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Zachary Smith

Co-Founder at Packet now running Equinix Metal

Zachary Smith is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience in cloud infrastructure and bare metal computing. He co-founded Packet, a bare metal cloud startup, in 2014 and served as its CEO until March 2020 when the company was acquired by Equinix.12 Following the acquisition, Smith joined Equinix as the Managing Director of Bare Metal, where he led the strategy, product, and integration efforts for Equinix's bare metal compute and edge services platform until early 2023.3

Smith's career in digital infrastructure spans over 20 years. He started as an early partner at Voxel dot Net, a Linux-based cloud and software platform that was sold to Internap in 2011.3 At Equinix, Smith held roles including Managing Director of Bare Metal (March 2020 - April 2022) and Global Head of Edge Infrastructure Services (April 2022 - June 2023).5

Throughout his career, Smith has been involved in various board positions and advisory roles:

  • Operating Board Chair at Pursuit (July 2018 - Present)
  • President of the Board of Directors at Open19 Foundation (September 2019 - Present)
  • Board Member at 1NCE (June 2022 - Present)
  • Board Member at Koyeb (May 2020 - Present)
  • Board Member at Tern Commerce (September 2015 - Present)

Interestingly, Smith has a background in music, having graduated from Juilliard.4 This artistic background has influenced his approach to business, as he credits his training as a musician for developing self-discipline and creativity, which he applied to his journey with Packet.2

As of January 2025, Smith is no longer with Equinix, having left the company in early 2023. He has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors at CloudOne Digital, where he aims to drive growth in bare metal and hybrid cloud solutions.3

Highlights

Aug 24 · linkedin

Do you like Mahler, cheap drinks, amazing music and cowbell? If so, come see me and Paul and 100 of our friends play Mahler’s 6th Symphony tonight. It’s going to an epic hour and a half and you can learn how Mahler was a century and change ahead of the whole “more cowbell” craze.

Feb 27 · linkedin

Awesome to meet with the Arrcus, Inc. team (Shekar Ayyar, Keyur Patel, Brad Bratten, Sanjay Kumar) and celebrate today's announcement at #MWC announcing FlexMCN on Equinix Metal.

Check out how to leverge FlexMCN and #interconnection with Equinix Metal to deploy powerful multi-cloud networks, including #edge breakout for #5g:

Related Questions

What inspired Zac Smith to transition from music to technology?
How did the acquisition by Equinix impact Packet's culture and operations?
What are the key challenges Zac Smith has faced in his role at Equinix?
How does Zac Smith's background as a musician influence his leadership style?
What are the future plans for Equinix Metal under Zac Smith's leadership?
Zachary Smith
Zachary Smith, photo 1
Zachary Smith, photo 2
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Location

New York, New York, United States