Infrastructure investor and developer Mike Salzman joins as Operating Partner
NEW YORK, Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Jacmel Partners (“Jacmel”), a minority-owned alternative investment firm, announced today the formal launch of a new platform, Jacmel Infrastructure. The strategy will target critical infrastructure projects and operating platforms, primarily in the transportation, energy, social and digital sectors. Jacmel has appointed infrastructure industry veteran Mike Salzman as Operating Partner. Salzman, who served as a Senior Advisor to Jacmel Partners in the creation and launch of the platform, has joined the firm to help source, underwrite and execute future infrastructure investments.
Mike Salzman
Jacmel Infrastructure is focused on providing capital and supporting projects alongside developers, investors, and state and local governments, acting as a strategic partner of choice in the rapidly expanding sector. The strategy will focus on North American investments through diversified investment structures, including public-private partnerships (P3s). Jacmel is led by Co-Managing Partners Nick Jean-Baptiste and Jorge Mora, both of whom have extensive experience in private transactions and leveraged finance over their careers, including overlapping tenures at Macquarie Group. Jacmel’s team of investment professionals have on average 25 years of experience as asset owners, operators, developers and advisors across private markets.
Most recently, Jacmel has focused on building operating platforms that deliver infrastructure & IT solutions. Jacmel’s acquisition of Arora Engineers (“Arora”), a leading infrastructure engineering services platform, was a pivotal point in the firm’s expansion into infrastructure, with Arora having supported more than $23 billion of infrastructure projects. Building on that experience and the Jacmel team’s industry relationships, Jacmel Infrastructure has closed on one transaction and is expected to announce significant deals in the coming months.
“Working with Jorge, Mike and our team to build Jacmel Infrastructure has been incredibly rewarding and the natural next step in Jacmel’s evolution,” said Jean-Baptiste, Co-Managing Partner. “When we founded Jacmel in 2015, we knew we wanted to deliver value, capital and an executable impact plan to privately held businesses. Through our deep due diligence and long-term relationships with municipalities and infrastructure authorities, we are well positioned to seize the substantial opportunity across the infrastructure market—particularly the shortfall in private firms operating in the sector who appreciate the nuances and mirror the cultural differences of local government and its constituents. Over the past eighteen months, we’ve carefully and intentionally built a platform to make a meaningful impact through private investment in North American infrastructure projects and operating companies, and Mike has been an important partner in our launch.”
Salzman is an experienced infrastructure investor with over two decades of expertise in structuring, financing and delivering large-scale developments, including P3s. Previously, he was Global Head of Airports for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW). Under Salzman’s leadership, URW won the sole commercial development rights for two terminals at JFK International Airport and delivered two terminal-wide commercial re-developments at LAX. Salzman has also served as a Board Member of Servy, a mobile-ordering platform for airports, and was the Chief Development Officer for Brightline Trains. Prior to Brightline, Mike led the Americas Development team at Caesars Entertainment, which executed more than $4 billion in new projects during his tenure.
Co-Managing Partner Mora, said: “In working with Mike, we’ve been able to take our team’s investment and operational expertise across the infrastructure, information and tech-enabled business services, and create a systematic, value-added approach to investing in large-scale infrastructure projects. We know there is a desire for infrastructure investors and local partners to reflect and understand the cultures of local governments and the communities these projects are serving. Given the strong bipartisan support for infrastructure investing, combined with broader macro tailwinds and an increasing desire for diverse representation across key markets, we could not be more excited to unveil this new chapter for our firm.”
“In more than a year of collaboration with Jacmel as a Senior Advisor, it became abundantly clear to me how unique the firm’s approach is to its investments and partnerships, and how passionate they are in cultivating meaningful relationships and making a difference in local communities,” said Salzman. “Within infrastructure markets, investing with empathy and insight is a prerequisite, and Jacmel has consistently found ways to leverage its networks to gain early access to opportunities while also taking a holistic approach to underwriting and risk management through the team’s collective experiences. I am honored to have the opportunity to help build out Jacmel Infrastructure with Nick and Jorge, and utilize the firm’s collective expertise to deliver value to investors, employees, passengers and community members alike.”
Salzman earned an AB in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
About Jacmel Partners Jacmel Partners is a minority-owned alternative investment firm dedicated to partnering with private companies and investing in projects that strengthen the nation’s infrastructure. Through long-term relationships with companies, management teams, developers and government agencies, Jacmel is able to deliver flexible capital, operational insights and a strong impact framework. Our investments aim to create lasting value for employees, families and communities while fueling growth and innovation. Jacmel has invested $250 million of capital since 2021 and has over 700 employees across the firm’s controlled investments. To learn more, visit jacmelpartners.com.
Media Contact: Shree Dhond/Jansel Murad Dukas Linden Public Relations jacmel@dlpr.com
