Board of Directors

Oliver is an Executive Director and the Chief Investment Officer. His oversight functions include end to end origination and execution of transactions for AFC. An entrepreneurial engineer and transport economist with extensive background in engineering, transport and project finance, Oliver has over 30 years’ experience in the infrastructure sector as an infrastructure project developer, financier and strategic adviser.

He has successfully directed numerous infrastructure deals in Africa leading project development teams providing strategic, policy, program and commercial advice on infrastructure development issues to development financial institutions, international blue chip corporations, and Governments both in Africa and Europe.

Oliver is a former CEO of TCI Infrastructure Limited (TCII) and the Gambia Ports Authority. He holds an MBA from the University of Wales, and is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer, a Chartered Marketer and also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics.

Gilles comes to us from Engie (ex GDF Suez) and was most recently based in Casablanca where he was responsible for business development in North Africa. He has been developing infrastructure projects for the last 20 years. This has included the new natural gas distribution network of Lima (Peru), wind farms in eastern Romania, a wind farm in Egypt, and recently a sea water desalination plant in southern Morocco. He is passionate about environmental sustainability and socioeconomic development models that improve living standards while not compromising our precious environmental heritage.

Gilles brings a range of multi-disciplinary skills spanning business/project development, engineering, operations, economic analysis and a strong project management mindset. He has a master’s degree in engineering from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium) and an MBA from the George Washington University (USA). Gilles is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Dutch.

Paul Biggs is the Senior Partner of Trinity.
Paul’s experience is extensive and ranges across the power, telecoms, electricity, ports/airports and infrastructure sectors. Paul’s focus on Africa started over 16 years ago at CDC (Commonwealth Development Corporation) and he has become a renowned expert and regular commentator on the continent. Paul was previously head of Project Finance at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft in London and, before that, head of the Africa Group at CMS Cameron McKenna.
Paul’s experience includes advising lenders to a US$1 billion pipeline financing; representing developers of IPPs in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Gambia and South Africa; a pioneering MBO in Zambia; an aquaculture development in Madagascar; upstream and downstream oil and gas transactions; and various other corporate, financing and other transactions across the continent. Paul is also a non-executive director of Gasol PLC (AIM-listed).

Gad Cohen is eleQtra’s Chief Executive Officer (New York & London) and one of its three co-founding Partners. Gad has over 20 years’ professional experience in the development and financing of infrastructure projects in the power and transportation sectors.
Prior to co-founding eleQtra, he held a series of senior positions with ABB Equity Ventures, the development and equity investment arm of ABB Ltd, including as Head of the Global Power Group where he was responsible for the development of and investments in power generation projects worldwide. Mr Cohen began his career as an attorney at the law firm White & Case, where he advised financial institutions and project sponsors in connection with infrastructure financings worldwide.
Gad Cohen is a graduate of McGill University where he received a bachelor of law (LL.B) and a bachelor of civil law (B.C.L.).

Prior to establishing International Proximity, Suzanne practised for four years at the London Bar and for five years at the Mauritian Bar where she specialised in corporate/commercial law. She also ran the first offshore management company to be licensed in Mauritius.

Suzanne holds a MA (Hons) degree in Law from Cambridge University and is a barrister of the Bar of England and Wales and the Bar of Mauritius.

Andrew Johnstone has overall responsibility for the establishment of the Climate Investor One initiative and is responsible for the delivery of all fund management services to Climate Investor One.
Andrew has led and guided the start-up and growth of infrastructure businesses in Africa, on the ground, and in regions such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa but also in Brazil and Bangladesh. Andrew is one of Africans most experienced and successful dealmakers, equity investors and creator of businesses in the infrastructure sector in Africa. He has 30 years of experience in the execution of 32 acquisitions, 8 disposals and 4 asset refinancing events across a variety of infrastructure sectors in Africa and was actively involved in the structuring, raising and deploying of five unlisted infrastructure fund vehicles in Africa.
Prior to Phoenix, Andrew was the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) for 13 years, being a key contributor to AIIM’s successful track record; and was the chairman of Macquarie Africa from 2008 to 2014.
Andrew holds Master degrees in Civil Engineering and Business Management.

Vuyo was appointed Co-Managing Director in August 2020. Vuyo has two decades of investment experience and has been involved in private infrastructure investing in Africa since 2003.
Prior to moving into the Co-Managing Director role, Vuyo was the Co-Portfolio Manager of the IDEAS Managed Fund, which primarily focuses on infrastructure investment and development assets in the SADC region, where he was primarily responsible for the post-acquisition management of the fund’s more than 30 investments, in addition to overall fund management. Vuyo joined AIIM in 2003 and has been involved in the management of AIIM’s funds since joining the team, with responsibility for originating, analysing and implementing investments for the funds. Vuyo was initially involved in the build-up of the South Africa Infrastructure Fund’s (“SAIF”) holdings in South African toll roads, including additional stakes in TRAC, N3TC and Bakwena. In addition, Vuyo was involved in the early refinancing of these toll road assets. Vuyo also played a leading role in AIIM’s pioneer investment outside South Africa, the Lekki Concession Company. More recently, Vuyo led the investment of AIIM Fund’s into Cenpower IPP power project Tema Ghana and Albatros Energy Mali power station, the first IPP in Mali.

Vuyo holds a number of directorships, including positions on the boards of some of AIIM’s portfolio companies. He is also a Trustee of the Africa Infrastructure Developers Association (AFiDA) and a board member of the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA). Vuyo is a Director on the AIIM Board and is a member of the Executive Committee, while also serving as a member of the Investment Committees of AIIF2, AIIF3 and the IDEAS Managed Fund.

Prior to joining AIIM, Vuyo was an investment analyst and strategist in the Research and Investment Management team at ipac South Africa, an investment management and consulting company that was then within the Brait Group.

An infrastructure developer, civil engineer and investment banker with over 25 years of experience in the public and private sector across various infrastructure sectors in Africa. Amadou has directly and in a supporting capacity successfully originated, closed and commissioned several road, bridge, power, natural resources and heavy industry projects across the continent. He has extensive experience developing and successfully managing infrastructure projects in complex socio-political working environments.
Amadou is currently a Senior Director Project Development and Technical Solutions at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) where he also previously served between 2008 and 2015 as a Senior Vice President and Head of the Project Development Division. Amadou successfully realized several landmark infrastructure projects across the continent and also served as a Non-Executive Board Director for the US$1.3 billion Bakwena Toll Road Concession Company (South Africa) and the US$350 million Henri Konan Bedie toll bridge in Côte d’Ivoire.

Prior to re-joining AFC in 2018, Amadou was the Director Development at Black Rhino (2015 to 2018), the Africa portfolio company of US private equity giant Blackstone (with over US$300 billion worth of assets under its management). At Black Rhino, Amadou led the development of a 540MW power project in Nigeria and supported the development of other infrastructure projects in Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Amadou also served as a Consultant engineering area manager for Eastern and Southern Africa operations based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a Dubai based engineering consulting firm (UNETEC Ltd). At UNETEC, Amadou managed a portfolio of major airports, roads and bridge projects across the region.
Amadou additionally, has extensive public sector experience having held the post of Deputy Director of Public Works at the Gambia Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, with responsibility for policy formulation and project management including being the coordinator of the EU financed Roads Program and the project manager for the Kombo Coastal Roads project.

Amadou completed an MBA program at the Nottingham University Business School in the United Kingdom in September 2005. He also holds an MSc degree in Transportation and road engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland in the USA.