Our people
28 November 2025
Investing in transport infrastructure changes lives in visible ways. For Madhulika Saraf, a senior investor and asset manager working in Macquarie Asset Management’s transport team, the work is about disciplined investing, clear accountability, and delivering outcomes that serve passengers and communities across the UK.
In 2008, as the Global Financial Crisis marked an industry wide turning point entry-level opportunities were hard to come by. Fortunately for Madhulika, she was able to secure a role with Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) while studying at the London School of Economics (LSE). Drawn by Macquarie’s reputation as a global infrastructure investor, she took a summer internship position before joining Macquarie’s Graduate Programme.
“Beginning a finance career in 2008 was a bit of gamble from my side,” admits Madhulika.
Fast forward sixteen years and it’s a gamble that paid off. Since joining Macquarie, Madhulika has built her career by investing in and managing transport portfolio companies, focusing on UK airports and major transactions.
Early in her career, Madhulika supported a complex airport debt restructuring before expanding into asset management and strategy. From 2014, she played a pivotal role in acquiring and transitioning AGS Airports out of Heathrow Group, a portfolio company that brought together Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton (AGS) Airports to strengthen regional connectivity and improve passenger experience. She worked closely with the management team and other stakeholders over a 10-year period, leading up to the sale of the portfolio in late 2024.
“Working on that first airport project was a turning point,” says Madhulika. “It demonstrated first-hand how critical infrastructure has a real impact on communities and economies.”
Since then, Madhulika’s remit has grown to include origination and asset management across transport - principally airports and roads. She represents Macquarie with co-shareholders and management teams, always considering how her work can not only help grow the businesses over Macquarie’s ownership period but also drive positive impact across the communities served by the portfolio companies she is responsible for.
Her recent work includes overseeing MAM’s significant investments in UK airports. In June 2025, Macquarie agreed to acquire ownership stakes in three major UK airports: a 55 per cent stake in Bristol Airport, a 26.5 per cent stake in Birmingham Airport, and an initial 25 per cent stake in London City Airport.
In October 2025, Macquarie announced an additional 50 per cent equity stake in in London City Airport, bringing the total ownership to 75 per cent.
Collectively serving over 25 million passengers annually, Madhulika acknowledges how these airports play a vital role in driving regional connectivity and economic growth.
Bristol Airport
Madhulika believes that accountability builds trust. She sets a standard that is simple in theory but complex in practice: Do the work well. Be clear on tradeoffs. Keep the community impact in view.
This mindset guided her through the AGS journey, where Macquarie Asset Management and Ferrovial enabled AGS Airports to invest £250 million into three important economic centres across the UK over more than a decade. The improvements included new terminal capacity in Aberdeen Airport, infrastructure upgrades in Glasgow Airport and a runway extension in Southampton Airport to diversify routes and serve the Southeast. These investments enabled the airports to support millions of passengers each year and contribute meaningfully to the UK economy and supply chains.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when aviation faced unprecedented disruption, Madhulika and her colleagues worked closely with AGS, as a portfolio company, to safeguard operational resilience and support recovery planning.
“Businesses doing well and providing essential connectivity to people across the world, be it travelling for holidays or business came to a grinding halt seemingly overnight,” says Madhulika.
For me, the impact on my immediate community of the airports and its passengers was a reminder of the significance of what we do. We have to get it right.”
She carries forward practical, people-centred lessons. Focus on operational performance and customer outcomes and be ready to make decisions at speed when conditions change.
“People learn by observing and doing,” she says. “We come together to reach a common goal. Support from leaders makes that possible.”
Describing the work as both analytical and human, Madhulika’s days are not only a mix of complex numbers and purposeful decisions, but also listening to and supporting management teams, collaborating with co-investors and staying close to what matters for the end customer.
Madhulika credits Macquarie’s culture with giving her space to grow and the support she receives from mentors who set directions and make time for questions. According to Madhulika, teams learn by doing, and by sharing context quickly, a blueprint for success she has looked to emulate. When a colleague is ready to step up, Madhulika works to ensure the right cover is in place so they can focus on new responsibilities. That practical approach helps people advance without being pulled back into yesterday’s tasks, raising the capability of the team.
She also values curiosity and preparation in early career talent, advising them to read widely and define success for themselves. Understand the firm you are meeting and the wider context but also ask whether the day-to-day work will keep you motivated. Arriving with strong market awareness and thoughtful questions is important, she says.
What keeps me inspired is knowing that the work we do makes a real difference for communities. Every decision has an impact, and that sense of purpose is what drives me.”
Sixteen years in, the motivation remains the same. Investing in transport infrastructure is about people and possibility. Madhulika loves the momentum of helping a portfolio company improve, seeing a plan come to life and knowing that teams on the ground can deliver a better experience because investors, boards and management aligned behind the right priorities.
As she looks ahead, Madhulika is focused on origination and the steady craft of asset management, bringing the same mix of analysis and accountability that has defined her career.
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