In this role, Paulsen will be responsible for developing and managing the broker community channel, a new role at the company that reflects the importance of the brokerage community to Digital Realty Trust.

"Jon is very highly respected in the real estate community and he brings great insight into how we can work closely with real estate brokers to ensure that all of their needs are met," says Michael F. Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust. "Having someone of Jon's experience and integrity focused exclusively on broker relations for us is indicative of the value we place on the role of the brokerage community in supporting the long-term success of Digital Realty Trust."

Paulsen has more than 20 years of real estate experience and he formerly held the position of vice president of acquisitions for the Western United Sates at Digital Realty Trust.

Last week, BT signed a lease agreement to establish a new data center in one of Digital Realty Trust's US turn-key data center facilities.