Sampson, a U.K. native, most recently worked for Microsoft in Munich and prior to that, in Barcelona.
LeaseWeb, which manages 15,000 dedicated servers in four datacenters in the Netherlands, has been looking to expand into Eastern European nations of Poland, Russia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and the Czech Republic. Clients in these foreign countries use about 70 percent of its servers, according to a press release.
Sampson was creating hosting business in these countries for Microsoft and was attracted to join LeaseWeb because it was a newer company and presented a unique international opportunity.
“I see lots of synergy with the work at LeaseWeb,” Sampson said. “My responsibilities at LeaseWeb will be similar to what I was doing before.”
LeaseWeb has been in business in Eastern Europe because, compared to Eastern Europe-based hosts, “connections in Amsterdam are faster and more stable,” said Con Zwinkels, LeaseWeb’s managing director.
LeaseWeb’s network has a capacity of 500 gigabits per second, he said.