AMP Capital, an infrastructure-focussed investment manager backed by Australian pension firm AMP Ltd, has appointed Thomas Preising, a former top executive at Apple Inc., to advise on its India-specific investment opportunities, it said in a statement.
Early last year, VCCircle reported that AMP Capital was screening opportunities in the Indian aviation and healthcare sectors.
Preising had joined Apple in 2004 as the operations director for the firm’s European division, following which he was the sales director of Apple India between 2009 and 2011.
As an adviser at AMP Capital, Preising, who will be based out of Delhi, will provide insights to the firm’s investment and asset management teams.
“Tom’s unique career and experiences will be a great resource for our teams, and his appointment reflects AMP Capital’s aim to be a global destination for talent,” said Boe Pahari, global head of infrastructure equity at the firm.
Preising, an alumnus of The Wharton School, had been associated with Hewlett Packard for a decade before his stint with Apple. He began his career in infrastructure, working at US rail business Conrail and as an infrastructure project associate at consulting firm McKinsey.
Pahari termed India as a growth market for AMP Capital in 2019 and said that the county offers interesting opportunities for global infrastructure investors in sectors such as telecommunications and infrastructure health. “Tom’s local market insights and business acumen make him a fantastic addition to our India team,” he added.
AMP Capital in India
The investment firm has been striking deals in the country since 1999. It set up its Indian Infrastructure Fund (IIF), backed by the Unit Trust of India and the Asian Development Bank, then with a corpus of $50 million, data from VCCEdge, the research arm of News Corp VCCircle, shows.
Gujarat Pipavav Port and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd were some bets of the IIF. It exited Gujarat Pipavav Port in 2009.
Its other known exit was Gayatri Infra Ventures Ltd in November 2015, which was a loss for the firm.
AMP Capital has not publicly disclosed many of its investments.
The firm was in the race to buy the private equity and real estate investment management businesses of IDFC Alternatives Ltd, which eventually went to global alternative investment manager Investcorp in January this year.
Currently, the firm’s India division is headed by Sharat Goyal, who has been at the helm since 2011.
As of 31 December 2018, AMP Capital manages AUD $187.2 billion assets under management globally, information on its website states.
Besides real estate and infrastructure, it also has expertise in fixed income, equities and multi-asset solutions. While AMP Ltd is a majority shareholder, Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation is one of the other shareholders, its website shows.
