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Peer Fund / Dealmaker·Clean Energy·Grid Infrastructure

Adebayo (Bayo) Ogunlesi

Founding Partner, Chairman & CEO; Senior MD, BlackRock at Global Infrastructure Partners (BlackRock)

New York, NY

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Why they matter

The most consequential infrastructure capital allocator in the world post-BlackRock combination. Sets the gravitational center for the entire space.

Background

Founded Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in 2006; GIP grew to >$100B AUM across energy, transport, and digital infrastructure before being acquired by BlackRock for $12.5B in October 2024. Now Senior Managing Director at BlackRock and member of the firm's Global Executive Committee and Board. Before GIP, he was Global Head of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston. Harvard Law and Harvard Business School graduate.

Notable deals

  • 2024
    Led BlackRock's acquisition of GIP, the largest infrastructure-asset-manager combination ever announced.
  • 2025
    Led GIP/BlackRock consortium with EQT to acquire AES Corporation in a $33.4B enterprise-value deal.
  • 2022
    Built GIP's Skyborn Renewables platform into one of the largest offshore-wind developers globally.

Call-prep brief

Background

Bayo built GIP from scratch into the world's largest dedicated infrastructure fund manager, sold it to BlackRock for $12.5B in 2024, and now sits on BlackRock's Global Executive Committee. He is widely viewed as the single most influential capital allocator in global infrastructure.

What he cares about

  • Scale energy infrastructure. Including the AI-data-center / energy convergence (he led the consortium taking AES private with EQT).
  • Capital formation at scale. GIP raised funds in the $20-25B range; BlackRock-GIP is now competing at sovereign-wealth scale.
  • Nigeria and emerging-market infrastructure. Frequent public commentary on African infrastructure investment.

Recent moves

  • AES acquisition consortium led with EQT (announced 2025).
  • AI Infrastructure Partnership (BlackRock + Microsoft + GIP + MGX) collaborating with GE Vernova and NextEra.

Sensitivities

  • Time-constrained at the highest level. Don't expect a meeting without a clear, narrow ask and high signal-to-noise prep.
  • Avoid framing [Firm] as a peer at GIP's scale; position as complementary at [Firm]'s scale (mid-market).

Questions to ask

  1. How does he see the next generation of mid-market infrastructure GPs positioning relative to mega-fund consolidation?
  2. Which energy-transition sub-sectors does GIP/BlackRock see as too small to own but ripe for partnership with sector specialists?
  3. What's his read on AI-data-center power demand as a forcing function for the entire energy stack?

Outreach draft

Subject
Mid-market infra positioning: your perspective
Dear Mr. Ogunlesi, I lead infrastructure investing at [Firm]. We're refining our positioning in the energy-transition mid-market alongside the BlackRock-GIP combination and the AES consortium dynamics you've shaped. Your perspective on where mid-market specialists best partner with mega-fund platforms would be enormously valuable. If 20 minutes opens up in the next 6-8 weeks, I'd come fully prepared. Happy to defer to your team on scheduling. With respect, [Name]

Linked companies

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