Infrastructure Investor Infrastructure Debt Forum 2021

Jemima Atkins

Investment Professional, Pioneer Point Partners

Jemima Atkins is an investment professional at Pioneer Point Partners, based in London, where she makes investments in European infrastructure assets in the energy transition and environment sectors. Pioneer only invests in sustainable infrastructure and targets investments that contribute to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and circular economy.

Jemima joined Pioneer in 2022, and has particular focus on the energy efficiency, renewables and carbon removal sub-sectors. She has previously held investment roles at Allianz Capital Partners in the infrastructure equity team and Allianz Global Investors in the infrastructure debt investment team. At Allianz, Jemima worked across private markets asset classes to promote sustainability improvements and the transition of infrastructure assets to net-zero. Prior to Allianz Global Investors, Jemima worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She holds a BSc Natural Sciences from Durham University where she specialised in biodiversity and conservation biology.

Pioneer Point Partners

Pioneer Point Partners is a lower-mid market, value-added infrastructure private equity investor. We are sector specialists, focussed on investing in the energy transition and environment sectors across Europe. Our strategy is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and we target investments that contribute to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and circular economy. We have committed over €1.4 billion equity investments since 2010 and in 2022 reached Final Close of €575 million on our maiden institutional fund, which is categorised as meeting the provisions set out in Article 9 of SFDR for products that have a sustainable investment objective.

Alex Bebov

Managing Partner, BAC Securities

Alex Bebov created BAC (BAC Securities and BAC Ltd.) and was involved in more than 20 energy projects working for firms such as Alpiq/ATEL, Energo Pro, EoN Energie. BAC was the main manager of the first East-European REIT as a GP. BAC has achieved 36+% p.a. returns each of 2020 and 2021YTD mostly in green energy shares investment asset management portfolio beating many relevant indices. He worked on Polish, Romania, Western Balkans renewables projects among many other energy projects where he was involved from electricity trading, to debt, equity, M&A. Now he is in process of raising green energy and decarbonization fund for Europe with focus on Central and Eastern Europe but also potential allocation for Central Asia/Western Europe. His previous experience includes working at international investments banks (JP Morgan, Salomon Smith Barney Citigroup etc.) in the financial hubs such as New York and London. Member of Harvard Alumni Association, also NYU Alumni. Regular speaker/moderator in energy and asset management conference conferences, close to 25 years of investment bank experience. Quoted many times in Financial Times, Euromoney, Euroweek, Global Finance, Global Markets, Wall Street Journal.

BAC Securities

BAC Securities (www.bac.bg) is fully EU Mifid2 regulated entity with focus investment banking and asset management. In 2022 and 2021 it won the awards of Best Sustainable Development Company, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), in 2022 and 2021 2022 Outstanding Contribution In Investment Company CEE 2022 - Mr. Alex Bebov, 2021 Investment Company CEO of the year, CEE, 2021 Best Investment Bank, CEE, all awards by Global Banking and Finance Magazine. It is also Winner, 2020, Best Boutique Investment Bank CEE by Capital Finance Magazine, 2019 Best M&A Bank Central & Eastern Europe, by Global Finance Magazine and 2016 Best Investment Banking Boutique Central & Eastern Europe, by Global Finance Magazine. BAC and its team members have experience in more than 20 projects in the energy sector, from development to electricity trading, to debt, equity and M&A. BAC Ltd., an affiliate, has achieved 36+% p.a. returns each of 2020 and 2021YTD mostly in green energy shares investment asset management portfolio beating many relevant indices. BAC is raising a green energy fund with focus on CEE, mid-teens expected returns, portfolio deal flow of 1.5bn euro, for ultimate fund size 500-750mm euro after several funds/investment vehicles so far.

Philippe Benaroya

CEO & Managing Partner, Generali Global Infrastructure

Philippe Benaroya is the Managing Partner and serves as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer at Generali Global Infrastructure (GGI). GGI was founded in 2018 by Philippe Benaroya, Alban de La Selle and Gilles Lengaigne in partnership with the Generali Group. The team focuses on resilient infrastructure assets within Core and Core+ Infrastructure, capable of contributing to a sustainable development and generating stable returns over the long term. The company invests in themes strategic for society, such as energy transition, renewable energy, green mobility, digital transition and social infrastructures.

Philippe is one of the pioneers of the infrastructure debt industry where he co-founded in 2012 BlackRock’s European infrastructure debt platform and has played a key role in Blackstone GSO, where he became co-head of infrastructure debt. Philippe has over 26 years of experience in infrastructure finance, 21 years of infrastructure investment experience on the buy-side and 10 years of infrastructure debt experience through the monoline insurance sector (FSA). Philippe has led or co-led a number of investment platforms in infrastructure over the last two decades.

Philippe graduated in engineering at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (French Grande Ecole).

Zak Bentley

Americas Editor, Infrastructure Investor

Zak Bentley is Americas editor at Infrastructure Investor, based in New York. Zak joined Infrastructure Investor in London in 2016 from Centaur where he was a reporter at their Clean Energy Pipeline title. He now leads Infrastructure Investor’s coverage across the Americas region and has a detailed knowledge and experience of the financial and regulatory aspects of the global infrastructure market. He is also editor of Infrastructure Investor’s weekly newsletter The Pipeline. Zak has a degree in English and History from the University of Birmingham.

Frederic Blanc-Brude

Director, EDHECinfra

Frederic Blanc-Brude is the Director of EDHECinfra - leading index, analytics and research provider specialised in the provision of unlisted infrastructure equity and debt market indices and custom benchmarks. He holds a PhD in Finance (King’s College, London) and degrees from the London School of Economics, the Sorbonne, and Sciences Po Paris. Dr. Blanc-Brude is a regular contributor to the G20 working group on long-term infrastructure investment, has advised the European Occupational Pensions and Insurance Authority on the prudential treatment of infrastructure investments and also represents EDHEC on the Advisory Board of the Global Infrastructure Facility of the World Bank. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Alternative Investments and is a regular contributor to the press. Dr. Blanc-Brude also chairs the management committee of TICCS®, The Infrastructure Company Classification Standard.

EDHECinfra

EDHECinfra, a venture of the renowned international EDHEC Business School, is an index data, benchmarks, analytics, and research provider for investors in the unlisted infrastructure universe. We have built the largest, most representative database of underlying infrastructure investments in the world. Indices we provide help investors to measure the risk-adjusted performance of private infrastructure debt and equity within their portfolios. Our indices use the latest market information to measure the fair value of thousands of unlisted infrastructure debt and equity investments in 25 countries. We can also create customized benchmarks for individual investors who require specific TICCS® tilts in their portfolio benchmark. Our research hub, a team of experts who create and maintain our indices, is based in Singapore. We also have a business center in London to serve the financial community in Europe and North America.

Floortje Brouwers

Senior Vice President, GIC

Floortje Brouwers leads the Infrastructure Debt strategy for GIC, based out of London. She is part of GIC’s INFRA investment team which covers Equity, Debt and Fund investments. In her role she is responsible for investments in non-investment grade and junior infrastructure debt on a global basis. Prior to joining GIC in 2018, she worked for ABN AMRO and RBS in Amsterdam and London in various roles in Energy & Infrastructure Sector Advisory, Leveraged Finance and Infrastructure Finance and Advisory.

GIC

GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. As a disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. GIC has investments in over 40 countries and has been investing in emerging markets for more than two decades. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC employs over 1,850 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide.

Philipp Bunnenberg

Consultant, BAI

Philipp Bunnenberg is working at BAI as a consultant and market analyst and is responsible for the Alternative Markets resort. Before joining BAI he worked as a research assistant at the Finance & Banking chair at the University of Potsdam. Currently he is in the final stages of the publication of his doctoral thesis on Closet Indexing and ETF market risks. Mr. Bunnenberg completed his studies at the University of Münster (Germany), the University of Vigo (Spain) and the University of Potsdam (Germany) and holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration.

Bundesverband Alternative Investments

Bundesverband Alternative Investments e.V. (BAI) is the central advocacy association for the alternative investment industry sector in Germany. The BAI serves as a catalyst between institutional and professional German investors and recognized providers of alternative investment products worldwide. Particularly, one goal is to make it easier for institutional and professional German investors to more effectively diversify their financial assets into Alternative Investments, especially as many of those investors are responsible for safeguarding long-term retirement pensions. Another core task of the organization is to improve public awareness and enhance the understanding of alternative asset classes and strategies in public. The BAI maintains an intense dialogue with political institutions as well as supervisory bodies. Furthermore, the BAI cooperates with various national and international organizations and industry associations. It advocates for legal reforms to design an attractive and competitive regulatory environment for Alternative Investments in Germany. At present, BAI counts about 210 members from all areas of the professional alternative investments sector

Tim Cable

Senior Partner, Vantage Infrastructure

Tim joined the business in 2012 and has over two decades of relevant experience. Based in London, Tim is the Head of the Global Infrastructure Debt business and the portfolio manager of a number of the firm’s debt mandates. He is Chair of the Debt Investment Committee and a member of the firm’s global Executive Committee.

Prior to joining the firm, Tim worked in senior banking roles for Westpac in Sydney and London. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business from the University of Otago and a Master of Business Administration from the London Business School.

Vantage Infrastructure

Vantage Infrastructure is an independent infrastructure debt and equity specialist committed to delivering sustainable investment solutions as a long-term partner to our clients with $5.7 billion AUM.

The firm has a heritage as one of the world’s first infrastructure investment firms with a long track record of partnering with global clients to implement leading investment solutions within the infrastructure sector whilst aiming to protect our clients against downside risks. Fundamental to our approach is responsible investing and embedded ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) considerations in our process as a driver of value and risk.

Reflective of this, Vantage is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a GRESB Infrastructure Member and an Investor member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). Through its managed investments, the firm contributes to 10 out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Lucy Dale

Director, BlackRock

Lucy Dale is a member of the Infrastructure Debt Group of BlackRock Alternative Investors. She has over 15 years of experience in infrastructure and energy project finance as an advisor, banker and asset manager. Mrs. Dale is responsible for the origination, structuring and execution of Infrastructure Debt products in Europe. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2018, Mrs. Dale worked at IFM Investors in the Debt Investments team in London. Previously, Mrs. Dale worked at SMBC in their Project Finance Transport and Telecommunications lending team as well as at WestLB, the Department for Transport and PwC.

Mrs. Dale earned an MA in History from Cambridge University.

BlackRock

BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. BlackRock helps clients around the world meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles.

BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. BlackRock has a major presence in global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa.

Dohr, Hans Peter PDI GER19 (WP FILTERED)

Hans-Peter Dohr

Founder ＆ CEO, ICA - Institutional Capital Associates

Hans-Peter Dohr is the founder and CEO of ICA Institutional Capital Associates. He focuses on investment advisory for and capital introductions to institutional investors and has over 35 years of experience in investment and finance, including board and investment committee positions at state investment holding companies and infrastructure and private equity investment funds.

Prior to founding ICA, he was Head of Advisory at DC Placement Advisors, one of Europe’s leading private markets advisory firms . Earlier in his career, he worked for several groups within the investment banking departments of Fox-Pitt, Kelton, Salomon Brothers, Credit Lyonnais, and Chase Manhattan Bank, as well as the Ministry of Finance and as credit officer in the State Development Bank in Austria. Hans-Peter Dohr holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business .

ICA

ICA Institutional Capital Associates (ICA) is an award-winning regional investment advisory boutique. The company offers customised advisory and investment solutions for institutional clients in the DACH region with a strong focus on private debt and real assets. Since 2019, ICA also offers placement services for investment firms for the marketing and distribution of funds to investors in the DACH region. These services are designed to support clients in raising capital from investors for their private markets programmes. ICA's customised distribution strategy provides managers with effective outsourcing of their business development and fundraising efforts, enabling significant asset growth and deepening relationships with a broad range of investors. The ICA team consists of senior and experienced professionals with over 80 years of combined investment and finance experience, including board and investment committee positions in state investment holding companies, infrastructure, private debt and private equity investment funds and insurance companies.

Dornseifer, Frank PDI Germany 2023 CROPPED

Frank Dornseifer

Managing Director, Bundesverband Alternative Investments

Frank Dornseifer is Managing Director of Bundesverband Alternative Investments e.V. (BAI), the German advocacy organization for the Alternative Investment industry. He has been active for more than 20 years in various functions in investment management, capital markets and corporate law. He studied law at the universities of Bonn, Dublin (Trinity College) and Lausanne. After admission to the German Bar in 2000 he practiced various years as attorney in an international law firm in the field of corporate and securities law before joining the German Financial Regulator BaFin as deputy head of the policy unit within the investment management department. In this function he also represented BaFin in the Investment Management Committee of IOSCO. Mr. Dornseifer frequently publishes articles both on investment and corporate law and he is co-editor of legal commentaries on the German Investment Act and on the AIFM Directive. The finance committee of the German Bundestag, the EU commission and the European Parliament denominated him several times as expert on capital market law. Mr. Dornseifer gives frequently speeches at national and international conferences on investment and regulatory topics.

Bundesverband Alternative Investments

Bundesverband Alternative Investments e.V. (BAI) is the central advocacy association for the alternative investment industry sector in Germany. The BAI serves as a catalyst between institutional and professional German investors and recognized providers of alternative investment products worldwide. Particularly, one goal is to make it easier for institutional and professional German investors to more effectively diversify their financial assets into Alternative Investments, especially as many of those investors are responsible for safeguarding long-term retirement pensions. Another core task of the organization is to improve public awareness and enhance the understanding of alternative asset classes and strategies in public. The BAI maintains an intense dialogue with political institutions as well as supervisory bodies. Furthermore, the BAI cooperates with various national and international organizations and industry associations. It advocates for legal reforms to design an attractive and competitive regulatory environment for Alternative Investments in Germany. At present, BAI counts more than 280 members from all areas of the professional alternative investments sector

Jean-Francis Dusch

BRIDGE CIO, Global Head of Infra, Real Assets ＆ Structured Finance, EDRAM UK

Jean-Francis joined the Edmond de Rothschild Group in 2004, as co-head of the Project Finance department before taking charge of the group’s structuring advisory services. In 2013, he was appointed Managing Director of the group’s Infrastructure, Real Assets and Structured Finance department. He is also CEO of EdR AM UK and CIO of BRIDGE.

Prior to EdR, he served as Director at Citigroup and WestLB, covering infrastructure and TMT sectors in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia, and leading several “Deal of the Year” debt transactions. In 1998, he worked at UBS in Zurich and London within their project finance department where he served as financial advisor and arranger in a number of landmark European infrastructure, energy and telecoms projects. He started his career at Bouygues Construction in 1992 within the International Finance Engineering Department as a financial modeler and project manager.

Jean-Francis graduated from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and has a law degree from the Law University Paris II.

Edmond de Rothschild

As a conviction-driven investment house founded upon the belief that wealth should be used to build the world of tomorrow, Edmond de Rothschild specialises in Private Banking and Asset Management and serves an international clientele of families, entrepreneurs and institutional investors. The group is also active in Corporate Finance, Private Equity, Real Estate and Fund Services.

With a resolutely family-run nature, Edmond de Rothschild has the independence necessary to propose bold strategies and long-term investments, rooted in the real economy. Founded in 1953, the Group had more than CHF 160 billion in assets under management at the end of December 2022, 2,500 employees, and 30 locations worldwide.

Burkhard Egbers

Founder, Egbers Investment Partners

Burkhard Egbers has more than 20 years’ experience in international infrastructure project investment, structuring, managing of due diligence and execution. As founding partner of Egbers Investment Partner (EIP), he advises companies, funds, and professional investors, creating customised investment strategies for its infrastructure business. He holds several mandates as strategy advisor and is a member on investment boards. In addition, he speaks on selected conferences and specialised Alternative Investment forums. His previous roles include Head of Transport and Social Infrastructure (global mandate) at Deka (10 years), Co - CEO of the advisory boutique and leading positions at DVB Bank SE. The main objective is the development of infrastructure investments opportunities from alternative procurement processes to new investment structures for alternative and institutional investors. He holds a Master’s Degree from Koblenz University of Applied Science in Economics, studied in Zaragoza in Spain, and has worked in London, Mexico and Ecuador. He is fluent in German, English and Spanish.

Claudio Ghisu

Co-Head Infrastructure/Managing Director, YIELCO Investments (Switzerland) AG

Claudio is a partner at YIELCO Investments AG and managing director at YIELCO Investments (Switzerland) AG and in this role member of YIELCO's management and investment committee. Claudio is co-heading YIELCO's infrastructure practice and is YIELCO's Head of Switzerland.

Before joining YIELCO, Claudio worked as a portfolio manager for private equity at UBS Asset Management for over 5 years. He was responsible for the latest fund of funds flagship products and for several institutional mandates. During this time, he also covered investments in Asia.

Before joining UBS, Claudio was a co-founder and partner at Diamond Asset Advisors, an investment boutique in the private markets sector. Claudio began his career in the private market industry at Adveq Management AG (today SchroderAdveq) in 2005. Claudio holds an MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester, New York (USA) and a master's degree from the University of Bern (Switzerland).

YIELCO Investments (Switzerland) AG

YIELCO Investments was established in 2011 and is an alternative investment Manager based in Munich, Germany and in Pfäffikon (SZ), Switzerland. YIELCO combines the experience of senior professionals with extensive experience in Alternative Investments. Over the years, the Partners have held senior positions focusing on setting-up, investing and managing Alternative Investment programs and companies. The core of YIELCO’s philosophy is to develop innovative offerings ensuring a high alignment of interest with its clients. The profound industry background of the international Advisory Board, broadens YIELCOs expertise. Utilizing the advantages of multi-manager portfolios und separately managed accounts, YIELCO gives investors global access to investments in Infrastructure, Private Debt and Private Equity (with an emphasis on Special Situations). YIELCO is supported by a reputable group of international insurance companies, pension trusts and family offices. The company presently services approximately EUR 6.7 billion of capital commitments by institutional investors and family offices across a number of Multi Manager programs (fund of funds and mandates for Infrastructure, Private Debt and Special Situations).

Benjamin Hemming

Head of Infrastructure Debt, MEAG

Benjamin joined MEAG in 2014 and heads the Infrastructure Debt Team which is responsible for the origination and structuring of infrastructure deals in the sectors transport, digital & social infrastructure. He has more than 16 years’ experience in project finance and structured finance transactions with a strong focus on transport and social infrastructure PPPs in the EMEA region.

Previously, Benjamin held a Director position within the infrastructure and energy project finance group at Siemens Bank in Munich and London. He started his career with BayernLB in the infrastructure project finance team EMEA in Munich and Paris.

Benjamin has completed training as a banker and holds Master degrees in business administration and economics from the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt.

MEAG

MEAG is the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO. With offices in Europe, Asia and North America it also offers its extensive know-how to institutional investors and private clients from outside Munich Re Group. MEAG currently manages assets to the value of around EUR 336 billion, EUR 70 billion of which for institutional investors and private clients from outside the company group.

Severin Hiller

Co-Head of Infrastructure Debt, Rivage Investment

Severin Hiller is a co-head of infrastructure debt at Rivage Investment, having joined the firm in October 2014. Since joining the firm, Severin has been instrumental in building one of the leading infrastructure debt practices in Europe.

Severin has 21 years of experience in the private debt markets across infrastructure, asset backed, and structured finance having closed over €4bn of transactions during this timeframe. Prior to joining Rivage, he was an Investment Director at Hadrian’s Wall Capital where he focused on originating and executing junior infrastructure debt transactions. Prior to this, Severin worked at Campbell Lutyens where he helped develop the global infrastructure advisory business including a focus on infrastructure debt. Before that Severin was a Vice President at MBIA UK Insurance Ltd.
Severin holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University, Massachusetts and a MBA from London Business School.

Magdalena Kowalska

Senior Portfolio Manager, NN Investment Partners

Magdalena joined NN Investment Partners in 2014 and is a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Infrastructure Debt / Project Finance team. Prior to this she spent 6 years as a Commercial Manager at Skanska Infrastructure Development UK where she was responsible for the development and closing of a number of infrastructure projects across various sectors. She started her career as a Corporate Actions specialist in 2007 at Citigroup CIB. Magdalena has a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business from Aarhus School of Business and in Corporate Finance and Accounting from Poznan University of Economics.

NN Investment Partners

NN Investment Partners is the asset manager of NN Group N.V., a publicly traded company listed on Euronext Amsterdam. NN Investment Partners is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands and manages approximately EUR 293 bln* (USD 345 bln*) in assets for institutions and individual investors worldwide. NN Investment Partners employs over 900 staff and has offices in 15 countries, servicing clients across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
NN Investment Partners is part of NN Group N.V., a publicly traded company.
As one of the most experienced Alternative Credit asset managers in Europe – with its first Private Debt investment made 1992 - NNIP has set the course on a variety of Private Debt asset classes for different counterparties with different credit risk profiles. NNIP’s Alternative Credit team, comprising 37 dedicated investment professionals and 21 specialist support functions (legal, risk etc.), provides investment solutions across five platforms: private structured credit, mortgages, infrastructure, real estate, and corporate loans. Investing across the full cycle of the value chain, focusing on long-term stability and with varied duration risk.
Responsible investing is in NNIP’s DNA and a crucial element of NNIP’s approach. NNIP’s Alternative Credit team is highly selective in choosing investments offering long-term sustainability that contribute to society and provide stable income streams. Hence, only a small percentage of the investment opportunities will be considered.

Agnes Mazurek

Head of Product Innovation, APEX Group

Agnes Mazurek is Global Head of Private Markets Innovation at APEX Group. Her role entails identifying and delivering new product and technology opportunities across the entire spectrum of private market clients managed by APEX, leveraging the latest market developments in data extraction and enrichment, digitalization, AI and ML.
Agnes’ experience spans the entire value chain of asset management, from fund raising and fund structuring to investment origination and portfolio management to operational efficiency considerations.
Her track record before joining APEX includes setting up the infrastructure debt platform for Macquarie Asset Management in Continental Europe and the alternative illiquids platform for Santander Asset Management, where she was Global Head of Debt. She has both sell-side and buy-side origination and execution credentials, having led deal teams to financial close on over 35 complex infrastructure and M&A transactions in EMEA and APAC between 2008 and 2018.
Agnes holds a Masters degree in Finance from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris and speaks four European languages to a business level.

Apex Group Ltd.

Apex Group Ltd., established in Bermuda in 2003, is a global financial services provider. With 94 offices in 40+ countries worldwide and more than 12,000 employees, Apex Group delivers an expansive range of services to asset managers, financial institutions, private clients and family offices. The Group has continually improved and evolved its capabilities to offer a single-source solution through establishing the broadest range of services in the industry; including fund services, digital onboarding and bank accounts, depositary, custody, super ManCo services, corporate services including HR and Payroll and a pioneering ESG Ratings and Advisory solution. Apex Group’s purpose is to be more than just a financial services provider and is committed to driving positive change to address three core areas: the Environment and Climate Change, Women’s Empowerment and Economic Independence, Education and Social Mobility.
www.apexgroup.com

Tom Murray

Managing Director, I Squared Capital

Tom Murray is a Managing Director responsible for infrastructure credit investments, including debt capital markets activities for I Squared Capital's portfolio companies.

Tom joined I Squared Capital in 2019 to build the Firm's infrastructure credit platform after more than 20 years in leadership positions at major financial institutions, including Apollo Global Management, WestLB AG and Credit Suisse First Boston.

From 2014 to September 2018, Tom was a Managing Director and the Global Head of Infrastructure Credit at Apollo, where he developed the firm’s infrastructure credit strategy, hired and led a dedicated team and invested in over 30 transactions ranging from high-yielding senior to mezzanine debt across many sub-sectors, including power, renewables, transportation, social and telecommunications infrastructure.

Prior to Apollo, Tom led the Global Energy and Project Finance business at WestLB for ten years, overseeing 100 bankers across several countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. He and his team advised and arranged debt financing for over 150 clients while managing a $17 billion credit portfolio. As a senior member of WestLB's international executive committee, Tom was responsible for overseeing and managing the global infrastructure, commodities and trade finance businesses.

Tom received his B.A. from the University of Washington and his MBA from Columbia University.

I Squared Capital

I Squared Capital is an independent infrastructure investor with over $30 billion in assets under management and specializing in sourcing, managing, and building global infrastructure platforms in the North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has more than 165 professionals across its offices in Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, and Singapore. I Squared Capital has invested in a diverse portfolio of 40 companies in 53 countries across the energy, utilities, digital infrastructure, transport, and social infrastructure sectors, with over 24,000 employees and providing essential services to millions of people around the world.

Jerome Neyroud

Head of Infrastructure Debt, Schroders

Jerome Neyroud has been running Schroders infrastructure debt franchise since 2015. Jerome and his team focusses on senior and junior debt in the European market.

Prior to joining Schroders Jerome was managing infrastructure debt investments on behalf of a large European insurance company.

He started his career in investment banking, advising on, structuring and lending to infrastructure companies and projects for 15 years across EMEA.

Schroders

As a global investment manager, we help institutions, intermediaries and individuals meet their goals, fulfil their ambitions, and prepare for the future. But as the world changes, so do our clients’ needs. That’s why we have a long history of adapting to suit the times and keeping our focus on what matters most to our clients. Doing this takes experience and expertise. We bring together people and data to spot the trends that will shape the future. This provides a unique perspective which allows us to always invest with conviction. We are responsible for £444.4 billion (€496.6 billion/$565.5 billion)* of assets for our clients who trust us to deliver sustainable returns. We remain determined to build future prosperity for them, and for all of society. Today, we have 5,000 people across six continents who focus on doing just this. We are a global business that’s managed locally. This allows us to always keep our clients’ needs at the heart of everything we do. For over 200 years and more than seven generations we’ve grown and developed our expertise in tandem with our clients’ needs and interests.
Schroders

As a global investment manager, we help institutions, intermediaries and individuals meet their goals, fulfil their ambitions, and prepare for the future. But as the world changes, so do our clients’ needs. That’s why we have a long history of adapting to suit the times and keeping our focus on what matters most to our clients. Doing this takes experience and expertise. We bring together people and data to spot the trends that will shape the future. This provides a unique perspective which allows us to always invest with conviction. We are responsible for £444.4 billion (€496.6 billion/$565.5 billion)* of assets for our clients who trust us to deliver sustainable returns. We remain determined to build future prosperity for them, and for all of society. Today, we have 5,000 people across six continents who focus on doing just this. We are a global business that’s managed locally. This allows us to always keep our clients’ needs at the heart of everything we do. For over 200 years and more than seven generations we’ve grown and developed our expertise in tandem with our clients’ needs and interests.

Kay Parplies

Head of Unit, European Commission

Kay Parplies is the Head of Unit for Investment and Innovative Financing in the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), where he works, among other areas, in the development of innovative blending instruments, such as equity, guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms, implemented in cooperation with partner financial institutions. The main current focus of his work is the EU External Investment Plan, including the new EUR 1.5 billion EFSD Guarantee facility for Africa and the EU Neighbourhood. Before joining DG DEVCO, Kay headed the unit for coordination with the EIB Group, EBRD and other IFIs. Prior to that position he was a senior economist in the trade directorate's Chief Economist team. Kay joined the Commission in 2000 as a case officer for merger control at DG Competition. Before joining the European Commission, Kay worked for NatWest Markets' project finance and advisory division. He holds a Ph.D. in industrial economics from Cambridge University and a M.Sc. in Economics and Finance from Warwick University.

Alistair Perkins

Head of Infrastructure Debt, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Alistair Perkins is Head of Infrastructure Debt at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, formerly NN Investment Partners since 2013. He is also a member of the advisory panel to the Institutional Investors Group for Climate Change (IIGCC). Alistair has over 25 years investment experience in the global infrastructure market and previously held positions as Head of Debt Restructuring at Dexia following 5 years as a Director of its Global Project Finance Group. Prior to that, Alistair headed the infrastructure advisory team at NIBC Bank and also held positions in project finance with CIT in New York and Newcourt Capital in London. Alistair holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA from the University of Nottingham.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs, we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market - overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of December 31, 2022.

Steven Pringle

Director, Member Relations, GRESB

Steven Pringle is a Director within the Member Relations Team and is based in Amsterdam. He joined GRESB at the beginning of 2020 as part of the business development division. Prior to joining GRESB Steven worked in Real Estate Funds Management and Banking in the UK, China and Australia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Curtin University Perth and is a CFA Charterholder.

About GRESB

GRESB was launched by a group of large pension funds who wanted to have a better engagement with their managers on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. In the intervening years, GRESB has grown to become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world. The GRESB ESG data and benchmarks now cover over USD 6.4 trillion in real estate and infrastructure value and are used by more than 100 institutional investors to make decisions that lead to a more sustainable world.

The GRESB community comprises engaged asset managers who are proud to participate in our annual benchmarking process and a group of inspirational industry partners and ESG service providers who amplify our reach. The GRESB team come from diverse backgrounds with experience spanning climate, sustainability, data science, software development, real estate, infrastructure, and the capital markets. GRESB’s staff are passionate about tackling the sustainability challenges by providing insights that will power the markets of the future and enable investors to allocate the world’s capital in a more responsible way.

Cristina Serrano

Global Head of Institutional Business, Santander Asset Management

Cristina joined Santander Asset Management in 2018 as head of the Institutional Business. Her teams work both in fundraising both for traditional and more recently alternative assets.

Cristina has been part of Santander Group since 2007 in positions related to the Institutional business. She was part of the SCIB FIG team, where she headed FIG multinationals. Previously, she led the Trading and Sales Trading team of Santander’s then domestic broker. Prior to Santander, Cristina was equity trader at Merrill Lynch, for 10 years.

Cristina holds a BA in Business Administration from Staffordshire University (UK) and a Degree in Business Administration, Marketing and Public Relations from ESERP (Spain). She has two postgraduate degrees: an Executive MBA (IE Business School) and a master’s degree in Portfolio Management (IEB, Spain). Chair of the Board of Governors of Marymount International School. And member of the Wealth and Asset Management Advisory board at SalesForce

Santander

Banco Santander is a leading retail and commercial bank headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in 10 core markets in the Europe, North America and South America regions, and is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. At the end of the first half of 2021, it had €1.1 trillion in total funds. Santander Asset Management is a global asset manager that combines technology and experience to provide its clients with investment solutions that meet their specific needs, connecting Europe and the Americas. With presence in 10 countries, it manages EUR 193 billion of assets for individual clients, institutional investors and brokers, and for Santander Group subsidiaries around the world. Santander CIB is the bank’s global division that supports corporate and institutional clients, offering tailored services and value-added wholesale products suited to their complexity and sophistication, as well as to responsible banking standards that contribute to the progress of society.

Kevin Smithen

Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, DigitalBridge

Kevin Smithen is is Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at DigitalBridge. Mr Smithen has over 25 years of experience in the global communications services and infrastructure sectors and plays a leading role in the firm’s deal sourcing, fundraising and co-investment efforts.

Mr. Smithen is also Managing Director, Strategy and Capital formation at Digital Colony, where has been instrumental in securing over $10 billion of equity and co-investment capital and responsible for sourcing over $1 billion in proprietary, off-market fiber and data centers deals across Canada and Latin America since 2018.

Prior to Digital Colony, Mr. Smithen worked in the equity research division of Macquarie Securities (USA) Inc., most recently as Managing Director, Telecom Services and Infrastructure and as Sector Head for TMT. He has been recognized by StarMine, Bloomberg, and Institutional Investor as a leading analyst and thought leader.

Before joining Macquarie, Mr. Smithen was the CEO and portfolio manager for Stetson Street Capital, a market-neutral TMT hedge fund in Chicago. Previously, he worked as a senior analyst and Portfolio Manager for the Lazard Global Opportunities Fund and the Lazard TMT Advantage Fund. He was also the first investment analyst at Coatue Capital, a leading TMT sector hedge fund. Mr. Smithen began his career as an investment banker at Smith Barney, Inc. (Citigroup) in their Media and Telecommunications Group. Mr. Smithen earned a Bachelor of Arts in History, Middle East, and European Policy, magna cum laude, with Distinction from Duke University.

Matias Sottile

Managing Partner, Ayres Partners

Matias Sottile is the founder of Ayres Partners, a boutique financial and strategy advisory firm specializing in funding of energy transition, digital infrastructure and infrastructure funds across investment grade and emerging markets. Ayres Partners advises private investors, infrastructure funds and asset managers on funding projects and specific sector funds.

Matias was responsible of Infrastructure Debt at RiverRock AM, held several senior management roles at Santander bank as European Head of Infrastructure Finance and Leveraged Finance and Head of Credit and Infrastructure for Poland and Germany. Matias has extensive expertise in energy and infrastructure, having been responsible for originating and executing transactions across Europe, the Nordics, CEE and LatAm. Matias has total investment experience of c. USD5bn across all geographies and sectors.

Matias holds a master’s in economics and Utilities from the University of Barcelona, and an MBA from IAE/IESE Business School with a specialization in Corporate Finance through the Schulich Business School in York University (Canada).

Ayres Partners

Boutique financial and strategy advisory firm specialized in supporting infrastructure investors and European Asset Manager to fund their projects across Western Europe, Nordics, CEE and selectively in emerging markets. We advise on both equity and Debt supporting clients in finding suitable funding (debt funds+ banks) and co-investors (infrastructure funds) Main activities during the last 4 years in the digital Infrastructure and energy transition sectors.

Tom Sumpster

Head of Private Markets, Phoenix Asset Management, Phoenix Group plc

Tom is currently the Head of Private Markets for Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement provider with over £270bn of Assets under Administration, on behalf of over 13 million policyholders.

In his current role, Tom is a member of the Leadership Team within Phoenix Asset Management, reporting into the Group Chief Investment Officer, Mike Eakins. Tom is responsible for leading the Origination of Illiquid Assets for Phoenix Asset Management, with Sustainability at the heart of the global investment strategy.

Prior to joining Phoenix Group in March 2021, Tom was Head of Infrastructure Investments at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) across Equity and Debt, investing globally in the asset class whilst supporting climate change, having joined in 2017. Prior to joining LGIM Tom was a Managing Director, Head of Acquisition Finance at Royal Bank of Canada for almost 10 years, advising, structuring and underwriting across RBC's M&A sectors (with notable transactions in Infrastructure, Energy, Industrials, Financial Institutions, Tech/ Media/Telecoms and Healthcare) in both public and private M&A financing events. Tom is a Chartered Accountant (trained with PwC).

Phoenix Group

Phoenix Group is the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business with c.14 million customers and £338 billion of assets under administration. We understand that our scale and expertise means that we have a key role to play for our customers, colleagues and our communities.

Our purpose is helping people secure a life of possibilities.

As the country navigates a shifting pensions landscape, we will continue to be a safe and dependable ally in the journey to and through retirement for millions of customers.

As a market leader, we believe we have a broader role to play in society, to help as many people as possible secure a life of possibilities. This of course means taking responsible and sustainable investment decisions, but also using our presence and voice to advocate on behalf of the UK’s savers.

Dominic Swan

Head of Private Debt, HSBC Alternatives, HSBC Asset Management

Dominic is the Head of Private Debt, HSBC Alternatives. He has almost 30 years’ experience across portfolio management, credit, secured lending, workouts and structuring.
Dominic is responsible for establishing and managing the direct investment capability for alternative assets such as Infrastructure, Real Estate Lending, Middle Market Loans, Corporate Lending, Consumer Finance and other forms of Private Debt.
Before taking up his current role, he has served as Senior Adviser to the Global CIO across all asset classes (Fixed Income, Equities, Liquidity and Alternatives), and Global Head of Fixed Income for HSBC Halbis Capital Management, where he was responsible for teams managing over USD 200bn of Fixed Income and Liquidity assets around the world.
In previous roles at HSBC, he established and led the wind down of the HSBC Bank plc’s USD 95bn structured credit portfolio including the Structured Investment Vehicles, Securities Conduit, and proprietary ABS investment businesses, where he gained considerable workout experience and won The Banker's 'Most Innovative Asset-Liability Management Award' in 2008. He has also established HSBC UK’s Credit Card, Covered Bond and RMBS issuance programmes.
Before joining HSBC in 2001, Dominic worked for almost 10 years at Moody’s Investors Service where he was rating committee chairman for much of the European secured credit markets. He has a BSc in Financial Economics from London University.

HSBC Asset Management

HSBC Asset Management is the investment management business of the HSBC Group. We are a truly global organisation, with local presence in 20+ countries and territories around the world. Our vision is to be a trusted asset manager for our clients, helping them thrive by capturing global growth opportunities. By offering expert insights and specialist investment strategies that draw on the depth of our global on-the-ground expertise, we aim to provide investors with sustainable investment opportunities. As at 30 June 2021, we managed assets of USD625billion across equities, fixed income, multi-asset, liquidity and HSBC Alternatives.
HSBC Alternatives, a part of HSBC Asset Management, is 150-strong team across Infrastructure Debt and Equity, Hedge Funds, Real Estate, Private Markets, Private Debt and Venture Capital and represents combined assets under management and advice of USD53 billion.

[1] – As at 31 March 2021. Alternative assets include USD3.1bn from committed capital ('dry powder'), which is not included in the total reported AUM.

Benoît Theys

Head of Infrastructure Finance, AG Insurance

He is graduated as Master in Applied Economic Sciences at the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL) and is a certified Financial Analyst at the Belgian Association of Financial Analysts. He worked for more than 25 years in Project Finance, mainly at BNP Paribas Fortis. In October 2012, he joined AG Real Estate as Head of PPP and Real Estate Finance, with the responsibility to develop the activity of debt financing in PPP & Infrastructure and Real Estate projects within the AG Insurance group. He is now Head of Infrastructure Finance within AG Insurance. Since 2012, his team successfully closed around 54 projects in the euro zone for more than EUR 3 bln.

AG Insurance

AG Insurance is an insurance company founded in 1824, part of the group Ageas. It is the biggest insurance company in Belgium with 3.7 million policyholders and over 6000 employees. Its equity amounts to EUR 6.8 bln and with more than 75 billion euros in assets under management (end of 2020), AG Insurance is the biggest subsidiary of the listed Ageas group (a top-15 European insurance group) and also the biggest institutional investor in Belgium with a strong local footprint. AG Insurance is rated by S&P (A+/stable), Moody’s (A1/stable) and Fitch (A+/stable).

Stefan Wala

Head of Origination, Kommunalkredit Austria AG

Stefan has been with Kommunalkredit since early 2017 in charge of the bank´s origination, deal sourcing and client coverage efforts. During that time, Kommunalkredit has built a strong franchise in the European infrastructure and energy market with particular focus on the Renewables and Digital Infrastructure sectors providing financing solutions ranging from classic greenfield project finance and brownfield M&A acquisition finance to tailor-made structures including equity/construction bridges, mezzanine and holdco financings as well as long-term private placements.

Prior to Kommunalkredit, Stefan worked at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York and GE Capital´s Structured Finance Group in London, before becoming Head of Corporate Finance at Raiffeisen Bank Intl in Vienna, overseeing M&A, ECM and acquisition finance transactions in Austria, Germany and Central & Eastern Europe.

Kommunalkredit:

Kommunalkredit has established itself as a successful and fast growing specialist in the European infrastructure and energy financing space. Together with its clients as partners, the bank strives to create value that continuously improves people's lives. Our track record showcases our strong investment expertise in key segments including Energy & Environment, Digital Infrastructure, Transportation, Social infrastructure and Natural Resources. With our infrastructure debt fund platform Fidelio, we can offer highly flexible financing solutions out of one hand including short term equity/construction bridges, mezzanine/subordinated Holdco structures, classic acquisition financing as well as long term (greenfield) project finance structures and private placements.

Alex Waller

Head of Infrastructure Debt, Whitehelm Capital

Alex leads the debt investing activities for Whitehelm and has 18 years’ industry experience in debt financing, investment banking and principal investment.

Prior to the formation of Whitehelm, Alex spent seven years at Challenger where he was a Director and led the international infrastructure debt investment strategy.

Previously, Alex was an Associate Director in the Structured Capital Finance and Infrastructure Corporate Finance groups at RBS, specialising in acquisition financing for infrastructure investments, including support of the buyouts of Associated British Ports, London City Airport and Sanef.

Alex has led or been involved in numerous large infrastructure financings as sponsor or investor, including closed transactions for Southern Water, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Angel Trains, Aquasure, Coriance, Inexus, Aguas Nuevas and Heathrow Airport.

Whitehelm Capital

Whitehelm Capital is one of the worlds most experienced infrastructure managers, partnering with clients to invest in true infrastructure assets for over 23 years. With €6.7 billion in direct infrastructure debt and equity investments made since inception, and €3.7 billion of funds currently under management. Whitehelm invests in true infrastructure assets that protect investment value, while providing predictable cash returns.

The firm is majority staff-owned, with employees owning 70%, and benefits from an independent perspective and experienced investment managers. Whitehelm has successfully generated attractive returns from infrastructure assets for its investors for over two decades and through several economic cycles.

Benjamin Walter

Portfolio Manager, Allianz Global Investors

Benjamin Walter is a Director in Allianz Global Investors’ Infrastructure Debt Investment team, based in Frankfurt. Benjamin has worked on transactions across Europe with a focus on German-speaking markets. He has led the closing of a number of transactions in the rolling stock sector, energy storage, decentralised energy generation, airports and airport service equipment, and telecommunications. Before joining AllianzGI in 2017, Benjamin spent 4 years at BlackRock, where he joined shortly after the inception of the Infrastructure Debt team to support the build-up of the platform. His responsibilities included raising of investment capital from large insurance companies and pension funds as well as origination, due diligence, execution and monitoring of infrastructure and energy investments across a range of sectors and jurisdictions on behalf of leading institutional investors. He started his career in Deutsche Bank’s Infrastructure & Energy team focusing on advisory, structuring, due diligence and execution of infrastructure and energy transactions. Benjamin holds an MSc in Management, Diplôme de Grande École and Diplom-Kaufmann from ESCP Business School.

Allianz Global Investor

Allianz Global Investor’s Infrastructure Debt platform has been active in the primary market on behalf of Allianz and third-party clients since 2012. The Infrastructure Debt team is an experienced and well-resourced team with a proven operational platform and investment process. In fact, five of the senior team members have been working together since 2004 conducting in-depth analysis of the infrastructure debt market and participating in infrastructure projects. Since the platform was established in 2012 the team has closed more than 100 transactions to a total of more than EUR 20bn across Europe and the US spanning a variety of asset classes, from PPP to utilities and renewables. AllianzGI offers three major investment strategies in the Infrastructure Debt segment: (i) the Infrastructure Debt Core strategy seeks to provide debt financing for projects and utilities who provide an essential service; (ii) the Resilient Credit strategy seeks to provide direct, secured lending to infrastructure like/ asset heavy companies with monopolistic/oligopolistic characteristics; and (iii) the Resilient Opportunistic Credit strategy provides mostly junior debt financing to core+ infrastructure companies, focussing on capital intensive infrastructure-related businesses with high barriers to entry or oligopolistic market positions.

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