ALPS Appoints Brian Turnbow Technical Director for AI Data Centers as Italy Grid Requests Top 100 GW

ALPS named Brian Turnbow technical director for AI data centers on October 15, 2026, tasking him with leading the Italian company's technical strategy for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The appointment was announced by PR Newswire. Turnbow succeeds no predecessor in the role, which the company describes as new.

Turnbow's Role and ALPS Energy-to-Compute Strategy

ALPS said Turnbow will lead its technical strategy for AI and high-performance computing, from evaluating architectures and sites to working with technology and industrial partners. Italy will be a priority market, and the company wants to bring its international expertise back to the country and collaborate with Italian engineering and industrial firms. Turnbow brings more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications and digital infrastructure, with technical roles at TWT, Unidata and CDLAN, and sits on the board of ITNOG.

According to Terna data cited by ALPS, grid connection requests for data centers in Italy totaled more than 100 GW as of August 31, 2026, against about 30 GW at the end of 2024. Third News reported that ALPS appointed Turnbow as CTO for its AI division to accelerate data center development, and that the company plans to use an energy-to-compute approach and repurpose industrial sites. ALPS said its approach places data centers where energy is already available, including outside major hubs, to reduce reliance on congested grid areas, and that it aims to integrate renewable sources and redevelop disused industrial sites by reusing grid connections, buildings and other existing assets where technically possible. The expansion adds to ALPS's ongoing mining activities, which continue under its business plan.

"AI infrastructure starts well before GPUs are deployed," Turnbow said. "Every project must start with the workloads it has to support and customer requirements, not just available power."

ALPS Funding and Scale Records

According to akta.pro company records, ALPS closed a €105 million club deal investment led by Azimut in July 2024, funding expansion into Oman and the United States and bringing total capital to over €140 million. The company announced its rebranding from Alps Blockchain to ALPS on October 22, 2025, describing a shift from a blockchain company to a vertically integrated infrastructure company designing, building and operating advanced data centres. Its total funding stands at $157 million, with a last round dated July 29, 2024.

Recent Leadership Moves Across Data Centers

OpenAI hired Michael Roberson, former lead commissioning engineer at xAI, as commissioning program manager in its infrastructure division on October 9, 2026, Datacenterdynamics reported. Africa Data Centres brought Dan Kwach back to Nairobi as Executive for AI Data Centres on October 6, 2026, according to TechAfrica News. Google's Allyson Fealtman, who led commodity management for data center equipment for 16 years, joined OpenAI, Datacenterdynamics reported on October 13, 2026.

ALPS Expansion Plans

ALPS said its expansion adds to its ongoing mining activities, which continue in line with its business plan. The company operates on four continents and was founded in Trentino in 2018.