Scott Choi has helped lead Actis’ data centre projects near Seoul
Actis this week announced a series of global partner promotions, including upgrading senior executives in South Korea and India active in data centres and renewable energy, as the London-based fund manager continues to emphasise infrastructure and real estate investments.
The six new Actis partners include Scott Choi, a Seoul-based director with the firm’s real estate team, and Mumbai-based Sumit Sen, from its infrastructure team, according to a press release this week.
“I am truly thrilled to be welcoming Scott, Alberto, Mauricio, Shami, Lisa and Sumit to the Actis partnership,” said Actis’ senior partner Torbjorn Caesar. “I have been inspired by their unwavering commitment to Actis’ values and understanding of the transformational impact our investments can have globally.”
The promotions were announced just two weeks after Actis brought on board Dalmar Sheikh, former APAC director and regional leader at Amazon Web Services as its new global head of data centre operations. The move, announced on 24 February, aims to further strengthen Actis’ operational expertise in the digital infrastructure sphere, and to “capitalise on growing demand for digital infrastructure in Asia and beyond.”
Team Building Exercise
Choi joined the Actis Asia real estate team in 2018 following the firm’s buyout of Standard Chartered Bank’s Principal Finance Real Estate (PFRE) business that year. Since joining Actis, Choi has been responsible for building out Actis’ team in Korea, and has played a leading role in establishing the firm’s data centre projects in the country, according to local news reports.
Sumit Sen specialises in renewable energy
With more than 18 years of experience in the Korean real estate industry, Choi had joined Standard Chartered’s real estate team in 2010, and also has previous experience at Mirae Asset, Korea’s largest property fund manager.
The University of London graduate began his career in 2004 as a senior analyst at KPMG FAS Korea.
Sen, who joined the Actis infrastructure team in 2017, is responsible for the firm’s infrastructure activities in India and Southeast Asia and has over 15 years of experience in accounting, investment banking and energy investment.
Before signing up with Actis, Sen spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs and also has prior experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India.
Global Growth
Actis is adding to its senior management ranks after the firm announced in November last year that it had raised $251 million for its second Asia real estate vehicle.
In September of 2020, the firm announced a joint venture with Korean conglomerate GS Group to build and operate a 21 megawatt internet data centre in Greater Seoul at a development cost of $315 million. Actis also owns a controlling stake in mainland China data centre player Chayora, after upping its investment in the firm in 2019.
Beyond its real estate strategies, Actis also manages the $1.23-billion Long Life Infrastructure Fund which invests in energy infrastructure across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
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