Industry Funds Management (IFM), the Australian fund manager owned by 30 superannuation funds, has hired Nicolas Villen as an external senior adviser to its $7.1 billion Global Infrastructure Fund, the firm announced Tuesday.
Villen is a veteran of Spanish infrastructure conglomerate Ferrovial, where he served as chief executive from 1993 to 2009 and chief executive of Ferrovial Aeropuertos, the company’s airports division, from 2009 to 2012.
During his 20-year stint at Ferrovial, Villen also held board positions in airports operator BAA (now known as Heathrow Airport Holdings), transport concessionaire Cintra, services provider Amey, and the Indiana Toll Road, among others.
At IFM, Villen will be tasked with “enhancing strategic industry relationships in Spain and Latin America,” the Australian fund manager said.
Villen is the latest addition to a growing roster of senior advisers for IFM’s Global Infrastructure Fund. The fund manager has 11 such advisers, four of which have been appointed over the last year.
Recent hires include Alec Dreyer, former chief executive of the Port of Houston Authority; Keith Forman, former partner of Crestwood Midstream Partners; and Dr. Uwe Franke, the former chairman of BP Europe. They will help drive IFM’s expansion into the US and German markets.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, IFM manages over $40 billion across infrastructure, debt, private equity, and listed equity portfolios. It has offices in Sydney, London, New York and Berlin.