Meridiam North America names COO

Meridiam Infrastructure has named Thilo Tecklenburg its chief operating officer for North America, effective January 2015, as the global infrastructure asset manager further expands its investment footprint in the region, according to a statement.

Tecklenburg replaces Olivier Garnier, who was recently appointed global risk officer, the statement said.

Meridiam considers the North American infrastructure market to be “in the starting blocks” for “extraordinary growth” in 2015, and Tecklenburg’s experience in public-private partnership (PPP; P3) business development will be a valuable addition to the team, said Jane Garvey, Meridiam North America chairman.

Before joining Meridiam in October 2013, Tecklenburg was head of Bilfinger Project Investments’ development team in North America, where he was responsible for business development and the pursuit of P3 projects within the North American marketplace.

He has extensive experience with availability-type P3 projects and has led consortia for projects in several Canadian provinces and US states, totalling a committed finance volume of over $5 billion.

Tecklenburg played an active role in securing Bilfinger’s first P3 project in the US, the East End Crossing Project in Indiana, and was also instrumental in the company’s efforts to enter new sectors, according to the statement.

Meridiam currently manages $3.5 billion of assets, and has to date invested in 32 projects.