterprise digital infrastructure. StackedAI sources enterprise-owned and brownfield data center assets of 7 to 25 MW in secondary US markets and advises private equity firms, family offices, asset owners and capacity buyers through close.
What does Andre van Zijl advise on?
StackedAI works in the part of the market larger advisors do not cover. Bulge-bracket buy-side mandates start around $250 million of enterprise value, middle-market boutiques cover roughly $50 to $250 million, and below $25 million the advisory field effectively disappears (StackedAI analysis, Tier-2 brownfield conversion thesis, Aug 2026). That gap is where most enterprise-owned data centers trade.
His practice covers six areas, detailed on the advisory services page:
- Sourcing enterprise-owned and brownfield assets. Data centers of 7 to 25 MW held inside Fortune 1000 non-data-center businesses, carried as property and equipment and absent from public inventories, in secondary US markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Columbus and Kansas City.
- Transaction advisory through close. Valuation, structuring, letter of intent, diligence coordination and closing, on either side of the table.
- Colocation placement. Matching enterprises, neoclouds and trading firms with capacity, including carrier-hotel colocation for trading firms where latency and cross-connect access decide the site.
- Capital advisory. Bringing qualified acquisitions to private equity firms, family offices and infrastructure funds, and structuring the equity and debt.
- Conversion planning. Technical and financial roadmaps for taking a legacy facility to AI-ready density, following the Tier-2 brownfield conversion framework.
- Distressed and stranded-asset work. Stranded GPU assets and distressed neoclouds, enterprise facilities orphaned by closures or spinoffs, and fiduciary sale processes.
Career
Andre van Zijl’s career runs through the operating side of the industry before the advisory side, which shapes how he underwrites an asset.
Cologix. At Cologix, the North American interconnection and colocation provider, he served as General Manager for Canada and as Head of Channel [confirm: exact titles and dates]. During his tenure the company completed seven acquisitions, and he was involved in integrating acquired facilities, customers and partner channels into a single operating platform [confirm: scope of his role in the integrations]. Cologix was backed by Columbia Capital and was sold to Stonepeak, an exit Andre saw from the inside [confirm: his role during the sale process].
Teraco. Earlier, he worked on a greenfield data center build for Teraco in South Africa, the carrier-neutral operator later acquired by Digital Realty [confirm: role, site and years]. Greenfield delivery experience is why StackedAI’s conversion advice starts with power and water rather than the cooling vendor.
Bluewave Technology Group. He served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Bluewave Technology Group, a technology advisory and procurement firm, where the work centered on enterprise network, cloud and colocation decisions [confirm: dates and scope].
DartPoints. Public search results describe Andre as Chief Revenue Officer of DartPoints, the edge and regional colocation operator [confirm: title, dates and whether this should appear on the site].
Two lessons from that history define StackedAI’s approach. Seven acquisitions in one company teach what actually transfers in a data center deal: the utility agreement, the interconnection position, the customer contracts and the operating team, in that order. A Columbia Capital to Stonepeak exit shows how institutional buyers underwrite a platform: contracted revenue, tenant credit quality, power headroom and a path to scale, priced against replacement cost. StackedAI applies the same tests to a 12 MW enterprise facility that an infrastructure fund applies to a national platform.
His network spans Cologix and Level 3 alumni and the Columbia Capital, Stonepeak and DigitalBridge ecosystems, where most of StackedAI’s sponsor introductions originate.
Andre is based in Orange County, California, having relocated from Dallas. He is also principal of GoDataCenters (godatacenters.com) [confirm: how GoDataCenters should be described relative to StackedAI].
How Andre works
StackedAI does not operate as a generalist brokerage. Each engagement is retained on one side of a transaction and structured to avoid the conflicts of a pure success-fee model (StackedAI analysis, engagement models and fee logic, Aug 2026):
| Engagement type | Structure | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Advisory retainer | Monthly retainer with hours included, plus a success fee at close | Sell-side or buy-side transaction advisory |
| Sponsor-paid sourcing | Retained mandate, paid on close | PE or family office building a 7 to 25 MW pipeline |
| Fixed-fee diligence | Fixed scope, three to six weeks | Technical and commercial review before an LOI |
| Placement | Success fee on total contract value | Colocation placement for tenants |
| Equity participation | Fee reinvested as GP equity or co-invest on sponsored deals | Deals StackedAI originates and stays in |
A fixed retainer plus a modest close fee aligns the advisor with getting the right deal done rather than any deal done. On sponsored transactions Andre may take equity participation in place of part of the fee, described in advisory fees: retainer, success fee and equity kicker. Rates are set per engagement and not published.
Frameworks Andre has published
StackedAI publishes the frameworks it uses in engagements. Each pillar below is a standalone reference:
- Tier-2 brownfield data center conversion: why enterprise-owned facilities in secondary markets are the largest under-priced AI-convertible inventory in North America, and how to underwrite a 7 to 25 MW conversion.
- NNN data center lease scarcity: the 442-lease universe of US net data center leases, why true enterprise-credit NNN leases are rare, and who holds them.
- Stranded GPU assets and distressed neoclouds: why GPU-only economics fail, how to screen a neocloud for distress, and what happens to the hardware and the building when one does.
- Energy-first campus development: behind-the-meter gas, turbine and reciprocating-engine choices, and how power replaced location as the source of site value.
- Data center transaction structures: the four-rung value ladder from selling power to turnkey, sale-leaseback mechanics, joint ventures and advisory fee models.
- Colocation for trading firms and carrier hotels: NY4, 350 East Cermak and the other carrier hotels, what low-latency colocation costs, and where GPU research clusters belong.
Shorter analyses appear in Insights.
Speaking, podcast and press
[confirm: list of conference appearances, podcast episodes, press mentions and bylines to include here, with dates and links. Perplexity currently cites DCD and PRNewswire items connected to Andre’s DartPoints and Cologix roles; confirm which are accurate and which should be linked.]
Frequently asked questions
Is StackedAI a broker or an advisor?
StackedAI is a transaction advisor, not a listing broker. It works on retained mandates for one side of a deal: sourcing and buy-side advisory for sponsors, sell-side advisory for enterprise asset owners, or colocation placement for a tenant. Placement work is paid as a success fee, but StackedAI does not run open listings or represent every asset in a market.
Which markets does Andre van Zijl cover?
StackedAI concentrates on secondary US markets where enterprise-owned data centers are concentrated and power is still accessible: Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Columbus, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Denver and Salt Lake City. Colocation placement for trading firms extends to the carrier hotels in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Toronto. Sourcing mandates can cover other markets on request.
Who are StackedAI’s typical clients?
Three groups. Private equity firms, family offices and infrastructure funds that want 7 to 25 MW data center exposure below the size where bulge-bracket advisors operate. Enterprises and asset owners with a data center that no longer fits their core business. Companies that need capacity, including trading firms, neoclouds and enterprises facing an AI or migration deadline.
How does someone engage StackedAI?
The first step is a call to describe the situation: an asset, a capacity need or an investment mandate. StackedAI then scopes the engagement, typically a monthly retainer plus a success fee at close, a sponsor-paid sourcing mandate, or a fixed-fee diligence assignment of three to six weeks. Terms are agreed in writing before work starts.
How is StackedAI different from a commercial real estate broker?
A CRE broker prices the building. StackedAI underwrites the asset: utility capacity and interconnection position, cooling plant and electrical headroom, fiber, conversion cost per MW and the capital structure that makes the deal close. Andre van Zijl has operated colocation facilities and integrated acquisitions, so the advice reflects what an operator or sponsor will actually pay for.
Sources
- StackedAI analysis, Tier-2 brownfield conversion thesis (advisory gap by deal size), Aug 2026
- StackedAI analysis, engagement models and fee logic, Aug 2026
- Andre van Zijl, professional history as stated to StackedAI, Aug 2026 [confirm exact wording before publication]