Board of Management

Geoff is the founder and chairman of IPFA, the largest independent not for profit project finance trade association in the world.

He is a Solicitor with an LL.B from University of London, an MBA from Henley Business School and a Diploma in Marketing from the Charted Institute of Marketing.

Originally a construction lawyer, he has specialised in project finance and Public Private Partnerships since 1985. He has specialist experience in large and complex projects in transportation, energy, water treatment, healthcare and education. Projects include Channel Tunnel, Channel Tunnel Rail Link, DBFO Roads, PFI government hospitals and accommodation; overseas projects in Dubai, Jordan, West Africa, Ukraine, Georgia, China and US.

He is a trustee of First Initiative Resource Strategy and Technology – an Oxford based charity. He is non-executive director of Quantum and visiting Professor to Metropolitan University. He lectures extensively on project finance and designs and delivers a range of training courses for governments, public sector bodies and private companies.

Working closely with IPFA’s Board and Global Chairman, Daisy develops and leads the association’s business strategy and global operations. She has been with IPFA for 10 years and is, currently, responsible for the IPFA secretariat, managing a team of 9.

Daisy has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies and a Diploma in Marketing from the Charted Institute of Marketing.

Philippa has worked in infrastructure for almost 30 years, as an adviser, lender and principal. The combination of an extensive private sector career with 7 years in central Government brings a dual lens to projects. Currently within the IPA, Philippa has a wide range of Government contacts. In her career, Philippa has worked in all sectors mentioned in the brief, most recently on innovative structures such as the CIIF and DIIF and Thames Tideway Tunnel, and is a regular speaker at conferences. Philippa is an experienced and active coach and mentor both within and outside of the civil service and a strong supporter of developing talent.

Philippa is an infrastructure finance specialist within the Infrastructure and Projects Authority. Philippa joined HM Treasury in 2013 after over 20 years in investment banking and professional services; prior to joining government, Philippa was a Partner at EY, and had previously been at Deutsche Bank/Morgan Grenfell for many years, having started her career at Morgan Stanley. In the IPA, Philippa advises Government departments on projects in the energy, transport, water and digital sectors, and has recently led on the £400m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund for electric vehicle charge points where the Government is investing up to £200m on commercial terms alongside the private sector. This followed the model of the £800m Digital Infrastructure Investment Funds that she set up in 2017. Philippa is currently advising BEIS on the Heat Networks Investment Programme and supporting officials on developing further funds. She is a keen linguist (particularly Spanish).

Anne-Sophie is an Associate Director in the Infrastructure Equity at Aviva Investors in London. She is responsible for origination and execution of equity infrastructure transactions. Prior to joining Aviva Investors, Anne-Sophie spent four years at Mazars London in their Project Finance team providing financial advisory and model audit services. For two years prior to that she worked in Paris as a financial auditor for Mazars, and at Groupama Banque as a strategic analyst. She holds a Masters degree in Engineering and an MSc in Biomechanics, both from Arts et Métiers ParisTech, a leading French University. She is also a CAIA® charter holder.

“My fresh perspective will help the IPFA attract and retain a broader range of professionals. As an enthusiastic member of the UK FLN Committee, I proactively use my network to create opportunities for my peers to build their skills. This includes organising learning opportunities in core and growth areas such as Fibre, and broadening people’s understanding of deal structuring. I will champion IPFA members being alert to emerging technologies and sectors, as they create new opportunities. The transfer of knowledge helps us all navigate change successfully; embracing the FLN’s talent, diversity and ideas will push forward the industry.”

Femi Fadipe is a Chartered Civil Engineer with proven leadership skills, experience and dedication in managing civil engineering projects at operational and strategic management level. He has years of experience delivering challenging engineering projects in various countries in Africa, Europe and Caribbean.

Fadipe is also skilled in the contractual management of various construction projects with the use of different forms of Civil Engineering Contracts. Moreover, he also has expertise in infrastructure finance providing lenders technical and due diligence services to sponsors, SPVs, financial Institutions and grantors.

Alistair is a Managing Director in the Infrastructure Finance team of ING Bank, responsible for the origination and execution of infrastructure mandates, accessing both capital markets and bank funding options for clients. In addition to his role at ING, Alistair has been an active board member of IPFA for the last three years. Alistair joined ING in 2008, leading deal teams in arranging transactions across EMEA regions and on advisory mandates. Alistair has extensive experience as both adviser and financier, having worked on a broad range of concession, acquisition, PPP and utility financings. Prior to ING, Alistair worked at bond insurer XLCA, where he focussed on the funding of infrastructure through the capital markets. Alistair started his career at CIBC, principally as an adviser on the structuring and bidding of PPP transactions.

With nearly 20 years experience in project finance across Australasia, the UK and the Middle East, Shaun is responsible for the legal function of project financed transactions within ACWA Holding and its subsidiaries, joint ventures and affiliates.

Shaun developed his legal skills in project finance at some of the world’s top ranked global law firms working for sponsors, concessionaires, construction companies, developers, secondary market infrastructure funds and lenders. After private practice, Shaun spent seven years working for the UK Treasury and was instrumental in developing PPP policy as the UK’s private finance model evolved in line with economic factors and market trends. He implemented best practice across government departments through various secondments and sat on numerous infrastructure panels to review, scrutinise and approve some of the UK’s most high profile infrastructure projects.

Before joining ACWA, Shaun worked for a global developer and covered finance, construction and operational aspects of PPP and outsourcing projects. He also held positions at board level for various subsidiaries within the group, reviewing and monitoring asset performance at an operational level.

Shaun professionally qualified as a solicitor in Australia and England and is an active public speaker at professional events within the Middle East. He is acknowledged as a leader in the region, having been recognized in the Middle East GC Powerlist for 2017 and 2018 published by ‘Legal 500’. Shaun has actively represented and participated in IPFA’s Middle East branch council since 2016.

Dominic Leadsom has over 20 years experience advising Government agencies, Lenders and Investors on PPP/P3, project finance and M&A transactions.

Qualified as Chartered Quantity Surveyor (MRICS, PQS), Leadsom has worked in Construction and Infrastructure for 26 years in the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa.

Caroline has sixteen years’ experience in project finance, across the infrastructure and transportation sectors as well as over a decade in energy and natural resources. She joined SMBC in 2007 and as of April 2019 heads their London-based EMEA Power & Renewables practice, including energy transition, utilities, metals and mining. Caroline previously lead SMBC’s Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals Execution Team, working across both lending and advisory project finance mandates throughout the EMEA region and acting as financial advisor to high profile projects including Liwa Plastics Industries Complex in Oman, and the Rabigh Phase II project in Saudi Arabia.

Caroline has previously worked on the Infrastructure Project Finance team at Société Générale, acting as advisor and lead financial modeller on numerous roads projects, and at Operis Group plc, where she gained extensive experience in financial modelling and model due diligence across a wide variety of sectors.

Nadia Nikolova is a portfolio manager with AllianzGI Illiquid Alternatives focusing on Emerging Markets and Infrastructure. Nadia has over ten years of experience across various credit roles both on the advisory and buy side. She was instrumental into expanding AllianzGI’s presence into acquisition finance as well as Emerging Markets infrastructure debt through the AllianzGI/IFC structured vehicle (announced October 2017). Most recently, Nadia has been supporting the build-out of the AllianzGI Resilient Credit and Emerging Markets strategies.

Prior to joining AllianzGI, Nadia worked at the Project and Infrastructure Finance team at Citigroup based out of London. Nadia holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Essex and has graduated from Harvard Business School Executive Program for Leadership and Development.

In 2016, Financial News awarded Nadia one of 40 under 40 professionals in Asset Management.

Allard Nooy joined InfraCo Asia mid-2013 and is responsible for InfraCo Asia’s strategic transformation process and growth plan. Allard drove the development and implementation of its ‘multi-developers’ and co-investment programme and is overall accountable for InfraCo Asia’s infrastructure developments and investments.

InfraCo Asia is a commercially managed, publicly financed infrastructure development and investment company headquartered in Singapore. The Company funds pre-financial close, early stage, high-risk infrastructure development activities by taking an equity stake in commercially viable, sustainable infrastructure projects. Throughout the development process, it focuses on managing and mitigating risks so as to facilitate private sector participation. InfraCo Asia creates infrastructure projects that contribute to economic growth and social development.

Most projects are debt-financed on a (non-recourse) Project Finance basis. The Company operates in 12 Countries in South and South-East Asia. Sectors include: Thermal Power (Gas) and Renewable Energy, Environment (Water, Wastewater and Waste Management), Telecommunications, Transport infrastructure, Urban/rural and social Infrastructure.

Allard has over 25 years of strategic executive leadership experience in emerging markets and has successfully led and acquired infrastructure and energy companies throughout Asia.

His key focus has been on the development and implementation of growth strategies, the creation of new assets and the financing and execution of energy and infrastructure projects. The format of these projects varied widely and included PPP’s and BOOT structures in the water, waste water, solid waste management, waste-to-energy, power, and renewable energy sectors.

Allard’s previous roles include CEO of Jindal Aquasource and Jindal Ecopolis in New Delhi, India; President AsiaPacific with Covanta Energy Corporation, the world’s largest Energy from Waste Company, in Shanghai, China; Regional Director Infrastructure Development and Director China with the Leighton Group in Asia, Regional Director Greater China at Thames Water International, in Hong Kong SAR; and General Manager of Vermeer – Ballast Nedam, while based in Vietnam.

Allard has been a Non-executive independent Director of China Hydro Electric Corporation (with 24 Hydro Electric Power Assets in China) and was a member of the Special Committee to delist the Company from the NYSE and managed a sale process to a PE Firm.

In addition to his full-time role at InfraCo Asia he also lectures a Public Private Partnership Program as part of the Singapore Management University (SMU) Asia Leaders Programme in Infrastructure Excellence (ALPINE).

Allard holds a Bachelor of Science (Eng) in engineering management and an MBA in international business.

Alistair has been involved in the infrastructure and project finance market for over the last 22 years.  He is currently employed as Head of Project Finance with NN Investment Partners (formerly ING Investment Management) since 2013. Previously, he held positions as Head of Debt Restructuring at Dexia as well as sitting on its Management and Risk Committees following five years as a Director of Dexia’s Global Project Finance Group. Prior to that, Alistair headed the infrastructure advisory team at NIBC Bank for five years and also held positions in project finance with CIT in New York and Newcourt Capital in London. Alistair started his career in the mid-1990s as a Civil Engineer with John Mowlem & Company plc (now part of Carillion) where he worked on many of the early UK DBFO road schemes and public private partnerships in addition to his experience in many power, energy and renewables schemes across North America and Europe.

Alistair holds a Bachelor’s degree (BEng) in Civil Engineering and an MBA from the University of Nottingham.

Julia has an extensive background in project funding, having acted as an investor, adviser both to Governments and to the private sector and provider of debt and junior funding in respect of a large number of PPP projects around the globe for more than 25 years. Julia’s past roles have included Head of Project Finance at Hill Samuel in London, Co-Head of Project Advisory at Charterhouse Bank to Senior Director and Head of Eurozone Infrastructure Finance at Bank of Scotland. In 2005 she moved to work on the development and realisation of Meridiam Infrastructure from its foundation. She is now Chief Strategy Officer, a Partner and a Member of the Board of Meridiam Infrastructure Managers (“Meridiam”).

Meridiam is an award winning  PPP fund manager, making equity investments to date in 32 transport, environment and social infrastructure projects in Europe and North America. The team comprises an integrated team of 70 professionals spread across offices in Paris, New York, Toronto, Istanbul and London. Meridiam has some $3.5bn equivalent under management and has recently commenced raising a new fund – Meridiam Africa.

Julia has been involved in originating, managing and investing in major projects for Meridiam as well as fund raising and the focus of her role is now developing longer term strategies. She is also President of the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation, an NGO based in Geneva supported by a number of global multilateral development banks providing enhanced improved early stage project preparation capacity. She is also a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum and lectures on infrastructure at University College, London.

Mark, a partner within the leading international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (www.bclplaw.com) within their Energy, Environment & Infrastructure Finance Team.

Mark has over 20 years of experience in providing multidisciplinary advice to public and private sector clients on a wide range of high value, innovative and complex infrastructure projects structured using PPP techniques.

Mark has been involved in some of the most high profile infrastructure deals both in the UK and overseas, including advising on equity (including secondary market trades), debt structures (including institutional debt and commercial bank financing), infrastructure fund trades and concession based structures.

Mark is recognised as a leading PFI/PPP adviser and is rated as a PFI/PPP expert in the latest edition of Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession.

He regularly writes, chairs and addresses audiences on Global PPP structures.

Mark is qualified as a Solicitor in England & Wales and also US Qualified (New York State).

The Sustainable Infrastructure Policy Unit provides upstream policy advisory support for both public and private sector programmes and projects aligned to the EBRD Sustainable Infrastructure Group business. This includes programme planning, project appraisal, options analysis, prioritisation as well as national and local level PPP unit design, training, capacity building and institutional strengthening. Activities include value for money and life-cycle analysis, impact mitigation and resilience planning. Market structuring support includes tariff setting, carbon pricing, renewables auctions, PPA development as well as legislative and regulatory framework advice. The Policy Unit works across all 36 EBRD focus countries.

Jennifer is a Director in the Transactions & Procurement Advisory practice in Jacobs. Jennifer works on projects providing technical and environmental advice to her clients. Jennifer’s specialism is in due diligence and she excels in environmental, social, health and safety advisory roles for mergers, acquisitions and project financing. She has global experience in undertaking the technical, environmental, social, health and safety advisor roles to lenders and equity investors.

Jennifer’s experience covers a variety of sectors airports, railway, light rail, roads, manufacturing, production, food and beverage, nuclear power stations, refineries and oil terminals, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, pipeline and energy transmission, coal and gas and mining.