Michael Whalen brings more than twenty-five years of global experience in advising, structuring, and raising more than $20 billion in finance for capital-intensive infrastructure projects across the energy value chain and other infrastructure sectors.
As a seasoned industry and financial professional, he leads BRG’s energy and infrastructure project finance advisory services, enhancing the firm’s financial and project development advisory capabilities in the areas of gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), power and renewables, and other energy and infrastructure sectors.
Mr. Whalen has served in commercial, financial, and public-sector leadership roles: as head of a leading global bank’s regional project finance division, head of international structured finance divisions at two US government agencies (OPIC and EXIM Bank), and as chief financial officer of a renewable energy company.
He has led, structured, and restructured complex financing transactions. He has advised clients seeking to commercialize innovative technologies and implement pioneering business plans to debt and equity investors. Additionally, he has served in lead roles at a multinational banking and financial services corporation, a major American oil company, and the US Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau. In these positions, he has led numerous project financings for companies and projects in the global LNG, renewable energy, transportation, and other core infrastructure, petrochemicals, and industrial process sectors.
As a lead advisor, Mr. Whalen has provided strategic, commercial and financial counsel to clients such as leading global energy market participants, national energy companies, energy and core infrastructure investors, utilities, state agencies, independent developers, and financial institutions.
Mr. Whalen’s professional experience spans more than twenty-five countries throughout the Americas, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, and Asia.
Employment History
Build America Bureau, US Dept. of Transportation
Senior advisor to executive director
2017 – 2018
Export-Import Bank of the United States
VP and head of project and structured finance
2015 – 2017
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
VP and head of structured finance
2013 – 2015
SolarReserve
Chief financial officer
2008 – 2013
HSBC Securities (USA)
MD and head of project and export finance americas
2002 – 2008
Bank of America Securities Limited
Co-head of EMEA energy and power finance
2000 – 2002
BA Asia Limited
Banker
1997 – 2000
Mobil Corporation
Finance professional (HQ, London, Singapore)
1990 – 1997
Community/Civic Involvement
Frequent guest lecturer on project finance, emerging markets projects, and US public agency engagement in development finance and overseas economic engagement, including Johns Hopkins University, SAIS; Columbia University, Graduate School of Business; US State Department, Foreign Services Institute.
