ABOUT
Trace Creek Management
Trace Creek Management (TCM), LLC, is a private investment firm established with the primary purpose of investing in Infrastructure, Energy and Technology Transition assets.
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Trace Creek uses market knowledge and access to help mid-stage companies commercialize assets. Investments are focused on infrastructure and technology. We source private companies through a vast network of commercial, investing, and banking relationships.
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Trace Creek, through its founding partners, brings together over 100 years of combined experience in investment underwriting, alternative investment management, corporate and investment banking, engineering, and energy project development.
Our Team
Nirav Patel, CEO
Nirav Patel has been CEO of Big Hill since 2020, a private development company for one of the largest clean hydrogen projects in the world.
Prior to Big Hill, Nirav spent over 15 years overseeing and managing mortgage-backed securities origination and trading businesses. He successfully managed large portfolios through market turmoil, including the 2008 Great Recession, consistently identifying market opportunities that provide outsized returns with low volatility. He was Managing Director of the Agency CMO Business for BNP Paribas where he oversaw a portfolio of investments exceeding $5 billion USD. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, Nirav spent 4 years at Credit Suisse where he ran a substantial Agency Derivative business. From 2007 to 2010, he was a trader with Deutsche Bank Capital Management, a proprietary trading desk.
Nirav holds a B.S. in Theoretical Mathematics and a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University.
Lee Kempler, COO
Lee Kempler was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at Assured Investment Management, formerly known as Blue Mountain Capital, a large credit-oriented hedge fund and private equity firm.
Prior to joining Blue Mountain in 2017, he was a Managing Director at BlackRock, where he founded and led the BlackRock Investment Institute. Lee joined BlackRock after a long and varied career at McKinsey & Company, where he advised senior executives in the financial services sector on issues of strategy, organization, and operations.
Lee holds BA, BS, and MBA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he focused on US foreign policy and security studies. Lee serves as Chair of the SAIS Board of Advisors.
Adrian Wu, CFO
Adrian Wu has been CFO of Big Hill since 2020, a private development company for one of the largest clean hydrogen projects in the world.
He has over 19 years of experience in portfolio management, trading and structuring mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and loan products. Mr. Wu was Managing Director/Head of Trading at Madison Paige Capital LLC from 2014 to 2016. From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Wu served as co-head of credit trading at Premium Point Investments, a $2B mortgage hedge fund. Prior to that, Adrian held senior positions at Deutsche Bank, UBS Securities, and Salomon Smith Barney.
Mr. Wu holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Michigan and a M.S. in Engineering Economic Systems and Operations Research from Stanford University.
Kwang Peng Sim, Head of BD
Rick Chapman, CRM
Rick Chapman is a highly experienced business leader who has significantly contributed to the fields of finance, technology, and clean energy. Since 2020, he has been a founding member of Big Hill, where he has played a key role in developing one of the world's largest clean hydrogen projects. Chapman's expertise in relationship-building and project development has been instrumental in the growth of Big Hill.
Prior to his work at Big Hill, Chapman spent over 15 years as a Partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, specializing in trading U.S. Treasury Bonds. During his tenure, he was instrumental in expanding the trading desk’s market share from 35% to over 70% internationally. He was also a visionary behind E-Speed, the firm’s fully electronic trading platform, which transformed trading efficiency in the industry.
With over 30 years of business experience, Chapman is known for his ability to build and maintain strong relationships across diverse sectors, including financial services, technology, and oil and gas. His skill in connecting people and moving projects forward has earned him a reputation as someone who can always find the right help for any business need.
Most recently, Chapman continues to leverage his vast network and expertise as a senior team member at Big Hill, contributing to the success of one of the largest clean hydrogen projects in the world.
Founder of KPSIM Advisors LLC, an independent outsourced investment advisory firm. Mr Sim has 17 years of experience in providing specialized and curated advice on hedge funds to US and Asian family offices. Extensive network and connections with family offices, institutional investors, and fund managers in the investments industry in both the US and Asia.
Prior to his investment career, Mr. Sim had worked as a Chemical Process Engineer at Kellogg Brown and Root and ABB Lummus Global.