We are delighted to announce the judging team for North America – an esteemed group of infrastructure professionals who will gather to debate and discuss company submissions. 

Judges will gather virtually tomorrow (1 February 2022) to view submissions that celebrate greenfield project finance activity, refinancings and new financing structures over the course of the 2021 calendar year.

Judges are recused from casting a vote where they are conflicted, as in – lawyers cannot vote in the legal segment and bankers are not allowed to sway the decision in the MLA category – making the IJGlobal Awards what we believe to be the single most peer-review and independent in the infrastructure and energy community.

The judges (in alphabetical order) for North America are:

Mona Dajani - Pillsbury

Mona is the global co-leader of the firm’s energy and infrastructure projects team and also leads the renewable energy practice which covers clean energy, clean energy technology, hydrogen and sustainable finance. She serves as a lead lawyer in complex M&As, dispositions, financings and project development transactions involving energy and infrastructure facilities in the US and around the world. 

Richard Kim - HSBC

Richard joined HSBC’s project finance team in July 2017 and is now responsible for HSBC’s infrastructure and project finance business in Canada. Richard has been involved in numerous landmark transactions in the transit, transport and healthcare infrastructure space over the years. Prior to joining HSBC, he held roles with National Bank Financial and Macquarie Capital.

Sia Kusha - Plenary

Sia is a senior vice president and group head, project development and partnering at Plenary Americas. He is responsible for project development and positioning Plenary with appropriate project sponsors and selecting partners by leveraging industry relationships. A 40-year veteran of the industry, Sia has delivered a variety of infrastructure programmes and projects for a diverse range of public and private clients.

Sue Lee - Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors

Sue is a senior managing director with Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors. Sue provides public agencies with strategic and financial advice to develop innovative approaches to project delivery, financing, and contract and risk management. Her recent experience includes advising the Gateway Program Development Corporation on the Hudson Tunnel Project, Los Angeles World Airports on the automated people mover and consolidated rental car facility at LAX, the State of New Jersey on the NJ Wind Port, and several state DOTs on highway projects.  

Laurie Mahon - CIBC

Laurie Mahon serves as vice-chair of CIBC’s US investment banking business, a role she assumed after having led the global infrastructure and power team since August 2013. She has spent her entire professional life in the infrastructure space, having had a multifaceted career as a banker, public sector manager, infrastructure executive, consultant, journalist and developer focusing on the development and financing of large infrastructure projects around the globe.

Dolly Mirchandani - White & Case

Dolly Mirchandani focuses on infrastructure and PPP projects and has over 20 years’ experience working on some of the most significant deals in the sector. She represents sponsors, infrastructure funds, commercial banks, institutional lenders, contractors, secondary market investors and governments in the tender, development and acquisition of greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects.

Sonia McMillan - Amber Infrastructure

Sonia joined Amber Infrastructure North American investment origination team in 2021. She has in-depth experience in both North American and international infrastructure investments. Sonia also has extensive infrastructure transaction and legal experience as a former managing director and general counsel for Rubicon Capital Advisors and director of infrastructure at InfraRed Capital Partners.

Ana Carolina Oliveira - ING

Ana Carolina heads ING’s sustainable finance team covering the Americas region. She works with ING clients in providing structuring and advisory of sustainable finance solutions, to support them in accelerating their sustainability transition. She also plays an integral role in supporting ING’s Terra approach, a commitment to steer its €600 billion lending book in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming to well-below two degrees. She has extensive experience in advising clients on capital structure and working capital optimization and previously has served as a director in ING’s healthcare sector group where she covered US large multinationals.

Mansi Patel - MetLife

Mansi was promoted to head of US infrastructure and project finance at MetLife Investment Management in November 2021. Most recently, she was vice president of infrastructure and project finance at MetLife which she joined in 2006. In this role, she was responsible for transaction sourcing, origination, underwriting and portfolio management. Mansi primarily focused on the transport, social infrastructure, power, water, pipeline and energy sectors in the Americas.

Mike Pikiel - Winston & Strawn

Mike is a New York-based partner at Winston & Strawn and co-chair of the firm’s energy & infrastructure industry group and co-chair of the firm’s project finance practice. He represents sponsors, developers, investors, lenders and underwriters in a wide range of projects and complex finance transactions, including project financings and acquisition financings. Mike has nearly 20 years of experience representing clients in the infrastructure, transportation and energy sectors and significant experience with PPPs.

Markus Pressdee - Rothschild & Co

Markus Pressdee is a managing director of Rothschild & Co and head of Rothschild & Co’s transportation, infrastructure, power & renewables group in North America. Markus is a veteran infrastructure finance professional with 28 years of experience. He has been the lead advisor to financial, corporate and government clients on in excess of $200 billion of transactions. He has deep cross-border deal expertise, having been based in both the US and UK, and an expert in large complex transactions.

Lindsay Wright - KPMG

Lindsay is a senior manager in KPMG’s infrastructure advisory practice with over 12 years’ experience. She provides strategic, financial and commercial advice to a diverse mix of public and private sector clients.   Lindsay has worked across social infrastructure, defence and energy sectors, but with a particular focus on transit and transport. She specialises in delivering large, complex, city-changing infrastructure around the world. She has advised on projects around the world, bringing international leading practice to all of her clients.