From Enron’s trading desk to managing his own capital

A 21-year-old joined Enron in 1995 and stayed through its bankruptcy in December 2001. He rose to head trader at the company, then the country’s largest natural-gas trading firm. After Enron collapsed, he considered other platforms but was offered backing to start his own hedge fund. He weighed whether he could reproduce enough of Enron’s information flow to preserve its profitability; after meeting Ken Griffin, he concluded that going independent could offer better economics if he could raise the capital.

The transition meant managing a limited investment account rather than using a corporate balance sheet. He described natural gas as exceptionally volatile at the time, with substantial tail risk: capital could earn returns by providing insurance against risks, but positions had to be sized carefully enough to withstand payouts.