At a time of rapid technological innovations and call for sustainability, impactful leaders are as much defined by what they achieve as by how they lead others to perform what they do. It is with Joe Craparotta that such a tale is true—a leader with integrity, entrepreneurial drive, and value-based vision, he evolved into a driver of Schneider Electric’s growth and an unstoppable force in shaping the digital and energy futures of Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.
The Foundation: A Life of Values
For Joe Craparotta , the foundation of his work life is deeply rooted in personal values. Being married to his lovely high school sweetheart and having reached this milestone with her for more than three decades is, in his opinion, the highlight of his life. This more-than-three-decade marriage has been a solid pillar of prioritization and focus, grounding him through every working challenge and success.
Joe Craparotta feels the individual you share your life with, in essence, overshadows any one choice you will ever make in your business or your finances. Family, good friends, and long-term relationships are the core from which he derives his strength and joy. This deep understanding of what in life really matters is a leadership principle that has guided his leadership philosophy up to this point.
An Entrepreneurial Start: Learning in the Deep End
Joe’s professional life didn’t begin in the plush surroundings of business life. At age 23, he started his own computer company in the groundbreaking early days of the 1990s—days when the digital era was a baby.
A decade later, he built that company to dizzying heights of success with sheer entrepreneurial passion, sound decision making, and customer-centric credo that was his hallmark. He eventually exited the company in 2003—a turning point that was not just an exit but cemented his fundamental principles on how businesses operate.
Joe Craparotta attributes this early lesson to sharpening his action instinct. He states, “When your own personal residence is collateral and your own life is on the roulette wheel of everyday decision, every decision matters”. “You become bold but guarded, swift but determined in belief,” he adds. It was a master class in risk taking, resilience, and fixatedness to deliver value to the customer—abilities that would stand him when he dove headfirst into the churning sea of multinational enterprise.
Bringing an Entrepreneurial Spirit to A Global Leader
Coming out of start-up life into the sophisticated systems of large business didn’t dull Joe’s entrepreneurial cutting edge—instead, it honed it. Joining Schneider Electric some nineteen years ago, Joe became a part of a company whose purpose complemented his own values: empowering people to get the best from our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all.
His early meetings with then-CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire were momentous. Jean-Pascal’s compelling vision of sustainability and action that could change the planet profoundly appealed to Joe. His eyes widened in awe at a sense of mission beyond mere corporate ambition. That passion would be replicated time and time again in Joe’s career: the speed of an entrepreneur backed by the capital and scale of a global behemoth.
Having previously worked at Schneider Electric, Joe has headed perplexed segments ranging from industrial automation to energy systems prior to assuming his current role of Vice President, Cloud & Service Providers for Australia and New Zealand. Every one of these experiences put his skills to the test to predict market trends, motivate teams, and create value in fast-changing, fast-moving environments.
Culture and Strategy
An upcoming culture leader, Joe explains why he said, “culture consumes strategy for breakfast.” Filling the seats for him is not merely creating a high-performing team, but truly creating curiosity, customer engagement, and innovation passion.
At an age where unpredictable changes are occurring around us at all times, Joe is of the opinion that success is among those who have the capability to work well under change. Under his leadership of Schneider Electric, the company has been developed to the extent that experimentation is accepted into practice, and failure merely a learning curve.
“Our people must feel safe to challenge the status quo,” Joe often says. “Growth happens when we’re comfortable being uncomfortable.” This ethos of psychological safety empowers employees to test ideas, embrace new technologies, and stay agile— qualities that have become increasingly essential in the Cloud & Service Provider segment that he leads.
The Power of Momentum
Joe is aware that indecision is the quiet assassin in high-stakes, high-growth businesses. “Not to decide is still to decide—and usually the wrong one,” he explains. That belief compels him to push Schneider Electric’s teams with velocity and direction.
He encourages leaders to enable their people to make decisions near the customer where the business heartbeat beats strongest. In this way, they remain in motion, react immediately to changing dynamics, and become the partner of choice for customers.
Making Australia and New Zealand Move to the Cloud Era
Joe’s attention is now on one of the globe’s most advanced industries: data centers. As VP Cloud & Service Providers, he manages almost 500 people in Australia and New Zealand, tasking them with future-proofing digital infrastructure for the AI era.
The data centre industry is the globe’s fastest-developing sector, and yet this is coupled with its deeper set of complex problems. It is a challenge for Joe, and one that he feels is not a burden, but one single opportunity to chart the digital course forward in an environmentally friendly manner.
He’s addressing four priorities of the utmost importance. First, giving the next-generation AI factories a hook to clean, green power—a challenge that requires grid-side ingenuity, utility collaboration, and sophisticated energy buying strategy.
Second, he promotes architectural change and design adaptability, knowing that AI requires quite different infrastructure than is usual with legacy cloud weights.
With partners NVIDIA and AMD, Schneider Electric is building for the future at lower expense and bringing AI onto a commercial basis.
Third is the industry-level skills deficit. With the expansion of the industry way above land available to skilled personnel, Joe is investing in skill development education, apprenticeships, and upskilling to empower the next generation of engineers and tradesmen.
Lastly, he is laser-beam focused on enhancing global competitiveness—positioning Australia and New Zealand as premier destinations for digital infrastructure investment. With a sharp strategic emphasis on attracting hyperscalers, empowering colocation providers, and enabling AI workloads, Joe is driving transformative momentum. Through deep-rooted partnerships with governments and industry stakeholders, he is propelling the region into the next phase of the digital era.
Sustainability at the Core
At the core of Joe’s leadership is a natural enthusiasm for sustainability. To Joe, the data centre industry is much more than a power user but a constructive participant in the international energy revolution.
Schneider Electric is working to incorporate sustainability into all aspects—everything from design and building to day-to-day business. Joe Craparotta is leading the charge to make new buildings not only energy-efficient, but resilient, adaptive, and prepared for whatever the future holds.
This includes investing in advanced solutions, from real-time optimization through the use of digital twin technology, to predictive maintenance through the use of smart software. It includes working along the value chain—government, utilities, operators, and technology partners—to build performance driven but sustainable infrastructure.
Driving Digital Transformation from the Inside Out
Under the direction of Joe, Schneider Electric is not just leading digital transformation; it is living it. Schneider Electric has become one of the largest software players in the world and is investing digital capabilities into every aspect of the business.
From smart platforms that enhance daily convenience to technology streamlining design and construction, Joe Craparotta sees digitalization as life’s greatest modern luxury freeing up the one resource we value most: time. “It’s not a matter of time management, it’s about priority management.” he emphasizes. By removing the burden of repetitive tasks and enabling more intelligent decisions, digital tools empower individuals to focus on what truly matters—nurturing family bonds, enhancing personal well-being, and pursuing purposeful goals with greater clarity and freedom.
The same logic is also changing Schneider Electric’s corporate culture. Digital technologies are being leveraged by groups to make faster decisions, with better information, and drive efficiency throughout the organization. It is a cultural shift which validates Joe’s conviction that technology, if used the right way, aligns the human touch with productivity too.
A Vision for Tomorrow
Joe’s future plans involve having a definite vision but ambitious goal for Schneider Electric’s Cloud & Service Provider business. It wants to shape the business to be the partner of choice to build the world’s most sustainable, resilient and future proof data centres.
He views the Australian and New Zealand market as a global leader in the manner in which customer focus, innovation, and sustainability come together. By remaining close to changing customers’ needs—whether hyperscalers, colocation users, or AI visionaries—Joe positions Schneider Electric at the edge of industry revolution.
His five-year strategy is bold. It’s about building future-power and cooling innovations, propelling smart software for real time optimization, and pushing ecosystem collaboration to make the pace.
People at the Heart
For Joe, business is not about business or technology metrics. It’s people—building trust, developing talent, and empowering the next generation to excel.
He invests in high-end graduate and apprenticeship programs that enable fresh talent to develop robust, long-term careers in the digital infrastructure business. With his investment in diverse talent streams and putting curiosity and courage at the heart of his teams, Joe Craparotta guarantees that Schneider Electric’s legacy will be as much about its people as its innovations.
Words of Wisdom
Throughout his rich professional tenure, Joe gained great experience that he freely shares with the new leaders. He says, “Always keep in mind that life’s priorities come first: the ‘glass ball’ of family must be held safe at all costs because once broken, they will never bounce again”.
In business, he practices working as much with customers as possible, decision-making by reality-based requirements, not assumptions inside. And above all else, he challenges leaders to remain curious and open-minded and embrace ambiguity as a driver of expansion.
A Legacy of Purpose and Progress
Joe, who is not just an executive but a leader too, stands for the values of courage, authenticity, and infinite curiosity of the company. His corporate skills infused with entrepreneurial passion have enabled the company to ride seismic change across the digital and the energy realm with unflinching commitment to its fundamental purpose of sustainability and efficiency.
From boardroom to shop floor, from dinner tables to data centres, Joe Craparotta’s tale is all about trust, belief, and harmony for the future. In a company where change is the one and only thing that remains constant, he believes purpose-led leadership, humanity, and a culture of experimentation and trust hold the seeds of true advancement.
While the world is hurrying towards an AI, cloud and solar powered future, Joe Craparotta’s dream is straightforward: to aim to create a digital world in which technology, people, and planet coexist in balance and can thrive together. And as he does so, he still challenges everyone around him to not just create better businesses, but a better world.
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