Capella Capital targets energy sector with key executive appointment
Australia’s leading public infrastructure developer, financial advisor and asset manager, Capella Capital, is set for growth in the energy sector with the appointment of Karl Smith as Head of Energy.
Following the recent completion of investment in Capella by Sojitz Corporation, a major investment and trading company in Japan, Capella is moving quickly to pursue growth opportunities in new markets.
Since 2009, Capella Capital has secured over $34 billion of projects across the full spectrum of transport, social and energy infrastructure across Australia.
In NSW, Capella recently acted as financial advisor to ACEREZ (Acciona, Cobra and Endeavour Energy) on the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone transmission project procured by Energy Co. It is the first contestable REZ in Australia, initially unlocking up to 4.5 gigawatts of new network capacity.
Karl will target development and investment in the energy transition sector with particular focus on storage and renewable generation.
Karl brings to Capella a long track record of leadership roles in infrastructure and more recently the energy transition in Europe including 11 years with Macquarie in the Green Investment Bank and subsequently establishing an energy transition development and investment platform in Europe.
Prior to the last 15 years in London, Karl worked with senior members of Capella Capital at ABN AMRO and Babcock and Brown in Melbourne.
Capella Capital Managing Director, Malcolm Macintyre, says the appointment comes at a pivotal time as Australia reduces its reliance on fossil fuels and transitions to renewables with substantial opportunities in energy storage and generation.
“Welcoming Karl Smith to Capella Capital to lead our push into energy is an exciting step for us, bringing Karl’s deep industry experience to our team, which already has a broad range of complimentary skillsets across project development, commercial and financial structuring, capital raising, delivery, operations, asset and funds management.
“We’re set to leverage Karl’s expertise to unlock substantial opportunities with the backing of Sojitz who has well-established presence in Australia and a strong appetite and capacity to invest domestically and overseas.”