Team
Leadership
Felipe Cifuentes, Partner
Felipe Cifuentes brings extensive experience across infrastructure assets, markets and services including M&A, project financing, and public sector advisory to the Vineyard Infrastructure platform. Prior to joining Vineyard, Mr. Cifuentes worked with Evercore’s Infrastructure M&A team, where he led buyside and sell-side mandates across the Americas. Prior to joining Evercore, Mr. Cifuentes worked in SMBC’s Specialized Finance Department where he provided advisory and structured financing solutions to clients across the infrastructure, power and natural resources subsectors. Before SMBC, Mr. Cifuentes worked in KPMG’s Deal Advisory group where he specialized in both M&A due diligence and infrastructure advisory.
Mr. Cifuentes brings leading experience in the North American and Latin American infrastructure markets and across the project lifecycle including greenfield financing, brownfield M&A, subordinated equity financing, restructuring and greenfield feasibility analyses.
Mr. Cifuentes holds a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship and a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is fluent in Spanish
Andrew Aran, Partner
Andrew Aran brings extensive debt structuring experience to the Vineyard Infrastructure platform. Prior to Vineyard, he spent most of his career structuring working capital and acquisition financing solutions for middle market and large corporate energy and natural resources clients in specialty debt and corporate coverage roles at BNP Paribas and Santander. Mr. Aran’s background provides deep understanding of how: (i) lenders perceive credit risk across various subsectors, asset types and contract profiles; (ii) early-stage sponsor-backed platforms position themselves to secure efficient acquisition and working capital financing; and (iii) financial sponsors, portfolio companies and lenders negotiate to achieve optimal financing terms. Mr. Aran began his career in a sales analytics position at a startup emerging markets asset manager that was later acquired by Columbia Threadneedle
Mr. Aran earned an MBA. from the NYU Stern School of Business with specializations in Corporate Finance and Banking and a BS in Business Management from The King’s College
Casey Bush, Partner
Casey Bush brings extensive infrastructure and P3 financial, commercial and strategic advisory experience to the Vineyard Infrastructure platform. Prior to Vineyard, Mr. Bush built his career in KPMG’s infrastructure advisory group where he advised both public and private sector project sponsors on the structuring and development of their infrastructure portfolios with a specific focus on long-haul fiber networks, surface transportation and social infrastructure sectors with a transaction value of over $7bn+
While at KPMG, Mr. Bush provided public agencies with financial and strategic advice on the assessment, structuring, procurement, and financing of infrastructure projects under traditional structures, as well as P3s and other, innovative financing arrangements. Mr. Bush’s experience provides deep understanding of how: (i) negotiations of greenfield transactions are contractually structured to mitigate risks; (ii) contractually based payment structuring and financing; and (iii) options and feasibility analysis related to alternatively financed infrastructure projects
Mr. Bush received both a Master’s of Science in Entrepreneurial Leadership and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degrees from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M
Advisors
Timothy Keith, Advisor
Tim B. Keith serves as Chief Investment Officer of Texas Central, a private, Texas-based company that is developing a high-speed passenger railway that will connect Dallas and Houston
As a seasoned executive and investor with over 33 years of financial and operational experience in large real estate and infrastructure projects, Mr. Keith has developed key relationships and perspectives critical to Texas Central’s success
Mr. Keith previously co-founded and served as chief investment officer of HKS Capital Advisors, a boutique investment advisory firm founded in 2011. HKS Capital Advisors provides investment advisory services and fund management expertise to high net worth investors with a focus on private enterprise transactions.
Prior to HKS Capital Advisors, Mr. Keith was formerly the Global Chief Executive Officer of RREEF/Deutsche Bank Infrastructure Investments, where he managed the worldwide operations of the firm’s infrastructure funds management businesses. He had a 10-year career with RREEF/Deutsche Bank, a New York-based global alternative asset management firm, where he held various senior executive positions and served on the firm’s Global Executive Committee. He was a partner of RREEF America LLC, prior to its acquisition by Deutsche Bank and served as chief executive officer of Cabot Industrial Trust after he led its privatization on behalf of RREEF clients
Previous to RREEF, Mr. Keith served as an executive at Hunt Realty Investments where he helped found, grow and sell Meridian Industrial Trust.
Mr. Keith graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business administration from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He and his wife Susan reside in Dallas and have two children
Russell McGuire, Advisor
Russ McGuire is a leading strategist and visionary in the telecom industry. As vice president of corporate strategy for Sprint, Mr. McGuire held the responsibility for developing the strategic vision and strategic framework for the $40B+ telecommunications giant
His experience includes over 34 years in the telecom industry. Prior to joining Sprint, Mr. McGuire was Chief Strategy Officer for TeleChoice, a leading business strategy consultancy solely focused on innovative telecom market opportunities. In this role he guided top executives from established and start-up telecom companies in developing core business strategies and market strategies to leverage their unique capabilities into sustainable market positions. Prior to TeleChoice, Mr. McGuire was vice president of strategic development for Williams Communications, where he was responsible for corporate strategy, new business analysis and competitive intelligence. Mr. McGuire has also founded or co-founded two technology start-ups. Mr. McGuire began his telecom career as a software developer for Northern Telecom
He has a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has completed the Advanced Management Program for Telecommunications Executives at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University