National Grid chief joins IFM in Houston

Australian fund manager IFM Investors has appointed Tom King as senior adviser in the latest boost to its North American infrastructure team.

In this new role, King will be responsible for providing advice on new investments and portfolio companies, primarily in the energy and utilities sectors. He was previously the chairman and president of electric utility National Grid in the US and a member of the parent company’s board in the UK.

“As one of the leading practitioners in the energy infrastructure sector, Tom has extensive experience working with critical stakeholders from the public sector to strategic partners,” Julio Garcia, IFM’s head of infrastructure for North America, said in a statement. “Tom’s appointment further strengthens our experience and capabilities in the energy sector both in North America and globally.”

His 30 year-long career also includes top-level positions such as chief executive of Pacific Gas and Electric as well as president and chief operating officer of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.

Based in Melbourne, IFM also has offices in New York, London, Sydney, Berlin and Tokyo. In 2014, it opened its Houston office after closing on its $1.1 billion investment into Freeport LNG Investments, one of the limited partners of Freeport LNG Development, which owns and operates an existing liquid natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal near Freeport, Texas. The investment was in addition to the $1.3 billion IFM invested in the Freeport LNG Train 2 facility.

North America is also home to IFM’s largest overseas investment to date: the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company, for which IFM paid $5.7 billion earlier this year.

Founded more than 20 years ago and owned by 30 major Australian pension funds, IFM’s total assets under management stood at $46 billion as of October 30, 2015. Of the total, approximately $21 billion is invested in infrastructure equity and debt assets.