Meet the Team
Asper is built on a tightly-knit team of experienced executives that worked together for many years on the investment, portfolio management and operations side.
We have a strong, distinctive culture founded on a balance of high energy and caring: we are driven but also deeply committed to each other’s success!
Adam Ben-Hamo
Adriana Rodriguez Cobas
Alex Boeke
Allister Sykes
Andrew Clements
Calum Drummond
Debbie Hudgell Kuhler
Emma Tinker
Humphrey Edginton
Kristina Sidagyte
Luigi Pettinicchio
Luis Quiroga
Mark Adams
Olivier Delpon de Vaux
Wahaab Tariq
Alison Hampton
Andrew Buglass
Barbara Boos
Christopher Knowles
David Walker
James Wardlaw
Lars Strömberg
Stephen Bough
Adam Ben-Hamo
Adam joined the Asper team in 2018 as an Analyst, having completed internships at Hg in 2016 and Asper in 2018.
His role covers a broad scope assisting the investment team in research, origination, analysis and fundraising.
Prior to joining Asper, Adam led projects at London Strategic Consulting, with a focus on expansion strategies for small and medium sized companies.
Adam holds a first class BSc and MSc in Physics from University College London, where his focus was on high energy particle theory.
Adriana Rodriguez Cobas
adriana.rodriguez@asper-im.com
Adriana joined the Asper team in February 2023 as Principal in the investment team.
She is an energy professional with 15 years of experience. Adriana joined from Vattenfall, where she was a founding member of the Heat UK business, focused on developing, constructing, and operating low-carbon heating and cooling networks. At Vattenfall she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company, as well as asset operations and customer experience. She also led the business as Interim Managing Director.
Prior to that, Adriana worked at SSE where she focused on strategy and operations of the district heating business. She started her career at Schlumberger Business Consulting, where she worked on capability development and transformation projects.
Adriana holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from ITESM Mexico and a MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures from Imperial College London.
Alex Boeke
Alex joined the Asper team as Head of Finance in 2022.
Alex was previously at the alternative asset management firm Intermediate Capital Group, where he was Financial Controller for the fund management company. Prior to this, Alex was at HSBC where he led the Group wide forecast and produced the monthly Group Management and Board reports. Alex started his career at General Electric in the UK and abroad and had various roles across Pricing, Treasury, FP&A and Controllership.
Alex has a BA honours degree in Economics and Sociology from the University of Reading.
Allister Sykes
Allister has been working in the energy sector since 2010 and started working with the Asper team since he joined Hg in 2012.
Allister is responsible for the delivery of platform business plans across the portfolio and chairs the Asper Platform Management Committee. He is also a member of the Sustainability Committee and leads our investments in our Nordic Power platform Vasa Vind.
Allister led a number of transactions in the Swedish market and has also supported the team on UK and Irish transactions.
He joined the team from PwC’s Energy & Infrastructure deals team where he worked for 5 years.
Allister is a Chartered Accountant and has a first class honours degree in Theoretical Physics from Durham University.
Andrew Clements
Andrew has been working in energy and infrastructure investments since 2006 and started working with the Asper team since he joined Hg in 2013.
At Asper Andrew has a leading role in our renewable power investment platform in Ireland, and he led the execution of a number of investments, financings and successful exits in both the Irish and UK markets.
He joined the team from Royal Bank of Canada in London, where he was part of the European M&A team and specifically assisted Hg on its successful exits of the UK wind portfolio in 2012/2013. Prior to that, Andrew worked for Nomura and Lehman Brothers in London.
Andrew holds a BA in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford, and an MA in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Calum Drummond
Calum joined Asper in July 2023 as an Analyst in the investment team.
Calum started his career at Piper Sandler’s investment banking division advising clients on M&A transactions in the energy sector. Most recently, he worked at Northland Power in their development and investments team focused primarily on offshore and onshore wind projects.
He holds a MSc in Finance from Lancaster University, and a BSc in Economics and Management from Loughborough University.
Debbie Hudgell Kuhler
Debbie has been an integral part of Asper’s operations since 2008, initially joining Hg where she provided logistics and operational support to the renewable energy investment team. Over the years, Debbie’s role with the team has evolved significantly and since 2017 her responsibilities extend across Human Resources, IT Strategy and Cyber Security, and the firm’s corporate support and administrative operations.
Prior to joining Hg, Debbie spent more than 19 years working at senior board level in investment management. She served as an Office Manager and previously held executive support roles at Skandia, working closely with the Group Sales Director of Skandia Life and the Chief Executive Officer of Skandia Investment Management.
Emma Tinker
Emma co-founded Asper in 2016 with Luigi and Luis, with whom she had worked at HgCapital since 2008.
Emma has worked in investment since 1999 and in the energy sector since 2002. During her tenure at Hg she started the renewable energy business that eventually led to the raising of Hg’s first renewable energy fund in 2003.
Emma is responsible for Asper’s investment strategy, is Chair of the Investment Committee and sits on the Sustainability and Platform Management Committees. She leads the origination and strategic business planning on existing platforms and new investments. Over the years she has led and managed investments, financings and exits in different markets and technologies in the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Italy.
From 1996 to 1999, Emma worked in strategy consulting for Arthur Andersen Business Consulting.
She has a degree in History from Cambridge University.
Humphrey Edginton
humphrey.edginton@asper-im.com
Humphrey is responsible for all legal and compliance matters at Asper and sits on the firm’s Risk and Compliance and Sustainability Committees. He has been a lawyer in the alternative investment industry since 2001.
Prior to joining Asper in 2020, Humphrey was Head of Legal for Morgan Stanley’s private funds business in EMEA with responsibility for its European based funds, transactions and regulatory matters.
He qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and worked in the London and Munich offices of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Milbank Tweed before joining Morgan Stanley in 2007.
Humphrey studied at the Universities of Exeter and Saarland and has a degree in Law. He speaks fluent English and German.
Kristina Sidagyte
kristina.sidagyte@asper-im.com
Kristina joined Asper as a Fund Controller, bringing over a decade of experience managing complex fund structures and investor reporting across private equity (real estate and infrastructure funds). She previously held roles at various leading fund administrators, including Saltgate and IQEQ.
Kristina holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of Bradford and a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Business Administration from Kaunas University of Technology.
Luigi Pettinicchio
luigi.pettinicchio@asper-im.com
Luigi co-founded Asper in 2016 with Emma and Luis, with whom he had worked at HgCapital since 2008.
Luigi has more than 15 years of experience in energy and investing. At Asper, he is responsible for investment execution across all platforms, the organization and the overall management of the firm. Over the years Luigi led a number of investments, financings and exits in different markets and technologies across the UK, France, Spain and Scandinavia. He sits on the Investment Committee, Platform Management Committee, Sustainability and Risk and Compliance Committees.
Prior to joining Hg/Asper, Luigi worked for Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division in London and for McKinsey & Company in Milan.
He holds a “cum laude” double degree in engineering from Milan’s Politecnico and Paris’ Ecole Centrale, and a MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School.
Luis Quiroga
Luis co-founded Asper in 2016 with Luigi and Emma, with whom he had worked at HgCapital since 2008.
At Asper, Luis is responsible for relations with Asper’s clients and leads Asper’s business development fundraising. Luis also remains involved in origination and execution of new investments, leveraging on his over 15 years of experience in energy investments. Luis is a member of Asper’s Investment Committee, Valuation Committee and the Sustainability Committee. An expert in Energy Transition policy advising think-tanks and research institutes, Luis also oversees Asper’s regulatory coverage.
Luis started his career with The Boston Consulting Group (Munich and Madrid) before joining Credit Suisse’s European Energy Investment Banking Team. Luis holds a Master of Science in Foreign Affairs (Fulbright Scholar) from Georgetown University and a joint degree in Law and in Business Administration from ICADE Madrid. He is fluent in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.
Mark Adams
Mark joined Asper in October 2021 as a Senior Analyst in the investment team.
Mark started his career at ElectroRoute, before working as a consultant, specialising in infrastructure transactions in the gas and LNG sector. Most recently he worked at Vattenfall where he led on project valuation for the company’s district heating business in the UK.
Mark holds an MSc in Energy and Environmental Finance from the Smurfit Graduate Business School at UCD and a BSc in Earth and Ocean Sciences from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Olivier Delpon de Vaux
olivier.delpondevaux@asper-im.com
Olivier has been working in the energy sector since 2006 and started working with the Asper team since he joined Hg in 2013.
At Asper, Olivier leads the team’s origination efforts in renewable power and sustainable heat across Europe. He is currently leading our investment platform EVE in the Dutch district heating space and has also led our investments in Vasa Värme, our Swedish district heating platform.
Olivier has led the strategic acquisitions and financings of a number of investments and successful exits in Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.
He started his career with Booz & Company before joining EDF Energy where he focused on corporate strategy, energy policy and investments in nuclear and renewable power in the UK.
He holds a BSc in Management Sciences from the University of Warwick and an MBA from INSEAD.
Wahaab Tariq
Wahaab joined the Asper team as a Sustainable Fund Accountant in 2022. Coming from IQ EQ’s Client Services team, Wahaab was responsible for financial and investor reporting for private equity, credit and infrastructure funds. Before this, he was working at SRLV Accountants, within their accountancy team on a global portfolio of music, media and entertainment clients. Wahaab holds a first-class honours degree in Mathematics and Finance from City, University of London.
Alison Hampton
Alison is an independent member and Chair of the Risk & Compliance Committee at Asper Investment Management.
Formerly a partner at Hogan Lovells and a consultant at Weil Gotshal, Alison was HgCapital’s General Counsel.
She also led HgCapital’s responsible investment initiative until June 2017 and sits on the BVCA’s Responsible Investment Advisory Board.
Andrew Buglass
Andrew is an independent member of the Valuation Committee at Asper Investment Management.
He has been focused exclusively on funding and developing global energy projects since 1992, in senior roles with leading companies such as Royal Bank of Scotland, ING Bank, PowerGen plc and Unocal Corporation. Andrew now serves as Non Executive Director to a number of corporates in the electricity sector in the UK and internationally.
Andrew’s experience spans energy projects in over 30 countries, delivering investment in excess of £11bn, with extensive experience of delivering projects at all stages of the development cycle.
He is a regular expert contributor to Government and industry groups on policy and investment issues. This has included being retained as adviser to two Parliamentary select committees, private consultations with senior stakeholders, such as government ministers and senior civil servants, and ongoing debate with key influencers and opinion formers across the private sector and relevant NGOs.
Barbara Boos
Barbara Boos is an independent member of the Duke Investment Committee. Barbara is a seasoned an investment professional in the climate and infrastructure space. Prior to joining Asper as senior advisor, she held various positions at the EIB Group for more than 20 years, most recently as Head of Climate and Infrastructure Fund Investments.
She has extensive experience of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, digital and social infrastructure fund investments and a solid ESG and risk background. During her career, Barbara held various executive and non-executive board positions. Barbara is a member of the UNPRI Infrastructure Advisory Committee.
Christopher Knowles
christopher.knowles@asper-im.com
Chris is an independent member of the Board of Asper Columba.
He has been engaged in the finance of infrastructure, climate and environmental assets since 1976, much of this time with the European Investment Bank where he led EIB’s emergence as a climate finance leader globally. He has extensive experience of debt, private equity and blended capital structures, and a broad, practical knowledge of the sustainable finance agenda.
Currently Chris serves as a Non-Executive Director on a number of investment funds, advises various policy advocacy and research entities, and works with startup fund management teams, all in the sustainable space.
He has a BA Econ. and an MSc in Management Science from the University of Durham.
David Walker
David is a Senior Advisor to Asper Investment Management.
He was previously a Private Equity Director at BMO Global Asset Management and held several leadership positions within the European Investment Bank and the EIF, including Head of Infrastructure Funds, Climate Change and Environment Division from 2010 to 2015.
David is a member of the Management Board of the 2020 European Fund for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure (“Marguerite I’), a member of the Board of Directors of the European Energy Efficiency Fund and sits on the Advisory Council of WWF in Scotland.
James Wardlaw
James is a Senior Advisor to Asper Investment Management.
With an extensive background in both public and private financial markets, James has nearly 40 years of experience, having held senior positions within leading infrastructure investment managers and advisors.
James has served in prominent roles over the last 20 years, including as Partner at Campbell Lutyens, where he led the Infrastructure practice, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and leading for the UK Treasury on major infrastructure projects. In addition to his role with Asper, he presently serves in non-executive positions at other leading private markets asset managers, including QIC and BlackRock Infrastructure Solutions.
As Senior Advisor, James will contribute with his independent perspective, insights and extensive expertise into Asper’s capital formation and business development strategy.
Lars Strömberg
Lars Strömberg is a senior advisor to Asper Investment Management, providing vast amounts of technical expertise to support our origination and investment activity in the district heating space.
Lars has worked with the Asper team since 2013 and was the CEO of Vasa Värme, Asper’s Swedish District heating platform from 2014 to 2020. Prior to joining Vasa Värme, Lars held various senior positions at Vattenfall for 20 years, most recently as Group Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, overseeing the utility’s R&D activities.
Lars was a professor at Chalmers University of Technology’s department of Energy Technology for almost 30 years. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and has published over 100 scientific and technical articles and report.
Stephen Bough
Stephen is an independent member of the Investment Committee, Valuation Committee and Platform Review Committee at Asper Investment Management.
Stephen is an accountant by background, having initially trained and worked for ten years in a variety of financial roles at the Prudential Assurance Company. He subsequently joined Hg, a European Private Equity House, where he was a Partner in the firm for 20 years in the role of CFO/COO. Since 2019 he has been a Non-Executive Director on Hg’s Board.