IJInvestor, a service of IJGlobal, is delighted to announce the judges that have signed up to for the IJInvestor Awards 2024.

This is the sixth time the IJInvestor Awards are being held in London and the second year the awards are being celebrated in Americas, to celebrate successes in the Americas while the London panel tackles the rest of the world.

The awards reflect the best infrastructure funds, investors and transactions from 1 September 2023 to 31 July 2024 – a transition year to align the judging better with the awards ceremony.

IJInvestor Awards 2024 – not to be confused with IJGlobal Awards (greenfield) and ESG Awards – will be celebrated on 28 November in London and 5 December New York.

The submissions portal will be open until 6 September and can be accessed  here...

The London judges, who will convene on 26 September, judge submissions from the world over, except the Americas, which will be judged by a separate group.

IJGlobal prides itself on the peer-review nature of our awards, ensuring a transparent process that (we believe) makes them the most highly valued – submitted by the industry and reviewed by peers at the highest level.

As always, judges are recused from voting on awards where they have an interest. The London panel assesses all submissions – company and transaction awards – from across the world, excluding the Americas.

The judges (alphabetical order) for the Rest of the World panel are:

• Jean-Francis Dusch – EDRAM
• Martin Ewald – Allianz GI
• Charlotte Madden – Clifford Chance
• Iryna Podoliak – Wren House Infrastructure
• Alexander ‘Stefan’ Rieger – Latham & Watkins
• Katya Romanshkan – Aware Super
• James Sargent - Weil Gotshal & Manges
• Giovanni Terranova – Bluefield Partners 

Jean-Francis Dusch 

EDRAM

An old friend of IJGlobal and an occasional member of the judging panels, JF is an infrastructure specialist with more than 30 years’ experience in infrastructure investment.

He comes from a solid background of actually having built things at Bouygues Construction where he worked in its international finance engineering department.

However, he evolved that into a banking career, switching to join UBS in Zurich, then relocating to the London project finance team to lead landmark European infrastructure, energy and telecoms projects. He then went to work at Citigroup before switching over to the famed WestLB team as a director in London and New York.

JF joined the Edmond de Rothschild Group in 2004 in London, as co-head and global head of the project finance team advising governments, private consortia and structuring in house private equity real assets funds.

Then in 2013, JF was promoted to global head of Edmond de Rothschild’s infrastructure, real assets and structured finance department.

Martin Ewald

Allianz GI

Martin Ewald, MD and Lead Portfolio Manager Impact Investments, heads the Investment Strategy Team within the Infrastructure Equity department and is lead portfolio manager for Impact Investments.

Martin joined the Infrastructure Equity team of AllianzGI in 2012 as co-head of portfolio management covering renewable energies in Munich. Since 2013, he has been head of investment strategy shaping the strategic direction of the team via the development and implementation of new investment vehicles in the renewable energy and the impact investing space.

Prior to that, Martin worked for Allianz SE as a co-head of the investment team of Allianz Climate Solutions and led investments in the area of renewable energy and carbon worldwide.

Charlotte Madden

Clifford Chance

Another fantastic addition to the judging panel is Clifford Chance’s global co-head of the infrastructure sector, Charlotte Madden.

Charlotte specialises in advising private equity houses and infrastructure funds on domestic and cross-border M&A. She represents financial investors through all stages of the investment cycle across a range of infrastructure asset classes, including highly regulated transactions.

Having advised on some of the most high-profile infrastructure transactions in Europe, Charlotte is recognised as a market leader within the sector. She is ranked in Chambers UK 2024, as well as Legal 500 UK 2024 as a Next Generation Partner.

Iryna Podoliak

Wren House

Iryna Podoliak from Wren House joins the panel this year after being awarded the Rising Star award in the EMEA region at the IJInvestor Awards 2023.

Currently part of the Energy Transition investments team at infrastructure private equity fund Wren House, Iryna spent over a decade originating, structuring and executing more than €10 billion of direct investments in private markets, including at Macquarie Group’s infrastructure funds business MIRA focusing on CEE and German-speaking regions, and at the investment banking division of Credit Suisse. Iryna is a thought leader, diversity champion and mentor passionate about economic empowerment, environment and education.

She holds a MSc in Management (Finance) degree from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and a Master in International Economics degree from Kyiv National Economic University.

Alexander ‘Stefan’ Rieger

Latham & Watkins

Alexander (Stefan) Rieger, partner at Latham& Watkins in Frankfurt, is widely recognized for advising clients on complex M&A transactions and projects in the international infrastructure sector. He has been ranked one of the leading partners of the next generation for M&A in Germany.

Stefan’s clients include leading infrastructure funds, pension funds, insurance companies, private equity investors and corporates from around the globe. In advising his clients, Stefan emphasizes practicality, striving to achieve his clients’ business objectives by leveraging his “perfect understanding of the market and related transaction dynamics”.

Katya Romanshkan

Aware Super

Katya Romanshkan, portfolio manager for infrastructure at Aware Super, makes another exciting addition to this year’s judging panel. Australia’s Aware Super won the IJInvestor Institutional Investor Award for APAC in 2023.

Katya joined Aware Super in November 2023 to help grow the A$10 billion ($6.6bn) pension scheme’s infrastructure investment platform in the UK and Europe. In the role Katya is responsible for originating new investment opportunities; developing appropriate commercial and funding structures; leading key negotiations; presenting investments to and getting approval from Investment Committees; and managing a successful financial close.

Prior to joining Aware Super UK, Katya have spent almost 5 years at Local Pensions Partnership Investments (LPPI), an FCA authorised investment manager for three UK local government pension schemes and GLIL Infrastructure, an open-ended infrastructure fund.

Prior to LPPI, Katyaspent over 10 years at Balfour Beatty Investments (“BBI”) - a highly successful international infrastructure development and investment company with an asset portfolio value of less than £1.3 billion.

James Sargent

Weil

James Sargent is a partner in the Private Funds Group in Weil’s London office. He advises a wide range of global fund managers on the establishment and day-to-day operation of private investment funds, managed accounts and co-investment platforms across a range of strategies, including private equity, infrastructure, energy, real estate and credit.

He also has extensive experience advising on fund manager M&A, GP stakes transactions, GP-led secondary transactions, fund restructurings and recapitalisations, along with executive compensation arrangements.

Giovanni Terranova

Bluefield

Giovanni Terranova is a founder and managing partner of Bluefield. Giovanni is an energy finance specialist having worked in banking, advisory and private equity since 2000, with a particular focus on energy and renewables since 2005.

He has participated in the funding of c.€8.5 billion of energy transactions globally. Giovanni has served as board member of various solar energy companies in Italy, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

Giovanni has presented at several international renewable energy conferences and published research on the solar energy sector in 1998.

He has as MBA from Luiss School of Management, Rome, and an MSc in Power Engineering.