Ep 208: Tara Davies - Inside the Global Infrastructure Playbook for Serious Private Capital

Inside the Rope with David Clark

David chats with Tara Davies, Co-Head of European Infrastructure and Co-Head of EMEA at KKR, one of the world’s most influential alternative investment firms. Tara’s career spans two decades at the top of global infrastructure investing, from Macquarie in the formative years of privatisations to now helping lead KKR through one of the largest capital deployment cycles in history. For investors watching the rapid rise of private markets, particularly those curious about how KKR thinks about risk, returns, leverage, vintages, AI-driven infrastructure, and liquidity in evergreen structures, this is a rare opportunity to hear it directly from someone charged with allocating tens of billions globally. Tara brings depth of cycle-tested judgment and unpacks how KKR underwrites downside, protects capital, and finds differentiated returns across energy transition, digital infrastructure, and private credit–linked opportunities. Listen to hear about: * How KKR defines “true infrastructure” — and where the market is mispricing risk * Why AI is turbo-charging transmission, renewables, and data-center build-out globally * The move from closed-end drawdown funds to evergreen vehicles designed for private clients * The role of vintage-year diversification as the stealth driver of long-term returns * How to think about debt discipline in an era where leverage is the thing that kills good assets This is a masterclass in private markets from one of the most senior women in global investing, and a rare transparent look “inside the room” at KKR’s worldview on infrastructure as an asset class for wealth preservation and compounding.