Meridiam, an infrastructure investor specializing in public and community infrastructure, announced last week that Thilo Tecklenburg has been named Chief Operating Officer for North America.

Starting January, he will be based in the company's New York office as he takes over from Olivier Garnier, recently named Global Risk Officer.

Meridiam Founder/CEO Thierry Deau, said:

"The North American infrastructure market is in the starting blocks for unprecedented growth up ahead in 2015, and Thilo's commercial experience in coordinating projects and partners will be a valuable asset as we further expand our investment footprint in the region."

Jane Garvey, Chairman, North America, said:

"We're delighted to have Thilo serve as COO on our North American leadership bench. His depth of experience in P3 business development will be a valuable addition to the team as we work on accelerating our growth in the North American market."

Before joining Meridiam in October 2013, Thilo was the head of Bilfinger Project Investments' Development Team in North America, where he was responsible for business development and pursuits of P3 projects within the North American marketplace. He has extensive experience with availability type P3 projects and has led consortia for projects in several Canadian provinces and U.S. states, totaling a committed finance volume of over $5 billion. Thilo played an active role in securing Bilfinger's first P3 project in the United States, the East End Crossing Project in Indiana, and was also instrumental in the company's efforts to enter new sectors.

Prior to coming to North America in early 2007, Thilo worked on transportation and social building P3 projects in Continental Europe and Australia, where his role included project finance structuring, project management and coordination with all stakeholders for the successful tendering and closing of major infrastructure projects. He was involved in several successful projects, such as Royal Women's Hospital in Australia, M6 Motorway in Hungary and E18 Motorway in Norway. He holds an engineering degree and a Ph.D. from the Technical University in Brunswick, Germany.