Crusoe Adds Cloudflare CFO Thomas Seifert, Digital Realty Former CEO Bill Stein, and Redwood Materials Founder and CEO JB Straubel to its Board of Directors
DENVER, Sept. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crusoe, the AI factory company, announced it has appointed three new independent directors to its board: Thomas Seifert, Chief Financial Officer of Cloudflare; Bill Stein, Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Primary Digital Infrastructure and former CEO of Digital Realty Trust; and JB Straubel, Founder and CEO of Redwood Materials, Co-Founder and former CTO of Tesla. Together, they bring firsthand experience scaling energy systems, global data center networks, and high-growth technology companies.
Crusoe is the first vertically-integrated AI infrastructure platform. The company sources power, develops data centers, manufactures critical components in-house, and delivers AI cloud services that turn that infrastructure into usable intelligence for the labs and enterprises building on it. The new board members bring deep expertise in energy infrastructure, data center development, capital markets, and scaling global cloud technology.
“The world's most demanding AI builders need infrastructure that can match their pace – gigawatt-scale AI factories, purpose-built cloud, and the energy foundation to power it all,” said Chase Lochmiller, CEO and Co-founder of Crusoe. “JB, Bill, and Thomas each bring a rare combination of vision, operational depth, and domain expertise that will be invaluable as we scale Crusoe to meet the market demand. Between Tesla and Redwood Materials, JB has spent his career solving the hard problems of energy systems at scale – exactly the perspective we want shaping our energy approach. Bill has built and operated one of the world’s most important digital infrastructure businesses. And Thomas’s financial leadership has guided some of the most consequential cloud and technology companies through periods of rapid scale. We’re honored to have each join our mission.”
Thomas Seifert — CFO, Cloudflare
Thomas Seifert is the Chief Financial Officer of Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), where he has led finance since 2017 and guided the company through its 2019 IPO and subsequent growth into a global infrastructure leader. Prior to Cloudflare, Seifert served as CFO of Symantec, where he oversaw the company’s financial transformation and the acquisition of Blue Coat, and as CFO, and briefly interim CEO, of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). He also served as CFO of Brightstar. Seifert holds an MBA and a bachelor’s in Economics and Business Administration from Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany and an M.A. in economics from Wayne State University.
“Crusoe is solving a critical, structural challenge for the technology industry by pairing the demand for AI compute with innovative energy solutions," said Thomas Seifert. “The strongest enterprise value isn't built on growth alone – it's built on operational advantage. Crusoe's integrated model is highly differentiated and the company's execution is very strong. I look forward to continuing to partner with the Crusoe team as they enter this next phase of scale.”
Seifert will serve as the Chair of Crusoe’s Audit Committee.
Bill Stein — Partner and CIO, Primary Digital Infrastructure
As Partner and CIO at Primary Digital Infrastructure, Bill is responsible for developing the firm's overall investment strategy and for managing key relationships across the sector. He brings over 20 years of industry experience and is a member of the Investment Committee.
Prior to co-founding Primary Digital, Bill served as CEO of Digital Realty Trust from 2014 to 2022. Bill co-founded Digital Realty Trust and served as Chief Investment Officer from 2004 to 2014. During his tenure, he oversaw an increase in the firm's market capitalization from $700 million to $50 billion.
In addition to his role at Primary Digital, Bill serves as Chairman of Verne and serves on the Board of Directors of Host Hotels & Resorts, where he is Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee, and as a Director of Salute. Bill is also an Advisor to Blue Owl Capital and Armada and an Advisory Board Member at Pennybacker Capital.
Bill earned an A.B. in Classics from Princeton University, an M.S. with distinction from Carnegie Mellon University, and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.
“I've spent my career financing, operating, and growing digital infrastructure at global scale, and the companies that create lasting value are the ones that recognize early that control of the entire value chain matters,” said Bill Stein. “Crusoe has built that position – owning energy, data center, manufacturing, and cloud at a defining moment for AI. I'm excited to have joined the Board and help the company capitalize on the opportunities ahead.”
JB Straubel — Founder and CEO, Redwood Materials
JB Straubel is the Founder and CEO of Redwood Materials, a critical materials and energy storage company focused on lithium-ion battery recycling and large-scale energy storage integration. He co-founded Tesla and previously served as its Chief Technology Officer from 2005 to 2019, where he was central to the engineering and energy systems breakthroughs that defined modern electric vehicles. Straubel currently serves on the boards of Tesla and QuantumScape. He holds a B.S. in Energy Systems Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering from Stanford University.
Crusoe and Redwood Materials share a deep strategic partnership that exemplifies Crusoe's approach to leveraging innovative energy sources. Crusoe Spark modular data centers run on Redwood Materials' behind-the-meter microgrid of solar and repurposed EV batteries, validating Crusoe's model of building purpose-built AI infrastructure at the source of innovative energy.
“Grid demand is growing faster than infrastructure can keep up, and that bottleneck is real for AI. The right answer is to stop waiting for capacity that won't arrive in time and build energy systems at the point of use, from sources that are already there,” said JB Straubel. “Building energy solutions for the future of AI is one of the most impactful areas of work of our time and I’m incredibly excited to continue to work with Crusoe as they scale.”
The three appointments expand Crusoe’s board, which includes Chase Lochmiller, Co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of Crusoe; Cully Cavness, Co-founder, President, and Chief Strategy Officer of Crusoe; Enrique Salem, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and former CEO of Symantec; Vivek Pattipati, Partner at Valor Equity Partners; and Nael Karim Kassar, Head of KCK Ltd. In December 2025, the company appointed Michael Gordon, former COO and CFO of MongoDB, as its COO and CFO. Gordon led MongoDB’s IPO and helped grow revenue nearly 50-fold during his tenure.
About Crusoe
As the AI factory company, Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. The company provides a reliable, scalable, cost-effective, energy-first solution for AI infrastructure. By harnessing large-scale energy sources, building AI-optimized data centers, and delivering a powerful AI cloud platform, Crusoe empowers its customers and partners to build the future faster. For more information, visit crusoe.ai.