I Squared Capital Announces Senior Hires to Capitalize on Dynamic Infrastructure Investing Landscape

February 01, 2024 at 09:00 AM EST

Brian Collett, former LAGERS CIO, joins as Managing Director
Michael Kumar, Morgan Stanley veteran, appointed Senior Policy Advisor

I Squared Capital, a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, announced today that Brian Collett and Michael Kumar have joined the firm. Brian Collett is joining as a Managing Director to engage and work with Institutional investors on strategic infrastructure investment opportunities. Michael Kumar is joining as a Senior Policy Advisor to advise I Squared on capital markets activities.

These senior hires represent a concerted effort by I Squared to ensure the firm stays ahead of portfolio companies’ needs and the expectations of our investment partners. Both Brian and Michael bring unique expertise and experience to I Squared that will sharpen our investing capabilities, deepen our relationships with our investors and offer valuable support to our portfolio companies.

“I am delighted to welcome these two seasoned investment professionals to I Squared who are well known to the firm and highly respected within the industry. Their combined expertise will help us continue to capitalize on the extraordinary opportunity we see in infrastructure investing.” said Sadek Wahba, Chairman & Managing Partner of I Squared.

Mr. Collett was previously Chief Investment Officer of the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS), one of Missouri’s largest public pension systems for local government employees, where he oversaw more than $10 billion in assets. Mr. Collett has a demonstrated track record of building successful teams and portfolios, scaling businesses, and streamlining operations. In addition, he brings a deep understanding of the public pension fund ecosystem that will help both our investor relations and investment teams service this key constituency.

Mr. Kumar was most recently at Morgan Stanley as Global Head of Project, Commodity and Infrastructure Finance. During his 26-year career at Morgan Stanley, Michael was responsible for Asset and Aviation Finance and Global Structured Products, and advised and raised over $100 billion in capital for projects globally. In addition, Michael was responsible for Morgan Stanley’s investments and portfolio in renewable energy projects, including two operating platforms across Montana, Texas and Canada.

About I Squared Capital

I Squared Capital is an independent global infrastructure manager with over $38 billion in assets under management focused on investing in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has more than 240 professionals across its offices in Singapore, London, New Delhi, Taipei, and Sydney. I Squared Capital has invested in a diverse portfolio of 81 companies with over 66,000 employees in 71 countries across the utilities, energy, digital infrastructure, transport, environmental infrastructure, and social infrastructure sectors providing essential services to millions of people around the world.

Biographies

Brian Collett, B.Sc, MBA, CFA, CAIA

Brian is a highly regarded non-executive director and Chief Investment Officer, most recently for Missouri LAGERS, one of Missouri’s largest retirement systems, where he was responsible for the management of LAGERS’ $10 billion investment portfolio and served as the investment advisor to LAGERS’ Board of Trustees.

Under his leadership, the LAGERS investment portfolio produced a return of 8.50% net of fees for the last ten years ending June 30, 2023, exceeding the assumed rate of return of 7.0%. Over this time frame, the portfolio has also outperformed LAGERS’ Policy Benchmark by 1.54%.

Prior to his CIO position, Brian held various positions across the investment industry including Senior Research Manager for the South Carolina Retirement Systems and a Senior Technology Analyst for the Russell Investment Group.

Brian holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Marian University and an MBA from Butler University. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.

Michael Kumar

Michael joins from Morgan Stanley, where he spent the last 26 years, most recently as Global Head of Project, Commodity and Infrastructure Finance. During his career at Morgan Stanley, Michael was responsible for Asset and Aviation Finance, Global Structured Products and was responsible for creating two securities joint ventures in Japan with MUFG.

In addition, Michael was responsible for Morgan Stanley's investments and portfolio in renewable energy projects, including two operating platforms across Montana, Texas and Canada. In these roles, Michael was responsible for capital raising and advisory across infrastructure and energy. In his time with Morgan Stanley, Michael advised and raised over $100 billion in capital for projects globally.

Michael served on a number of advisory committees at Morgan Stanley including the Management and Operating Committees for the Global Capital Markets division, the advisory board and investment committee for Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, The Global Solutions Committee and the advisory committee for Morgan Stanley's joint ventures in Japan.

Last year, Michael was appointed Deputy Chairman at the Klesch Group, a commodities group specializing in the production and trading of oil, chemicals and metals.

Prior to his career in finance, Michael served as a Captain in the U.S. Army on active and reserve duty from 1989 to 2002. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240130839870/en/

Contacts

Media Contact for I Squared Capital

Dominic McMullan

+1 (786) 794-2861

media@isquaredcapital.com

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I Squared Capital Announces Senior Hires to Capitalize on Dynamic Infrastructure Investing Landscape

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