Macquarie appoints new CEO at Mexican fund

Macquarie has appointed Jonathan Walbridge as chief executive of Macquarie Mexican Infrastructure Fund (MMIF), the Australian fund manager’s first managed fund in Latin America which is also the first peso-denominated fund focused solely on investment opportunities in Mexican infrastructure projects.

Walbridge, who is a managing director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), most recently served as chief operating officer of MMIF when he joined MIRA’s Mexico City office in July 2013. He will replace Nick O’Neill, who will focus on the broader Latin American efforts of MIRA, according to a press release.

Before joining MIRA’s Mexico City office, Walbridge was based in London for eight years where he was part of the senior management team in MIRA’s unlisted funds business with a focus on the energy and transportation sectors.

“Mexico is a very important region for Macquarie and we are committed to having the best and most experienced individuals as part of our team here,” MMIF chairman Jonathan Davis Arzac said. “Jonathan has focused on M&A and infrastructure over the span of his career, which will serve MMIF well as we focus on deploying our remaining capital into growth investments across infrastructure projects in Mexico.”

MMIF comprises two trusts: Macquarie Mexican Infrastructure Trusts I and II, which are managed by Macquarie México Infrastructure Management, which operates within MIRA, a division of Macquarie Group.

MMIF targets investments in a number of infrastructure sectors, including transportation, water, energy and utilities, communications and social infrastructure.

In addition to infrastructure, MIRA also invests in real estate, agriculture and energy. As of December 31, 2013, it had $136 billion of assets under management across 52 funds and 27 countries.