KIO Data Centers was honored with three awards this week at the DCD Connect LATAM 2025 event, a distinction that celebrates the company’s vision, innovation, and leadership in Latin America’s digital infrastructure sector.
In addition to the incredible honor of CEO Octavio Camarena being named Industry Leader of the Year, KIO was recognized for Mission Critical Tech Innovation and Data Center Operations Team of the Year.
The former was awarded for KIO’s strategic alliance with Lonestar Data Holdings on a space-based storage project to build one of the world’s first hybrid data ecosystems that bridges Earth and space, and the latter for setting the standard in operational excellence and reliability.
For Camarena, the awards recognize KIO’s leadership role in reshaping LATAM’s digital future.
“At KIO, we know that digital infrastructure supports operations, fuels innovation, and strengthens connectivity across an entire region,” Camarena said. “None of this would be possible without the talent and commitment of our team, which is the true reason behind every achievement.”
A Track Record of Firsts
The DCD Connect LATAM Industry Leader Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment, innovative vision, and inspirational leadership in the data center industry. Camarena’s career and leadership of KIO is characterized by consistent innovation.
Since establishing the first data center in Querétaro, KIO has consistently been at the forefront of technological change. “We were one of the first companies to do some AI deployments in the country before ChatGPT, with machine learning and deep learning,” Camarena said. “We see enormous potential for hyperscalers to establish here, driven by latency requirements and the need for locally trained models.”
Camarena himself has a professional history of disruption, with over two decades of experience in IT and digital innovation. In the 1990s, he pioneered real-time information financial information services, and in the early 2000s, he helped bring the SaaS model to the Latin market. Since joining KIO in 2013, he has led the company’s transformation in delivering enterprise-grade cloud solutions, carrier-neutral data centers, and high-performance connectivity that powers the digital backbone of Latin American businesses.
A serial entrepreneur, Camarena co-founded Mexico Analytica, a real-time online financial information company, in the 1990s and, later, in 2000, founded Masnegocio, one of the first global SaaS ERP platforms reshaping how companies access business applications. His work has earned him honors, including Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year. Camarena holds a BA in Economics from Lawrence University and a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Organizational Excellence and Innovation
KIO’s award of the Mission Critical Tech Innovation Award at DCD Connect LATAM celebrates innovation and excellence in cutting-edge technologies designed for mission-critical environments. KIO’s alliance with Lonestar which creates one of the first hybrid ecosystems connecting terrestrial and space-based data storage and reflects KIO’s vision to position Latin America at the forefront of digital infrastructure.
The DCD Connect LATAM Data Center Operations Team of the Year Award is given to organizations that demonstrate a breadth of digital infrastructure leadership. The category recognizes operations teams that have demonstrated excellence not only in ongoing data center management, but also in their ability to address special projects or unforeseen challenges with professionalism, resilience, and initiative.
KIO serves all three segments of the data center market: retail, wholesale, and hyperscaler. Its presence in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic has made it one of the region’s leading technology companies driving the digital economy. KIO operates 15 campuses and has six additional data centers under development across Latin America.
Camarena is clear about his ambitions for the company: “I want KIO to be the first company in Mexico to build a data center specifically for AI.”
For more information KIO Data Centers, visit kiodatacenters.com.
