The Ramp Up

Chris Williams has spent more than two decades in leveraged finance, trading through major market cycles, helping build CLO platforms, and developing a cross-market view of how credit continues to evolve. Now Head of Leveraged Finance Trading at Nuveen, Chris brings a perspective shaped by the mechanics of structured finance, the discipline of trading protocol, and the relationships that have defined his career.In this episode, Chris joins Brian Bejile to reflect on the path from Sonoma County to the front lines of credit markets, including early lessons from Wachovia, Gulfstream, TIAA, and Nuveen. The conversation covers the importance of learning the “plumbing” of structured finance, the power of mentorship, what the financial crisis taught him about documentation and resilience, how trading protocol shapes trust in over-the-counter markets, and why liquidity, electronic trading, ETFs, portfolio trading, and AI are changing the way fixed income markets connect.

Ryan Barrows and John Porges built LevPro out of firsthand experience with the inefficiencies that largely still shape leveraged credit workflows. Ryan brought a background in technology, trading, and systems-building across Morgan Stanley and Benefit Street Partners, while John spent 12 years as a loan, high yield and distressed trader at Kingsland Capital, Doubleline Capital and Blackstone and brings deep market relationships and customer insights to LevPro's go-to market strategy.In this episode, Ryan and John share the story behind founding LevPro, from taking the plunge in March 2020 and building through the early days of COVID to landing their first customers, hiring a lean remote team, and creating software designed around the way credit professionals actually work. The conversation also covers the recent agreement for Octus to acquire LevPro, why the partnership made sense, and how data, workflow automation, and AI could reshape the next phase of leveraged credit.

Steven Hunter’s path to building 9fin started with an early entrepreneurial streak, a law degree, and a front-row seat to the inefficiencies of leveraged finance and credit markets. After beginning his career at JP Morgan and Barings, Steven saw how manual, fragmented, and outdated many debt market workflows remained — and believed technology could help solve them. In this episode, Steven shares the story behind founding 9fin, from quitting his job in the wake of Brexit to building the first product out of a flat in Greenwich, landing early customers, navigating COVID-era volatility, and scaling the company into a global debt market data and analytics platform. Brian and Steven discuss the realities of founder life, the leadership lessons that come with carrying pressure others don’t see, 9fin’s expansion into the U.S. and new markets, and why Steven believes AI will fundamentally reshape credit workflows in the years ahead.

Dave Trepanier’s path into structured credit wasn’t linear. Growing up on a French-Canadian farm in rural Ontario, he learned grit, teamwork, and how to make decisions when outcomes are uncertain—lessons that would later show up in an unlikely place: the earliest days of the CLO market. Now Global Head of GCSS-Structured Products in FICC Trading at Bank of America, Dave has helped build one of the industry’s leading CLO and CDO trading franchises while navigating every major modern credit cycle.In this episode, Dave walks through the long road from political science and law school plans to financial engineering, options markets in Chicago, and a pivotal move to Charlotte—where CLOs were still modeled by hand in Excel off faxed trustee reports. We discuss what those “stone age” workflows taught him about risk, liquidity, and market structure, how the product evolved through telecom and the GFC, and why electronification, data, and systematic strategies may define the next chapter of credit markets.

Kelly Byrne's path to credit markets started in engineering, where systems, risk management, and infrastructure were foundational. Today, as Founder and CEO of Mountain Point Credit, Kelly is applying those principles to build a systematic, data-driven investment platform built around a disciplined risk ranking process, rigorous diversification, and repeatable, transparent decision-making.In this episode, Kelly shares his journey from engineering to portfolio management, the lessons he carried through nearly two decades at Voya Investment Management, and why he believes the loan market remains largely analog. We discuss what it really takes to evolve credit investing: from building the right systems and frameworks to paving the road toward a more efficient, technology-enabled market where a systematic approach can unlock new opportunities for investors.About Kelly:Kelly Byrne is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Point Credit, responsible for leading the firm’s vision to bring a systematic investment approach to the loan market. MPC was founded by Kelly Byrne in partnership with Eagle Point Credit. Prior to founding Mountain Point, Mr. Byrne spent 18 years at Voya Investment Management, most recently as Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Capital Markets, where he helped grow assets from $2 billion to $30 billion. He held leadership roles across credit products and built the systems and processes that underpin operational and performance risk management. He now focuses on leveraging market data and technology to streamline and improve portfolio management. Mr. Byrne holds a BSE in Biomedical Engineering and an MBA from Arizona State University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder.