Forty Under 40: John Fossum, Petrie Partners

John Fossum, managing director with Petrie Partners LLC in the firm’s Denver office, is today’s featured Forty Under 40 honoree.

Growing up in Northern California, Fossum said he never gave much thought to oil and gas in his early years. However, after graduating from Rice University, he fell in love with the “dynamic and ever-changing” nature of the energy industry.

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go into energy investment banking with Petrie Parkman & Co. coming out of college,” he said. “Once I was in the industry, I fell in love with it and have never looked back.”

After starting his career at Petrie Parkman & Co. in the firm’s Houston office, he later held various roles of increasing responsibility with TPG Capital and First Reserve Corp. where he was a member of each firm’s North American-focused energy investment team.

Later he would serve as vice president with the Energy & Minerals Group, focused on equity investments in the exploration and production and midstream sectors of the energy industry, before joining Petrie Partners in 2017.

Today, Fossum focuses on strategic advisory, M&A, asset divestitures and capital raising for the energy sector at Petrie Partners and said he loves serving as a mentor to other young professionals and recent college graduates.

“Every year we hire several analysts directly out of college, so over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with and mentoring quite a few recent college graduates joining our industry,” he said. “It’s a fast-paced job, and oftentimes analysts are thrust into situations for which their four years of college did not prepare them.”

“I am always proud when, nine to 12 months into their careers, I can see the light bulb go off and they really start to understand the industry and the work we are doing,” he added.

Click here for John Fossum’s complete profile.

Take a look at all of the Forty Under 40 honorees.