Our Senior
Advisors

Mr. Afonso is a Senior Advisor for EIG’s Capital Development team working with insurers, pension funds and private asset managers to accelerate the transition of portfolio allocations towards private assets. Previously, during his career at Allianz Investment Management, he committed €8Bn towards Private & Distressed Credit and built-up Allianz’s infrastructure debt platform. Mr. Afonso earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from University of Calgary and is a CFA charter holder.

Mr. Al-Gudaimi is a Senior Advisor and Chairman of MENA Operations for EIG. He served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Aramco before retiring from the position in December 2022. In this role, he helped Aramco secure greater access to growth markets and technologies through portfolio optimization and strategic alignment. Mr. Al-Gudaimi previously held several other leadership positions at Aramco, including Senior Vice President of Downstream and Vice President of Power Systems. Mr. Al-Gudaimi currently serves as a Director of Vision Invest Holding and Saudi Alfransi Bank and previously served as Chairman of the Boards of Motiva Enterprises LLC, Arlanxeo, Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company, Aramco Trading Company and Petro Rabigh. He holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering and a Master of Business Administration.

Ms. Cook is a Senior Advisor, and CEO of Harbour Energy.  Ms. Cook retired from Royal Dutch Shell plc in 2010, at which time she was a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.  During her 29 years with Shell, she held positions including CEO of Shell Gas & Power (London and The Hague); CEO of Shell Canada Ltd. (Calgary); EVP Strategy & Finance for Global Exploration & Production (The Hague); and various U.S. Exploration & Production management, operational and engineering roles. She received a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Kansas and is currently a Trustee for the University’s Endowment Association, a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and a Director on the Board of Bank of New York Mellon. 

Mr. Kaeser is a Senior Advisor for EIG. He previously served as President and CEO of Siemens from 2013 until 2021 and as CFO from 2006 until 2013. During his tenure at Siemens, Mr. Kaeser oversaw significant growth and transformation, leading the company through major strategic initiatives, including the reorganization of the conglomerate structure of Siemens into three focused companies: Siemens Healthineers, Siemens Energy and the new industrial Siemens AG, creating significant value for all stakeholders. Mr. Kaeser currently serves as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Siemens Energy AG, which provides products, solutions and services for the generation, transmission and distribution of power. He also acts as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Daimler Truck Holding AG and serves on the Board of Linde, PLC.

Ms. Liu is a Senior Advisor for EIG’s investment team in Asia. Prior to joining EIG in 2014, Ms. Liu spent 5 years with the Chinese Sovereign Wealth Fund – China Investment Corporation (CIC), first in its Private Equity Department and later in the Special Investment Department, covering Oil & Gas investments. Ms. Liu became the head of Oil & Gas for CIC in 2013. Prior to joining CIC, Ms. Liu spent six years with Morgan Stanley, worked in its Hong Kong, New York and London offices, in the Energy team and also in the M&A department. She received an M.B.A. and M.I.A. from Columbia Business School and School of International Public Affairs and received her bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Rochester.