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28 March 2023  |  Schiphol

Changes to DIF Capital Partners’ Executive Committee

The Supervisory Board of DIF Management B.V. is pleased to announce changes to the composition of its Executive Committee (ExCo) designed to create a more effective and focused governance body.

DIF’s ExCo is responsible for the daily operations of the firm and ultimately for the execution of the investment strategies of the funds. The ExCo leads the organisation, sets policies and oversees performance versus strategic objectives.

Given the growth of the firm over recent years, DIF has concluded that a more streamlined ExCo will optimize the efforts of DIF’s partners and ensure the ExCo’s continued effectiveness.

Therefore, as from 15 February 2023, the ExCo of DIF Capital Partners consists of five members:

  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Wim Blaasse
  • Deputy CEO: Gijs Voskuyl
  • Chief Investment Officer (CIO): Allard Ruijs
  • Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Zaina Ahmed-Karim
  • Chief Risk Officer (CRO): Anne Snel-Simmons

Wim Blaasse continues to act as DIF’s CEO (Managing Partner), the chairman of the ExCo and the chairman of all of DIF’s investment committees.

Gijs Voskuyl has been appointed DIF’s Deputy CEO, a new role in the ExCo, taking over a number of responsibilities from Wim with regards to managing the broader DIF organisation. Gijs joined DIF in 2008 and has played an instrumental role in a large number of transactions over the last 15 years. Gijs will continue his lead role managing the traditional DIF funds (including DIF Infrastructure VII).

Allard Ruijs has been appointed Chief Investment Officer (CIO). This is a new role within DIF and will involve overseeing the development of all of DIF’s investment strategies, which includes deal oversight  from origination and execution, through to asset management and ultimately exit. Allard will continue to oversee DIF’s investor relation activities and will continue to act as vice-chairman of the investment committees of all DIF-managed funds. He joined DIF in 2007 in the investment team. From 2012 through 2022, Allard was Head of Investor Relations & Business Development.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as well as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) roles will remain unchanged and are filled respectively by Zaina Ahmed-Karim and Anne Snel-Simmons. Zaina and Anne joined DIF in 2022 and 2018, respectively.

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets has approved the appointments and the Works Council has given its positive advice.

With the streamlining of the ExCo and the creation of the Deputy CEO and CIO roles, DIF believes it is well-positioned for the next chapter of its successful growth journey.

 

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with more than EUR 15 billion of AUM. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 210 professionals in 11 offices, DIF Capital Partners offers a unique market approach combining global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu.

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9 March 2023  |  Schiphol

Meet our experts at the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit from 20-23 March

Eleven more days to go until the start of the annual Infrastructure Investor Global Summit in Berlin!

Meet our Investor Relations team and make sure not to miss out on what three of our thought leaders have to say in their respective panel sessions:

  • Our Head of Digital Infrastructure and Managing Director Kanan Joshi will speak on digital infrastructure;
  • Partner and Head of Instructure Gijs Voskuyl will be on a panel on the global infrastructure landscape;
  • Last but not least, partner and Head of CIF Willem Jansonius will talk about energy transition.

See you in Berlin from 20-23 March!

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8 March 2023  |  London

DIF International Women’s Day panel

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. But it also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality, as there’s still a lot of work to do!

The 2023 International Women’s Day theme is #EmbraceEquity.

To mark the occasion, DIF held a thought-provoking IWD livestream event on Monday. We had the pleasure of welcoming Maggie Alphonsi as our keynote speaker.

Maggie is a former English Rugby Union player and she gave us her unique perspective as a sportswoman, coach and commentator in the male dominated world of rugby.

Maggie joined the panel discussion alongside Lorna Shearin (Jefferies International), Anna Baumbach (Palladio Partners), Laverne McGuinness (The Talbot Group), our CFO Zaina Ahmed-Karim and our HR Director Marlous van Wouwe.

The panel covered numerous topics, including gender equality in the financial industry, inspiring role models, allyship, unconscious bias and personal experiences. All panellists provided insightful views on each of the topics as well as some thoughtful ways on how to take the next step in gender equality.

A big thank you to all speakers and the DIF team that made this event possible: Josefin Muehlbauer, Carmen Martín Pejenaute, CFA, Sasha Roberts, Andrew Freeman, Gijs Voskuyl and our HR team!