Strategy

QIC’s Matina Papathanasiou to depart firm

Matina Papathanasiou, who co-founded QIC’s infrastructure business 17 years ago, will retire from the firm in October.

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Matina Papathanasiou

A co-founder of Brisbane-based asset manager QIC’s infrastructure investment division, Matina Papathanasiou, is set to leave the firm.

Papathanasiou, who established QIC’s infrastructure business alongside Ross Israel, the firm’s head of global infrastructure, has been with QIC since 2006. She will retire in October, after a 35-year career in the market that includes stints with AMP Capital and Macquarie Group.

In a statement, the firm said Papathanasiou had been key to building its infrastructure business which spans 23 assets across six countries and currently sits at A$29 billion ($19.4 billion; €18.1 billion). “Matina has been at the heart of building the successful business we have today and QIC Infrastructure is very grateful for all her support and contribution in establishing and growing the business,” QIC said.

QIC launched its first Global Infrastructure Fund in 2015 with a A$1.75 billion target, reaching a A$2.35 billion close in March 2017 after garnering commitments from 20 LPs in Australasia, China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe. It then raised an additional A$1 billion for the fund, hitting the hard-cap for that extension in late 2021. It re-entered the market with the launch of QGIF II in late 2022.

As part of the transition towards her departure, she will step down from Hobart Airport’s board next month. She will remain on the firm’s infrastructure investment committee and stay on as a director on renewable energy platform Tilt Renewables until she leaves the firm.

QIC also recently lost its global head of infrastructure debt, Andrew Jones, who retired two years after being appointed to lead the firm’s private credit efforts. In a LinkedIn post in February, Jones said he would “support the business through an advisory/investment committee position and look forward to contributing through these roles”.

Jones, who was AMP Capital’s global head of infrastructure debt for 20 years before departing to join QIC, was replaced by Simon La Greca. La Greca, who worked alongside Jones as part of AMP Capital’s infrastructure debt business, was most recently head of infrastructure debt in Asia.