Two managing partners lead Cube Infra senior exits

Two managing partners at Cube Infrastructure Managers are set to exit the firm and retire, amid three other senior staff departures, Infrastructure Investor understands.

Henri Piganeau and Jérôme Jeauffroy are stepping down and retiring, having joined in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Piganeau had led on the management of Cube’s communication infrastructure, renewable energy and environment assets. Jeauffroy led on public transport, energy supply and power generation. In their steads, Stéphane Calas will lead Cube’s telecoms and electric vehicle charging activities, Saket Trivedi will head the energy sector and Stefan Weis will oversee the transport and environment sectors, a source said. The trio were all promoted to partner level last year.

Piganeau and Jeauffroy’s departures also come alongside that of Caroline Kragerud, Cube’s head of investor relations, with a source confirming she has agreed a new role at a renewable energy fund. Marc-Olivier Kiren and Sandrine Leclercq, Cube’s head of risk management and general counsel, respectively, are also leaving the firm. Theirs and Kragerud’s departures are not believed to be linked to Piganeau’s and Jeauffroy’s.

Cube is, however, set to announce a senior hire next month. Emmanuel Rogy is expected to join following a 19-year tenure at BNP Paribas, where he currently serves as head of international sanctions. He has also been the French bank’s global head of project finance and head of energy and commodity finance in EMEA. It is unclear at this stage what his official title will be.

Rogy is expected to work closely with Renaud de Matharel, chief executive since Cube’s formation in 2005.

A spokeswoman for the firm said that Cube does not comment on internal organisation matters.

The management reorganisation comes amid the announcement of the €1.35 billion final close of Cube Infrastructure Fund III last week, after a first close of €1 billion in September 2021. The final close fell slightly short of its €1.5 billion target, mirroring the fortunes of its predecessor, which saw Cube Infrastructure Fund II close in July 2019 on €1 billion, short of its €1.2 billion target.

Cube’s funds typically target a gross IRR of 12-15 percent. However, Fund II was generating a -0.3 percent net return at the end of Q1 this year, according to data from the Maine Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has invested in all three of Cube’s flagship funds. The 2010-vintage debut fund, which raised €1 billion, was generating an 8 percent net IRR, although these return figures may have been impacted by foreign currency adjustments.

Separate to its flagship series, Cube was selected in 2016 by the European Investment Bank to manage the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund, targeting investments in broadband network infrastructure across underserved areas in Europe. With a mix of public and private funding, the fund exceeded its €500 million target in June 2021, closing on €555 million. Another sector-focused fund – Cube Zero Carbon Fund – was launched last year with support from EIB successor the European Investment Fund, although this process is believed to have been halted.