Lazard's George Bilicic leaves to head KKR's infrastructure investments.

As a managing director at Lazard, George Bilicic was at the top of his game. After founding the firm's power-and-energy group in 2002 and negotiating such high-profile deals as the $45 billion buyout of TXU (led by Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts and TPG Capital) and the $11.8 billion sale of KeySpan to U.K. power company National Grid, Bilicic wasn't looking to make any major changes. Change, however, found him.

After having maintained a relationship with him for more than a decade, KKR asked Bilicic to join its team as a managing director. He accepted, and, as of May, was named head of the firm's new infrastructure investing effort. A dedicated infrastructure fund is expected sometime by the end of this year.

"I was content in my role at Lazard and perfectly suited as an adviser," Bilicic, 44, says. "I had an ongoing dialogue with KKR about all the activity in the infrastructure area, but nothing noteworthy to speak of brought this change about. When I think about my career -- first as a lawyer, then a banker -- that transition required that I dramatically adjust my focus. This transition, from banking to private equity, should be more seamless."

In today's market, anyone who expects to be successful in the private-equity arena, even as a service provider, must have deep industry knowledge and a solid understanding of investing trends. "I've built a very long career in the energy and infrastructure area, and I've developed strong relationships," Bilicic says. "For years I've been advising firms on how to deploy capital in the infrastructure area."

Under Bilicic's direction, KKR will be investing in the physical assets that make up the backbone of the economy. Rather than investing in businesses exposed to commodity prices, the buyout firm will focus on investments in non-cyclical assets such as toll roads, bridges, cellphone towers and regulated gas pipelines. "There's just a staggering amount of investment needed right now in the U.S., but it's not just a U.S. phenomenon," Bilicic says. "As the economy continues to transform in places like China, Brazil and Russia, so does their need for more infrastructure. This should be a great third career for me."

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