Our People

Prior to being appointed as CIPDO, Gilles served as CEO of InfraCo Africa for nearly 5 years, joining InfraCo Africa from Engie. With 20 years of experience working in the private sector in the manufacturing and energy industries, Gilles’ expertise ranges from engineering, operations and project development to strategy, business development and investments. Gilles is passionate about socioeconomic development models that improve living standards while not compromising environmental sustainability. He has a diploma in Civil Engineering from the Catholic University of Louvain and an MBA from George Washington Business School.

Prior to becoming InfraCo Africa’s CIO, Claire worked as the company’s Senior Business Development Manager and acting Head of Business Developments. Claire was previously an Assistant Director in the Corporate and Project Finance team at International Power PLC, a FTSE 100 listed company, now part of Engie, for over ten years. Claire also worked at PriceWaterhouseCooper as an Assistant Manager.

Omar heads InfraCo’s Africa Business Development team. He has extensive experience in the energy sector across infrastructure development and investment, energy management and energy trading. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, Omar previously worked at AMEA Power, at Ithmar Capital (Moroccan sovereign wealth fund) and for nearly 12 years at ENGIE in both Europe and Africa.

Connor joined InfraCo Africa from Group Five Construction in 2019. He has over twenty years of experience in the development, construction and operations of a broad range of infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa, United States and Eastern Europe. Connor serves as a non-executive board member on a number of the project companies. He has a diploma in Civil Engineering and an MBA from Wit’s Business School, South Africa.

Jessica has joined InfraCo Africa from BT where she spent 10 years working on complex, internal transformation projects, with a particular focus on Human Resource operating models.  Prior to that Jessica worked within Corporate Advisory at both KPMG (UK) and McGrathNicol (Australia).

Alex is an English qualified lawyer and business integrity professional with over 15 years of experience working in house and at top tier law firms. He heads the group legal function covering Corporate, Africa and Asia as well as Business Integrity. Before joining PIDG, Alex was General Counsel & Head of Business Integrity at InfraCo Africa for 10 years where he gained experience working on projects across Africa across a range of sectors. Prior to that, he worked in the project finance and corporate teams at Shearman & Sterling, Fulbright & Jaworski and Norton Rose Fulbright where he advised sponsors and lenders on international energy and infrastructure transactions, from development, financing and operations to exit.

Siân is Interim Head of Finance leading InfraCo Africa’s Finance Team. She has a wealth of experience having worked internationally as a Finance Director/CFO for over 20 years in the manufacturing, engineering, technology and energy sectors. Siân has joined from Guru Systems, an SME with a focus on reducing carbon emissions, where she headed up the Finance and Supply Chain teams. Prior to Guru Systems, Siân developed the strategic business plan, budget and project investment portfolio for InfraCo Africa

Michiel is InfraCo Africa’s Regional Business Development Lead for East and Southern Africa. He has over 20 years’ private sector experience in business and project development. Michiel has a track record in the renewable energy sector from origination through to financial close. Before joining InfraCo Africa, he worked as the project director for a 90MW wind energy project in Kenya. Michiel has a master’s degree from the University of Twente in The Netherlands, and he is a PMI-certified Project Management Professional.

Tim is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers with thirty years’ experience of developing thermal, cogeneration and renewable power stations, and for the last 12 years with a focus on geothermal power. Tim currently manages the larger and more complex power project developments for InfraCo Africa including Corbetti Geothermal power project in Ethiopia.

Beatrice has over 13 years’ experience developing and operating power infrastructure projects across Africa. She previously worked at KTDA-Power company where she oversaw the development and construction of hydro and solar PV projects to power tea factories and the grid. Beatrice has also worked for Lafarge-Holcim and Schneider Electric where she led teams in the construction of several infrastructure projects as the head of engineering and automation.

Philippa Viljoen is a Business Development Manager for InfraCo Africa covering East and Southern Africa, and serves as Project Director for the Chanyanya irrigation infrastructure project in Zambia.  She joined InfraCo Africa following seven years as a project developer for eleQtra Limited.  Philippa was previously Special Adviser to the UK’s DFID Secretary of State from 2010 to 2012 having earlier been an adviser to the UK’s Shadow DFID Secretary of State and a researcher for a Member of the UK Parliament’s International Development Select Committee. (Philippa is currently on leave)

Doris works as part of the BD team across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. She previously worked as an Investment Analyst for Kenya Climate Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in early-stage businesses across a range of sectors. Doris was involved with sourcing, screening and executing deals and with financial modelling and market analysis. She has a background in finance with a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi.

Fatou is a BD Manager for InfraCo Africa working to source, analyse and execute projects to bring them to financial close. She has a background in senior debt lending and credit analysis and previously worked in the energy finance team of Standard Bank Plc. She holds a postgraduate degree in International Business and Finance from the French University Paris Dauphine.

Kamar is a BDA within the Casablanca BD team. Before joining InfraCo Africa, Kamar worked for Gaia Energy, a renewable energy projects developer based in Morocco, covering wind and solar project development in Africa. Prior to that, she worked for Voltalia Morocco. Kamar is an Engineer by training from both INSA Lyon (France) and Mining Engineering School (Morocco).

Bruno is a Business Development Manager covering West and Central Africa. He has a background in renewable energy projects development and finance in sub-Saharan Africa as he worked more than two years for the consultancy Finergreen Africa based in Abidjan.  He joined InfraCo Africa following two years at Agence Française de Développement where he was in charge of the Infrastructure portfolio in the Caribbean.  Bruno holds an Engineering Degree from ENSTA Paris and a MSc. in Economics of Energy from University Paris-Saclay.

Helimah has over five years of transaction advisory experience having worked as a senior associate at PwC and an analyst at PKF. She has been involved in performing financial due diligence, valuations, feasibility studies, developing financial models and supporting in business development. Helimah has supported clients in various sectors including renewable energy, oil & gas, water & sanitation, telecoms & ICT, healthcare, manufacturing, agribusiness, hospitality and financial services.

Karoney supports InfraCo Africa’s Investments team in conducting due diligence, including financial due diligence and modelling, assessing social returns on investments, and measuring fit with InfraCo Africa’s strategy. Karoney previously worked at Grassroots Business Fund supporting SME investments across East Africa. She also worked as a Senior Analyst at Open Capital Advisors working across a range of different sectors and projects in Africa. (Karoney is currently on leave).

Bertrand is an Investment Analyst within InfraCo Africa’s Investment team. Bertrand previously worked at Fieldstone Group supporting clients on a range of infrastructure assets, mainly in Africa. He has also served on the Mergers and Acquisitions team of a Euro-Asia investment banking advisory firm working across a range of sectors. Bertrand holds a Master in corporate finance from ESCP Paris and is a lawyer by training.

Lydwine supports InfraCo Africa’s BD team with co-development activities across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, Lydwine worked as a Junior Investment Analyst with Kenya Climate Ventures sourcing new deals, screening and analysing investment opportunities and presenting these to the investment committee.

Rodney joined the company from Group Five Construction where he was Head of Operations: Power O&M, managing grid connected solar and wind facilities with a combined capacity of 210MW. During 10 years with Group Five, Rodney was also involved in Commercial and Procurement activities on Power EPC contracts in South Africa, Mozambique and Nigeria.

Jad has a diploma in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Strategy and Management of International Business from ESSEC Business school, France (ongoing)

Before joining InfraCo Africa he worked for Vinci Energies in development, construction and operations of project within Mining, Water, Construction and Food industry in Morocco and West Africa.

Jad has 7 years of operations management and worked previously at Procter & Gamble and The World Bank.

Amine has over 18 years multifaceted career in infrastructure engineering, project development and investment management.  He has worked on identifying infrastructure projects, securing strategic partnerships, developing the projects and managing investment portfolios across diverse sectors.  Amine is currently managing assets in west and central Africa at InfraCo Africa.  Amine holds a civil engineering degree coupled with an Executive Master of Business Administration.

James has been in the energy sector for twenty years, working across Africa in energy efficiency, renewable energy generation projects, development of carbon assets and policy. Prior to that he worked in the manufacturing sector as projects and engineering manager for multinational organizations where he helped build, operate and maintain factories. James holds a first class honours degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi, is a registered Engineer with the Engineers Board of Kenya and is a licensed energy auditor with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority. He is a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya and Association of Energy Professionals of East Africa. 

Ravi is an Asset Manager for InfraCo Africa in East and Southern Africa. Ravi manages post financial close projects in InfraCo Africa’s portfolio through construction to operations. A qualified Manufacturing Engineer, Ravi joined InfraCo Africa’s finance team as a Chartered Accountant in 2013, moving to focus on Asset Management in 2016. Ravi previously worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Ricki joined InfraCo Africa from the WBHO Group where she worked in the Concessions and Projects Division for 7 years, focusing on project development, concessions, IPP’s and EPC contracts in the SADC and West Africa regions. Prior to this, she worked on multidisciplinary projects in a design consultancy firm. Ricki has a BSc Civil Engineering degree from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Sally is as an Asset Manager for InfraCo Africa. She was previously working at CrossBoundary Energy where she was an Operations Engineer. Sally has over 5 years’ experience working in the renewable energy sector with over 12MW experience in construction, operation and maintenance of commercial and industrial solar assets across sub-Saharan Africa. Sally holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics Engineering and is also a T3 EPRA licensed solar PV technician.

Ridouan has more than 10 years’ experience in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental and Social management in different large-scale construction projects. He holds several internationally recognised certifications in HSE  (NEBOSH, IOSH, OSHA) and has previously worked in the development of different renewable energy projects in Africa, leading HSE and Social performance across different sites.

Jacob is a HSES Advisor at InfraCo Africa. As a HSES professional, he has worked in the Environmental Consultancy, Construction, Transport and Logistics sectors. He has over eight years of experience in Health, Safety, Environment and Social management and holds a bachelor’s degree in science and two International NEBOSH Diplomas in Environmental Management and Occupational Health and Safety. Among other projects, he has been involved in the construction of large infrastructure projects such as roads and dams and has provided HSES support to companies within the renewable energy sector.

Josephine provides legal advice covering all areas including project development and finance, corporate and divestments. A project finance lawyer, Josephine previously worked at Shearman & Sterling LLP – advising on oil & gas and energy projects across the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa – and at Pinsent Masons where she advised on UK renewable energy projects.

Christina advises on projects in which InfraCo Africa holds an equity stake, as well as on corporate legal matters concerning the company and its membership of the PIDG. Christina joined from Norton Rose Fulbright’s project finance team where she advised sponsors and lenders on energy and infrastructure projects in Europe, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa; working in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Frankfurt. (Christina is currently on leave).

Tamila is a senior project finance lawyer with extensive experience in advising on transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors in frontier markets, with a particular focus on Africa. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, she was a Senior Associate at Trinity International LLP where she advised on a number of ground-breaking transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Africa. She also worked at the African Development Bank in Tunisia, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) in Kenya, and the Bank of Zambia.

Alexandra is a commercial, debt and equity finance lawyer. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, Alexandra worked at Fulbright & Jaworski, Norton Rose Fulbright and ConocoPhillips. Alexandra has experience advising on energy, infrastructure and industry investments across Africa, North America, Europe and South Asia, including advising the IFC in relation to investments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Joy is a projects, energy and infrastructure lawyer and provides legal advice covering all areas of project development and mergers and acquisitions of InfraCo Africa’s projects. Joy previously worked for Anjarwalla & Khanna’s projects practice advising sponsors, developers and investors of small scale and large scale infrastructure projects in the African region on the procurement, development, financing and delivery of such projects.

Fred provides legal advice relating to infrastructure and energy projects, particularly in relation to corporate M&A aspects, by working closely alongside members of the Legal and Asset Management Teams. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, Fred worked at White & Case and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei where he advised on all aspects of corporate M&A matters across a number of jurisdictions. He is a French qualified lawyer and is fluent in English and French.

Lee provides legal advice relating to Infraco Africa’s projects and supports the senior legal team. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, Lee worked at Anjarwalla and Khanna, Nairobi, where he advised on general corporate and commercial law, cross-border corporate M&A matters and also provided practical advice to clients on regulatory issues across an array of sectors, including energy, infrastructure, public private partnerships and procurement, tourism and hospitality, fintech, data protection and capital markets.

Blessing works with the company’s lawyers across its energy and infrastructure projects. She supports on key business areas as well as on corporate matters concerning the company’s operation. Blessing has a BSc Hons in Business and Law from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and an LPC with Masters from the University of Law, Moorgate.

Dominica is a corporate lawyer based in London and has a broad range of experience advising on private cross border M&A, corporate restructurings and general corporate advisory matters. Dominica previously worked at Norton Rose Fulbright advising UK and international clients on a broad range of corporate and banking transactions with a focus on emerging markets, and transactions across the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Sam is a business integrity expert with a focus on anti-bribery and corruption, AML/CFT and fraud prevention across the PIDG portfolio in Africa and Asia. Her work includes KYC, due diligence, investigations, training and audits. She played a key role in InfraCo Africa achieving and maintaining its ISO 37001 certification. Before joining InfraCo Africa, Sam was a Senior Legal Specialist, handling a variety of areas, including employment law.

Gabriel is a risk and compliance professional with wealth of experience in AML / KYC, risk management, business integrity investigations and training. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, Gabriel worked at Jubilee Life Insurance at the Association of Kenya Insurance undertaking due diligence and risk management. Gabriel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science and a Diploma in Insurance and he is also certified Investment and Financial Analyst.

Sinmi has a degree in Law from the University of Exeter and has over three years of experience working in Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. Prior to working at InfraCo Africa, Sinmi worked at Helios Investment Partners LLP, where she was responsible the firm’s KYC matters. Some of which included due diligence reviews, bank account openings and updating operational structure charts.

Before joining InfraCo Africa, Emma worked for the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya as a Legal and Compliance Officer and started her career at Safaricom PLC as a Legal Assistant. Emma is a advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Certified Public Secretary. She holds a Bachelor’s of Law from the University of Nairobi, a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law and has a Certified Public Secretaries Certificate. (Emma is currently on leave).

Zohra joins InfraCo Africa as Portfolio Finance Manager having previously worked as a Senior Finance Controller MEA for Sopra Banking Software in Casablanca and in business partnering and commercial finance roles with companies including Debenhams, Warner Bros and The Walt Disney Company where she gained experience in process optimisation and driving growth. Zohra holds a Master’s in Finance and Accounting and is a Batchelor in Business Management.

Paulina is a Corporate Accountant within InfraCo Africa’s Finance team. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, she worked as a Management Accountant at Rooster PR and as an Assistant Management Accountant at the UK’s biggest advertising agency, AMV BBDO. Paulina holds a BA Honours: Economics and International Relations Degree and is training to become a CIMA qualified accountant. (Paulina is currently on leave).

Matt joined InfraCo Africa’s Finance Team as a Financial Controls Manager after obtaining an MBA at Cranfield School of Management. Prior to this, Matt joined the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and held external audit roles with BDO LLP and RSM UK working with SMEs and listed clients within the TMT, biotech, and manufacturing sectors.

Lucia joined InfraCo Africa’s Finance team in 2019. She is currently training to become ACCA qualified accountant. Lucia has a number of years’ experience in Accounts payable functions working for hospitality, IT consulting and market research companies. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from University of Economics, Prague.

Cynthia is a Portfolio Accountant at InfraCo Africa, covering projects in East & Southern Africa.
She is involved in conducting due diligence on target companies and project valuation. Prior to joining InfraCo, Cynthia worked at PowerGen Renewable Energy East Africa Ltd as an Accountant. She has also worked at Gizaa Power Solutions Ltd and at Philips Pharmaceuticals. She has a strong foundation in accounting procedures and financial reporting, with extensive knowledge in the renewable energy sector.

Before joining InfraCo Africa as a Project Accountant (West and Central Africa) Niama worked as a Financial Auditor at Deloitte Morocco for 2 years.  She has been involved in legal, contractual, and due diligence audit assignments with major national and international clients operating in several business sectors. Niama holds a Master’s degree in Audit and Management Control.

Edna Mutegi is a Project Accountant at InfraCo Africa covering East & Southern Africa. Edna previously worked as a Senior Audit Associate at KPMG with 5 years’ experience in External Audit. She has also worked at Grant Thornton supporting clients in Outsourced Accounting services. She has a strong foundation in financial reporting, accounting principles, and auditing standards with extensive knowledge of various industries and business sectors, including manufacturing, retail, and financial services.

Beatrice is an Accounts Assistant at InfraCo Africa and is responsible for managing internal and external queries on invoices, supplier statement, expenses, payments and general accounting. She previously worked for Bedrock Security Services Limited where she gained experience in data analysis, financial analysis, public and corporate finance while working in the finance department.  Beatrice holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Finance and as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Daisy joined InfraCo Africa as an Accounts Assistant having previously worked as a Financial Administrative Officer for a multinational organisation, TLScontact – UKVI, BE, and DIBP, where she gained hands-on experience in budgeting, financial reporting and office administration. Daisy was a key member of the project team that onboarded new clients in Kenya, Addis Ababa, Rwanda and Uganda. Daisy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management (Accounting) and a qualified CPA.

Lucie is InfraCo Africa’s Sustainable Development Impact Analyst. As such, she is responsible for screening project opportunities and monitoring projects within the portfolio to ensure they align with the company’s strategy to maximise its impact on communities, markets and the planet. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa, she worked as a Gender Officer for the UN World Food Programme in Dakar, Senegal. Lucie holds a dual master’s degree in Public Policy (MPP) and Public Administration (MPA) from Science Po Paris and the London School of Economics and Political Science, obtained with Distinction.

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Lorna works across the business to deliver the company’s communications plan. She holds an MA in Social Anthropology with Development from the University of Edinburgh. Lorna previously worked for InfraCo Africa and PIDG in a freelance capacity, including writing elements of PIDG’s Annual Reviews from 2015 to 2017. She has experience of communications, fundraising and stakeholder management roles in the voluntary sector.

Sofia oversees recruitment, transfers, promotions and staff exits as set out in InfraCo Africa’s resource plan and holds Associate membership of CIPD. She supports the CEO with diary management and travel plans and mentors the company’s Office Managers. Sofia also supports with the Operational side of the African offices.  She has over 25 years of administrative experience having previously worked as a Team Assistant at the Bank of England, and as a General Manager for the world’s largest office provider, Regus.

Ilham graduated in Marketing and International Trade and worked in International Trade & Logistics for 6 years. She worked as an Executive Assistant, moving towards HR, Management Support, Finance and Accounting, and has been an Office Manager for nine years.  In 2018, by joining Gaia Energy, Ilham discovered the Renewable Energy world and strengthened her knowledge and skills by working on the daily management of cash flow/budgets of Gepa Platform projects with the IFC team.

Barbara manages operations at InfraCo Africa’s Nairobi office. She previously spent 13 years at African Alliance Kenya Investment Bank’s Capital Markets Division in various capacities including Corporate Access Liaison and Head of Client Service, coordinating meetings on behalf of institutional clients. Barbara was lead coordinator for the annual African Alliance Investor Conference.