ASKAR ALSHINBAYEV
Principal, Meridian Capital Limited
Askar Alshinbayev is a Founding Partner of Meridian Capital Limited, overseeing the investment management of its diversified portfolio in real estate, hospitality, FMCG, infrastructure and natural resources. Mr. Alshinbayev graduated with a first-class degree (Red Diploma) in Operational Management (Computer Control Systems) from the Technical Science Institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and held a research post at the Institute’s Technical Cybernetics Laboratory. Mr. Alshinbayev holds over three decades of investment management experience in specialized corporate strategy, M&A, and strategic acquisitions, with a focus on investing in global, emerging and frontier markets. He served as a Managing Director of Kazkommertsbank from 1994 to 2002. He was (among other directorships) a Board Member of Unimilk from 2006 to 2010 and was central to its development into what became the number two dairy company in the CIS and thereafter its merger with Danone. After Meridian Capital Limited exited the Danone-Unimilk joint venture, Mr. Alshinbayev spearheaded Meridian Capital’s further investment into the high-growth FMCG industry and is currently a Board Member of Food Union which, since it was established in Latvia in 2012, has become one of the largest dairy and ice-cream producing companies in Central and Eastern Europe, and has recently expanded into dairy production in China. Food Union currently exports to 25+ countries. Alongside a range of investments in real estate and hospitality, Mr. Alshinbayev has led Meridian Capital’s partnership with Extell, one of New York’s leading property developers, which has brought to market the International Gem Tower in the heart of New York’s Diamond District.
YEVGENIY FELD
Principal, Meridian Capital Limited
Yevgeniy Feld is a Founding Principal of Meridian Capital Limited. Educated and trained as an economist, he has accumulated vast experience in corporate finance, M&A and investment management, with a particular focus on real estate, transport and infrastructure.
Mr. Feld is recognised as a leader in transformation strategies having managed the turnaround and restructuring of various enterprises in his financial career.
Mr. Feld now serves as a Principal of Meridian Capital Limited, overseeing the management of its diversified portfolio in real estate, hospitality, FMCG, infrastructure and natural resources. He was central to the investment into Meridian Capital’s largest and most successful property developments that was sold to Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF) in 2012.
Nodir Normatov
Investment Director
Nodir Normatov serves as Investment Director at Meridian Capital Limited. He is a private equity professional with 25 years of experience in investing in emerging and developed markets, having been involved in a broad range of sectors including oil and gas, financials, mining, FMCG, infrastructure and real estate. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Normatov worked for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in project finance and equity funds teams. From 1994 to 1998, he worked for Uzbekinvest National Export-Import Insurance Company covering political risk and export credit insurance. Mr. Normatov is a board member of Food Union, the leading dairy producer in Northern Europe and China, as well as of Easy Microfinance in Myanmar. Mr. Normatov holds a MSc in Finance degree from London Business School and a diploma in banking from Tashkent Institute of Finance.
Brian Jan
Design and Development, Real Estate Investments
Brian Jan serves as the Director of Design and Development, Real Estate Investments at Meridian Capital Limited. Since joining in June of 2014, he has engaged in real estate projects in emerging markets ranging from feasibility to fruition in the sectors of residential, commercial, mixed use, hospitality, healthcare, and airports. Prior to joining Meridian Capital, Mr. Jan worked for over 12 years at the Hong Kong and Shanghai offices of AECOM, a NYSE listed global provider of design and engineering services. He was Vice President and Regional Director of Urban Design for Asia, practicing extensively in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East while leading and overseeing the studios in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Jakarta, and Delhi. Prior to AECOM, he practiced at the architectural firm of Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) in Washington, DC. He holds a Master of Architecture and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia. He is currently a part-time Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Hong Kong.
Paul Marchand
Director, Investment and Legal
Paul Marchand serves as Director, Investments and Legal. Mr. Marchand was General Counsel of the Meridian Capital Limited group from 2005 to 2016. He has served as a non-executive director of the following public companies: (1) Caspian Energy Inc., from 2014 to 2015; (2) Thistle Mining Inc., from 2005 until 2009; and (3) Indago Petroleum Limited, from 2005 until 2007. From 1998 to 2005, he worked at White & Case LLP, an international law firm, becoming a partner in 2003. Prior to joining White & Case, he worked at Linklaters, an international law firm, and Cliffe Dekker, a South African law firm. He is a solicitor and qualified to practice in England and Wales. Mr. Marchand holds a BCL degree from Oxford University, an L.L.B degree from the University of Stellenbosch and a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Higher Diploma in Taxation Laws from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Miguel C. Soto
Finance Director
Miguel C. Soto graduated from the University of Houston in December 1995. From April 1998 to May 2004, he was Treasurer & Controller and from May 2004 to August 2004 he was the Vice President of Finance and the Chief Financial Officer of Chaparral Resources, Inc. From July 2005 to March 2007 he served as Acting Chief Financial Officer for Indago Petroleum Limited. Mr. Soto worked as a tax accountant for Arthur Andersen from January 1996 to April 1998 and as a staff accountant for KVM Technologies Inc., located in Houston, Texas, from May 1992 to November 1995. Mr. Soto has been the Finance Director at Meridian Capital Limited since January 2005.
Fred Leung
Investment Director
Fred Leung serves as Investment Director at Meridian Capital Limited. He has over 25 years of investment banking experience in the Asia Pacific region, with particular focus on cross border M&A transactions. Prior to joining Meridian Capital, Mr. Leung was the Head of Greater China M&A at Standard Chartered Bank, where he advised leading Chinese corporates, private equity firms and multinational companies with presence in China, on a wide range of transactions including outbound acquisitions, strategic mergers, non-core asset divestments, privatizations and corporate restructurings. Previously, Mr. Leung has also worked in the investment banking division at Barclays, Citigroup and ABN AMRO. Mr. Leung holds a Bachelor of Business Systems (Honours) degree from Monash University, Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from The Securities Institute of Australia.
HAKUBA HOTEL GROUP
Real Estate
Meridian Capital Limited seeks out the best partners and specialists in the area in which they operate investing in high quality, well-located assets. In Japan, Meridian Capital Limited has worked with local leader Hakuba Hotel Group in the development of Hakuba Mirai – a full service property company that offers luxurious accomodation in one of the premier alpine destinations in Japan.
The company raises the benchmark for investment property that will grow in value over time and is committed to transform the landscape of this prestigious, up and coming ski destination.
PAG
Consumer Goods (Dairy)
Food Union Group received USD$225mln investment from PAG and Meridian Capital Limited in 2017 to fund an ambitious expansion project in China. PAG invested USD$170mln while Meridian Capital injected USD$55mln, adding to its original investment. PAG is one of Asia’s largest alternative investment firms with capital under management in excess of USD$16bn. The firm manages a diverse array of funds in private equity, real estate and absolute return strategies and employs more than 380 staff in nine offices across the region. Since its founding in 2002, PAG has invested over USD$30bn in Asian markets. Its investors include major pension funds in North America and Europe as well as sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East. Currently, Meridian Capital is supporting the expansion of Food Union in the Baltic States and CIS as well as China.
EXTELL DEVELOPMENT
Real Estate
We have partnered with Extell Development, one of New York’s leading real estate developers on iconic buildings. Extell is a full-service development company driven by an internal team of talented real estate professionals whose combined breadth of experience spans all areas of real estate development. Extell acquires, finances, develops, markets, and manages a sophisticated portfolio of real estate development projects focused mainly on New York City. Meridian Capital Limited has invested in a number of Extell-led projects in Manhattan.