QIC Infrastructure is prioritising the long-term durability of its A$34 billion infrastructure portfolio by expanding its sustainability capability with the creation of new specialist roles dedicated to resilience and innovation.
Andrew Sellick, Principal – Sustainability, QIC Infrastructure said as responsible stewards of essential infrastructure assets, a focus on resilience, innovation and sustainability management will help to underpin robust long-term investment outcomes for our clients.
“Sustainability has transformed from a narrow view on the environmental impact of a business to a broad cross section of internal and external issues which are strategic, expanding in breadth and accelerating at a rapid pace.
“There are challenges from the pace of technological change to the transition to a low-carbon economy which, when layered with physical climate risk, cyber threats and geopolitical tensions, mean a focus on resilience and innovation and a proactive approach to stakeholder management is more critical than ever.
“These dimensions can impact company valuations, are key to growth prospects, and ultimately, have the potential to impact a company’s ability to deliver returns for shareholders and maintain its social licence to operate,” Andrew said.
“Investors in infrastructure assets are attracted to the asset class for its stable and consistent returns, long-term nature and alignment with activities that help communities and societies prosper, and thus require a strategic sustainability approach to meet the needs of many shareholders.”
Andrew said having the specialist capability and experience to understand the impacts of these sustainability trends, factor them into our origination approach and investment decision making, and to support and guide the Board and management teams of portfolio companies through our active asset management approach is critical.
To meet these emerging priorities, sustainability professionals Timothy Grech and Julian Loh have recently taken up positions in what is now QIC Infrastructure’s sustainability, innovation and resilience specialist team. They will play important roles focusing on the issues QIC believes will shape the industry now and into the future. They join Andrew who leads the QIC Infrastructure sustainability specialist function, and Johanna Blom, who joined the team last year.
Timothy Grech, QIC Infrastructure, Sustainability Manager (Resilience)
Julian Loh, QIC Infrastructure, Sustainability Manager (Decarbonisation, Innovation and Nature)
Timothy Grech joins as Sustainability Manager (Resilience). He has previously worked for KPMG’s Sustainability and Climate Change team, and for Rail Projects Victoria where he was the Sustainability Discipline Lead on various major transport infrastructure projects. At QIC, Timothy will focus on providing specialist support to the team and portfolio companies around physical climate change risk, cyber risk and broader resilience management. He holds a Master of Engineering (Environmental) and a Bachelor of Environments (Civil Systems).
Julian Loh joins as Sustainability Manager (Decarbonisation, Innovation and Nature). He has previously worked for Cromwell Property Group, an ASX listed property funds manager and investor where he led the Global Net Zero strategy, co-led the Group Sustainable Finance Framework to incentivise decarbonisation as well as the execution of Cromwell’s ESG strategy. He was recently named the Green Building Council of Australia’s Future Green Leader of the Year 2024. Prior to Cromwell, he worked in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services team. At QIC, Julian will provide support to our team and portfolio companies around NZE, management of the climate and energy transition, technology and innovation and the rapidly emerging topic of nature. He holds a Master of Engineering (Hons) (Mechanical Engineering).
Johanna Blom joined the team last year in the role of Sustainability Manager (Social Impact). Johanna previously worked for Oil Search Ltd (now Santos Ltd), where she focused on integrating sustainability thinking into company strategy, governance and disclosure – with a particular focus on social performance areas. Previously, she worked in EY sustainability’s practice. At QIC, her role includes providing specialist ESG and sustainability advice focused on supporting our team in delivering positive social impact and enabling the growth of portfolio companies through the way they build relationships with their customers, supply chain, communities and employees. Johanna is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Arts in International Studies.
QIC Infrastructure’s specialist capabilities also include dedicated investment professionals with a focus on debt and financing; people, culture and operations; legal; and tax and risk. These teams are critical in supporting QIC Infrastructure’s sector centric investment team which is focused on three sectors Energy and Utilities, Transport, and Social and Healthcare.
Further information
QIC is a long-term specialist manager in alternatives offering infrastructure, real estate, private capital, private debt, natural capital, liquid strategies and multi-asset investments. It is one of the largest institutional investment managers in Australia, with A$111bn (US$72bn) in funds under management. QIC has over 900 employees and serves approximately 115 clients. Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, QIC also has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, San Francisco and London. For more information, please visit: www.qic.com. (as at 31 March 2024)
About QIC Infrastructure
QIC is a long-term infrastructure investor with an established international platform, an active management approach and a proven 17-year track record. With an international team of 87 professionals across five offices, QIC Infrastructure manages A$33.9bn (US$22.1bn) across 22 international direct investments and has realised in excess of A$15.2bn back to its clients. QIC has managed A$7.1bn in Australian energy assets since 2007 across the energy value chain. (as at 31 March 2024)
QIC Limited ACN 130 539 123 (“QIC”) is a wholesale funds manager, and its products and services are not directly available to, and this document may not be provided to any, retail clients. QIC is a company government owned corporation constituted under the Queensland Investment Corporation Act 1991 (QLD). QIC is also regulated by State Government legislation pertaining to government owned corporations in addition to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (“Corporations Act”). QIC does not hold an Australian financial services (“AFS”) licence and certain provisions (including the financial product disclosure provisions) of the Corporations Act do not apply to QIC. Other wholly owned subsidiaries of QIC do hold AFS licences and are required to comply with relevant provisions of the Corporations Act. QIC also has wholly owned subsidiaries authorised, registered or licensed by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Korean Financial Services Commission. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.
For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.
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