Board Directors

Helen Tarnoy, Founder & Managing Director

After working in general management for the start-up operation of a British engineering company in Central and Eastern Europe, Helen worked for a number of years as a researcher and business consultant before joining The AES Corporation in 1997. There she led business development efforts in Central and Eastern Europe and subsequently Africa, including the financing of the successful Songas project in Tanzania. Helen subsequently spent two years as Director General of the Cameroon integrated utility, Sonel, with a workforce of 3500 people and a turnover of some $180m. Helen is a BA and MA arts graduate from Oxford University.

Mark Fitzpatrick, Founder & Executive Director

Following an early career in power engineering, design and construction, Mark joined The AES Corporation in 1984. From then until 2003 he led early greenfield and acquisition efforts in the US, followed by expansion into the UK, the rest of Europe, central Asia and Africa and growing the London-based organisation from 2 people in 1990 to over 5000 in 2002. Mark completed his career at AES as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Latin America, where he was responsible for restructuring the company's businesses and achieving profitability in an $8bn workout. Mark is a mechanical engineer by training and has a BSME and an MSME from Purdue University.

Huub Cornelissen, FMO

After having worked for United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Zaire and Indonesia, Huub joined the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Eindhoven where he taught Industrial Development to graduate students. In 1990 he started his career at FMO as a senior investment officer in the Africa and Asia department. After a short period heading the IT department Huub was appointed director of the credit department and chairman of FMO's credit committee. Subsequently Huub became director of the Europe and Central Asia department and has recently been appointed director of the Energy and Housing department. Huub graduated as an industrial engineer of the Eindhoven University of Technology.

Solomon Nortje, Infrastructure Equity Investments, Absa Capital

Sollie is responsible for selecting, appraising and managing infrastructure equity investments on behalf of Absa Capital, on the African continent, focusing on equity and mezzanine investments in infrastructure concessions, operating companies and service delivery organisations. He also manages Absa Capital's investment in external infrastructure funds, e.g. PAIDF. Prior to this Sollie headed up the Project Finance Infrastructure Division of Absa Capital, being responsible for debt origination in the PPP, Infrastructure with particular emphasis on PPP initiatives and limited recourse funding as well as for Limited Recourse transactions in the industrial sector. Earlier in his career Sollie held the position of Associate Director, Structured and Project Finance at PSG Investment Bank as well as Assistant General Manager for 4 years at Nedcor Investment Bank in the Public Sector Project & Structured Finance Division. From 1981 to 1995, Sollie was employed as General Manager, Development Bank of Southern Africa being responsible for all project funding activities in Northern and Eastern Regions of S.A and funding in Southern Africa. Sollie obtained a MCom: Thod, CAIB degree.

Tshepo Mahloele, Chief Executive Officer, Harith Fund Managers

Tshepo has over 15 years transactional experience in private equity, investment banking and project finance, including responsibility for (i) RSA's Public Investment Corporation's US$2.6bn Isibaya Fund, where, as Head of Corporate Finance, he concluded US$1.9bn of investments over a 3 year period, achieving outstanding returns from 2003-2005; and (ii) a US$600m DBSA portfolio across Southern Africa. Tshepo has held investment management positions with CDC Group PLC (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation) and Rand Merchant Bank; winner of South Africa's Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) Financier of the Year Award for both 2003 and 2004. He was involved in financing the ground-breaking Maputo Toll Road, the first major infrastructure project financing in South Africa. Tshepo holds a B. Proc. from Rhodes University.

Roberto Nunes Ferreira, Investment Director, Harith Fund Managers

Roberto has 15 years of investment banking experience, and was previously with Standard Bank, Absa Capital and the International Finance Corporation. He has worked on numerous African and international projects, focused primarily on limited recourse project, export and acquisition finance in the power and natural resources sectors. Most recently, Roberto led Absa Capital's participation as a Mandated Lead Arranger in the US$672m project finance facility for the Bujagali Hydropower Project in Uganda, and PAIDF's investment of US$20m in Aldwych International Ltd. Roberto holds an M.Phil (cum laude) from University of Johannesburg and an MBA from Manchester Business School.