Raj Rao is the President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and is a founding partner of the firm. He is a Senior Managing Director of BlackRock and a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee (GEC).

At GIP, Mr. Rao is a member of the Office of the Chairman and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and its Investment Committee. Mr. Rao was previously GIP’s Global Head of Energy. He is based in New York.

Before GIP, Mr. Rao worked in the Global Energy Group of the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse and, prior to that, was in the Energy Investment Banking Group at Barclays Capital in London. He began his career in the equity sales group of Kotak Securities in Mumbai.

Mr. Rao currently serves on the board of directors of Naturgy and Vena Energy. He has previously served on the board of directors of CLH, London City Airport, Saeta Yield and Transit Gas Pipeline. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Asia Society, as well as the Board of Directors of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).

Mr. Rao holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, an M.B.A. from the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University and a Masters in Finance from London Business School.