AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets has appointed Jeffrey Woodard as a principal in the infrastructure equity team.
He will be responsible for leading origination and investment execution into the OECD infrastructure equity market, initially focused on Western Europe and spanning transportation, energy, water, digital and social infrastructure.
AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets’ infrastructure program launched in 2013, and invests in four key areas of direct property and infrastructure investments, and private and listed debt. In November 2016, AXA IM – Real Assets announced the new infrastructure equity team’s first direct investment into the infrastructure sector, with the acquisition, on behalf of its clients, of a 42 percent stake in Atlandes, the concession-holder of the A63 motorway in South-West France.
“The infrastructure sector is becoming increasingly attractive as an asset class, and we are excited to be able to leverage our capabilities to build a diversified portfolio of assets that will aim to deliver long-term stable income,” said Ruulke Bagijn, global head of real assets private equity at AXA IM – Real Asset, in a statement.
Woodard has more than 15 years’ experience in the asset management sector, including the last 10 in the infrastructure sector, having joined AXA IM – Real Assets from UBS Asset Management, where he had worked since 2000. While at UBS Asset Management, he was the executive director on the firm’s UBS real estate and private markets infrastructure and private equity team. He was responsible forboth deal origination and execution, as well as management of existing European investments.
The appointment follows the hire of Mark Gilligan as head of infrastructure equity in October 2016.