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Tom reflects on insights from a recent London Business School Infrastructure & Construction Club panel with his colleague Daivik Malhotra, exploring how hiring dynamics in infrastructure private equity are evolving. While the market remains resilient and fundraising is strong, competition for roles is increasing, and firms are placing greater emphasis on commercial judgement alongside technical ability.
It was a great opportunity to discuss how the market is evolving and what firms are really looking for in the next generation of investment professionals.
We spoke about practical insights into infrastructure and real assets private equity hiring, what firms are really looking for, and how candidates can stand out in a competitive market – while also connecting with the next generation of talent coming through LBS.
What struck me during the discussion was how clearly hiring dynamics in infrastructure reflect the broader evolution of the asset class itself.
Throughout the conversation, three themes stood out: the resilience of real assets amid broader private equity stress, the cyclical but selective nature of hiring, and the increasingly high bar for candidates looking to break in.
Private equity more broadly has been under pressure. Exits slowed materially following the 2023 downturn, creating a backlog of unsold assets and valuation mismatches between buyers and sellers. While 2025 had seen some recovery in exit volumes, liquidity remains uneven and selective.
However, infrastructure, energy and parts of real estate have proven more resilient than generalist buyout strategies.
The reasons for this are structural. Infrastructure assets typically have longer hold periods, contracted or quasi-contracted cash flows, inflation linkage and strong underlying demand drivers – whether in digitalisation, decarbonisation or essential services. This cushions them from the short-term exit pressure faced by traditional 3–5 year buyout funds.
That said, the sector is not immune. Valuation gaps have emerged, particularly in subsectors such as fibre and certain renewable strategies, where capital was heavily deployed. Returns in infrastructure are typically in the 10–15% range, and unlike growth equity or buyout, there are rarely 3x outcomes to offset a write-down. If an asset underperforms, it can materially impact fund performance.
As one CIO recently joked in conversation, “We’re going to stop celebrating deals and start celebrating exits.”
The comment reflects a broader shift in focus across the market. The emphasis has therefore moved toward active portfolio management. High-performing assets are being primed for strong exits, while continuation vehicles and extended hold periods are becoming more common.
The core principle of infrastructure investing — capital preservation — remains intact. Exit markets may be slower, but refinancing and long-duration demand continue to support valuations.
This resilience is one of the reasons infrastructure has continued to attract capital — but it also shapes how firms think about talent.
Post-COVID, there was an unprecedented hiring boom across investment banking and private equity as firms capitalised on a fragmented market. That momentum slowed amid geopolitical uncertainty and rising rates. Over the last 12 months, however, activity has meaningfully rebounded.
Fundraising is the clearest indicator. Infrastructure fundraising in 2025 reached approximately $300bn, which is significantly above the previous 2021 high-water mark of $200bn. And fundraising ultimately drives hiring.
When capital is raised, teams must deploy and manage it.
Interestingly, even during slower deal periods, infrastructure funds continue to hire at the Associate level. Large portfolios require ongoing asset management and value creation, and the “wheels keep turning.”
Where hiring tightens is at the VP level and above. Senior professionals carry a significant compensation premium, and in lower-liquidity environments, that becomes a commercial constraint. Despite increased hiring appetite at the junior level, the market remains highly competitive. Securing a role in infrastructure private equity is not getting easier – if anything, the bar is rising.
Most infrastructure funds target candidates with 18 months to three years of experience, typically from infrastructure or adjacent teams at bulge brackets or elite boutiques (transport, power, telecoms, industrials). Strong academics and, critically, live modelling experience (“holding the pen” on at least one transaction) are expected.
But technical ability alone is no longer sufficient.
The single biggest mistake candidates make is focusing excessively on the model and not enough on whether the deal is actually attractive. Private equity is fundamentally about commercial judgment. Interviewers want to hear investment views, risk assessment, capital structure thinking and downside analysis, and not just mechanical outputs.
Other avoidable errors include:
Large-cap processes are particularly intense, often involving multiple technical rounds, LBO tests, case studies and meetings with a dozen or more team members. Mid-market processes may be shorter but can require more infrastructure-specific modelling (e.g. project finance or DDM frameworks).
For candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, particularly MBA students, preparation must be 10x more rigorous. Interview volume may be lower, so conversion rates must be high. Technical precision, speed, and an authentic investor mindset are non-negotiable.
Taken together, these themes point to something broader about the infrastructure private equity market today.
The asset class has proven resilient through a difficult cycle, but that resilience has also raised expectations, both for assets and for the people managing them.
Funds are deploying record levels of capital into increasingly complex assets. Exit timelines are longer, operational oversight is deeper, and investment decisions carry greater scrutiny. In that environment, talent becomes one of the most important differentiators.
For candidates, that means the bar to entry is unlikely to fall any time soon. Technical excellence remains the baseline, but firms are increasingly looking for investors who combine analytical strength with genuine commercial judgement.
Infrastructure private equity may be more stable than other parts of the market, but the competition to enter it has never been higher. The candidates who stand out are those who demonstrate not just how a deal works on paper, but why it makes sense as an investment.
