PLANUM PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Director - Sydney
Abhishek is a finance professional with investment, structured credit and funds management experience. He has worked across a range of industries with a particular focus on Real Estate.
Prior to joining Planum, Abhishek worked in the Real Estate Debt Investments team at Barings, as well as CBA and Macquarie Group previously.
Abhishek has a BCom (Finance and Actuarial Studies) and BEcon from the University of New South Wales.
Alex joins us as an Analyst from the University of Melbourne where he achieved First Class Honours in a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance and Economics.
Prior to commencing as an Analyst, Alex completed a four month internship with Planum Partners advising on deals across infrastructure, circular economy, and real estate.
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary - Sydney
Carolyn has worked in the industry for over 20 years, holding roles at Ellerston Capital, Airlie Funds Management/Magellan and Frazis Capital Partners. Prior to joining Planum Carolyn worked with the management team at Airlie Funds Management to establish the business, her responsibilities included negotiating contracts with major service providers while establishing the Airlie managed funds and creating the internal processes and procedures.
Carolyn was also responsible for investor communications, business continuity and IT. Carolyn also spent several years at Treasury Group, part of the team incubating new boutique funds management businesses and was also responsible for the operations of Premium Investment Services (LIC) as well as the Dublin-based UCITS fund operated by TRG. Prior to that Carolyn had several operations management roles at boutique fund managers, as well as being an editor and assistant publisher at Thomson Legal & Regulatory.
Chris has over 30 years' experience in the real estate field, covering virtually all aspects including leasing, development, advisory and management. His experience spans major leasing and pre-commitment transactions (as landlord, developer and occupier advisor), strategic advice in development planning and in his various roles as Head of Leasing and Asset Management, built and managed extensive property teams.
Prior to joining Planum, he was Dexus' Head of Leasing and Workplace and prior to that, Managing Director of CBRE's Global Corporate Services business in the Pacific
Christine has 4 years of experience across infrastructure, renewable energy and transport covering finance, consulting and as an engineer.
Prior to joining Planum as an Analyst, Christine worked in the Transactions and Infrastructure Strategy team at GHD Australia.
Christine holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering)(Honours) and a Graduate Certificate of Applied Finance from the University of New South Wales Australia.
Job Titles:
- Company Director
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Senior Advisor - Sydney
Geoff Brunsdon is a company director. He was previously Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking of Merrill Lynch International (Australia) Limited until June 2009.
Geoff was a member of the listing committee of the Australian Stock Exchange between 1993 and 1997 and a member of the Takeovers Panel between 2007 and 2016. He is a Fellow of FINSIA, a Fellow of the Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
Geoff chairs Sims Limited, Metlife Insurance Ltd and PayPal Australia Pty Ltd
As well as well as his professional responsibilities, Geoff is a Patron of Redkite which supports families who have children with cancer, having chaired the Organisation for some 12 years. He is a director of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and Purves Environmental Custodians. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in January 2019 for significant service to the finance, banking and insurance sectors, and to charitable organisations.
Hannah is a finance professional with 5 years of experience in renewable energy, with particular focus on onshore / offshore wind energy projects.
Job Titles:
- Infrastructure Advisor
- Managing Director - Melbourne
Jesse is a leading infrastructure advisor and capital raising specialist. He has worked on large infrastructure and project based transactions in Australia and New Zealand, including public private partnerships, project finance, and renewable energy acquisitions and financings.
Prior to joining Planum Partners, Jesse worked in advisory teams at Brookfield Financial and the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (formerly RBS & ABN AMRO), the leveraged finance team at ABN AMRO and in roles for the Treasury departments of the Northern Territory and Victoria.
He has a BCom (Hons) and a BEcon from the Australian National University.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Managing Director - Sydney
Mario is a co-founder of Planum Partners and a member of the firm's investment committee.
Prior to founding Planum, Mario established and led the real estate team at Brookfield Financial originating and executing a number of significant transactions, including divestment, fund raising and strategic advice. Mario has extensive experience across a range of investing and capital raising activities, including principal investing, investment on behalf of institutional and private clients and private fund raisings.
He has a BSc (Mathematics) from the University of NSW, a Certificate of Actuarial Techniques from the Institute of Actuaries London and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from Kaplan.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Firm 's Investment Committee
- Managing Director - Sydney
Matthew is a founder of Planum Partners and member of the firm's investment committee.
Prior to founding Planum, Matthew was Managing Partner for the Australian Real Estate and Infrastructure advisory business at Brookfield. He has extensive acquisition, development, financing and real estate investments management experience combined with a strong legal background as a former Partner at a major Australian law firm.
Matthew has company director and investment committee experience with both listed and unlisted entities. He has a Bachelor of Economics and Law from Macquarie University.
Mercury is a finance professional with 4 years of experience in valuations and corporate finance. She has covered a range of sectors including infrastructure, mining, fintech, healthcare, and childcare assets.
Prior to joining Planum Partners, Mercury worked in Valuations team at Grant Thornton.
Mercury holds Bachelor of Commerce (finance and accounting) from the University of Melbourne and Master of Commerce (quantitative finance and business analytics) from University of Sydney.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director - Sydney
Michael is a real assets finance professional with M&A, funds management, and principal investing experience. He has worked across diverse asset classes within infrastructure and real estate.
Prior to joining Planum, Michael worked in the Strategy and Corporate Transactions team at Dexus. He has also held roles in corporate development and fund management in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Michael has a BCom (Finance and Accounting) from the University of Sydney and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Senior Executive
- Senior Advisor - Tokyo
Mr Hiroyuki (Hiro) Kato is an experienced international senior executive with over 40 years experience managing global businesses.
Mr Kato started his career in the iron ore division of Mitsui & Co, Ltd, where he gained hands on experience in the mining industry, which became the backbone of his long career at Mitsui. After completing two assignments in New York and attending MIT Sloan School of Management, Hiro held various positions in Mitsui's energy, metal and mining segments, culminating as Representative Director.
In June 2018 he retired as an executive and was appointed as counsellor to Mitsui, retiring from that position in June 2020. He is a director of Obayashi Corporation, a leading global construction company and Sims Limited, a global leader in metal and electronics recycling.
Job Titles:
- Business Manager - Melbourne
Natalie is responsible for business operations and support at Planum Partners. This includes financial support, marketing, events management, and executive support. She has extensive experience in customer service and administration within various sectors including Superannuation, Fund Investment, and Events.
Prior to joining Planum, Natalie provided executive support to one of the top Neurosurgeon's in Victoria.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Accountant
- Associate - Sydney
Nathan is a finance professional with a background in corporate finance and valuations, focusing on unlisted infrastructure, renewables and public private partnerships. He has covered a range of sectors including energy, transport and telecommunications.
Prior to joining Planum Partners, Nathan worked in Valuations at KPMG.
Nathan is a Chartered Accountant and CFA Charterholder, holding a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Accounting) and Bachelor of Economics from the University of New South Wales.
Job Titles:
- Analyst - Melbourne
- Provisional Chartered Accountant
Nick is a finance professional specialising in valuations, with experience across a diverse range of industries including infrastructure, mining and metals, and automotive.
Prior to joining Planum Partners, Nick has worked in the Corporate Value Advisory team at PwC and the R&D Advisory team at KPMG.
Nick is a Provisional Chartered Accountant, holding a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance)from Monash University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Director
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Senior Advisor - Melbourne
Peter is a senior international financier with extensive experience in global banking for over 30 years. He has a strong business track record and is a proven strategic thinker with in-depth management experience in large complex financial institutions and industry.
Peter held senior corporate and advisory roles with Bank of America Ltd and Barclays De Zoete Wedd before moving back to Australia and to ANZ Bank in 1997. At ANZ he served as Managing Director Corporate and Structured Finance (1997 - 2004), Chief Risk Officer (2004 - 2007) and then as Group Managing Director Institutional (2007 - 2008). Most recently, Peter was Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Myer Family Investments, a privately held investment and wealth management business a position he held from 2009 - 2016. Peter was also Chairman of Save the Children Australia, a Director of Save the Children International and Chair of Greengate Aged Care for nine years.
Peter is an experienced Director and Chairman. He is currently holding a number of board positions in addition to Judo Bank including as Chairman of Paranta Biosciences Ltd, and a member of Trinity College Investment Management Committee the advisory board of Drummond Capital Partners and the advisory board of Planum Partners Peter has a Masters in Law from Cambridge University.
Phil is a financial advisory professional with a strong background in both the development and financing of greenfield projects, as well as asset M&A. Prior to working at Planum Phil was an Associate at Macquarie Capital, where he advised on a broad range of infrastructure projects and clients including Clarence Correctional Centre, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Warradarge Wind Farm, and Genesee and Wyoming Australia.
Phil has a BCom from the University of Melbourne and a Msc in Economics from Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros (Cemfi).
Richard has advisory and direct investment expertise in the renewable energy, infrastructure, resources and real estate sectors. He has assisted clients with capital raising, corporate advisory and project financing.
Prior to joining Planum, Richard worked in Project and Structured Finance at ANZ. He has also held roles in corporate advisory and principal investment.
Richard has a BCom (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director - Melbourne
Ryan is a corporate advisory professional with broad experience advising on M&A situations and capital markets transactions. He has worked across a range of industries with a particular focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Ryan was previously an Associate at Lazard.
Ryan has a BCom (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.
Sang is a finance and investment professional with a long and demonstrable track record in many areas of finance across a broad spectrum of industries.
He has successfully led numerous landmark transactions in the Australasian market as both advisor and principal. Prior to joining Planum Partners, Sang spent over 20 years in major commercial and investment banks in Australia, as well as independent advisory houses.
Sang is a CFA Charterholder and holds a BCom and MCom from the University of New South Wales.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Firm 's Investment Committee
- CEO - Melbourne
Shaun is a founder of Planum Partners and member of the firm's investment committee.
Prior to founding Planum, Shaun established Brookfield's Australian infrastructure and project advisory practice. He has led major infrastructure projects in Australia and New Zealand as principal and advisor. Shaun's experience includes greenfield projects, structured finance, corporate acquisitions and risk management.
Shaun has served on the board of project companies, Axiom Education, YMCA and Open House Melbourne, which he co-founded in 2008. He has an MBA from INSEAD and a BCom (Economics) from the University of Wollongong.