Daniel Patrick Flannery

Introduced to the energy industry freshly out of college, Daniel Flannery credits his extensive career to “hard work, good fortune, resilience and high-quality mentorship.” 

After starting the credit investment business seven years ago with his partners, he has watched as it has excelled before his eyes through his teams’ care and leadership.

“I am most proud of being a co-founder of Riverstone’s credit investment platform, Riverstone Credit Partners,” he said. “Our team started the business from scratch seven years ago and has raised over $2.5 billion of capital from our LPs and invested approximately $5 billion across over 60 transactions.”

Flannery lives in New York City with his wife, Dr. Colleen Flannery, and his children: Sullivan, Mack and Kitt. He and his wife are expecting their fourth child in November.

Fresh start

“I was hired out of college to work at UBS in the Leveraged Finance group by my mentors and current partners, Chris Abbate and Jamie Brodsky, who were product specialists in the energy space and graduates of my alma mater, Duke University. I worked almost exclusively for Chris and Jamie as an investment banking analyst focused on energy credit financings.

A career milestone reached earlier than planned was my promotion to managing director. Hard work, good fortune, resilience and high-quality mentorship were all contributing factors to the accomplishment.”

Career highs and lows

“My most memorable professional experience thus far in my career was our first funds’ inaugural closing in 2015. Having our limited partners support our team, the investment thesis and ability to produce attractive risk adjusted returns without a track record was an incredible achievement for our team.

The few investments we have made that needed to be restructured have all been challenging for various reasons. Meeting the challenge in those circumstances to maximize recovery on investment is incredibly important and can be extremely stressful. Every situation is unique.”

Leading the way

“The most important qualities that are necessary for good leadership in the industry are confidence, courage and strategic thinking.

We started our credit investment business without a track record, which took an incredible amount of confidence, courage and strategic thinking. We continue to grow our business as a team with these core principles always in mind.

Strong mentorship and superior role models [have helped greatly]. My family, partners, certain friends and peers, colleagues and coaches have greatly impacted my development and leadership capabilities.”

Inspiration and advice

“I have had many mentors, but the most significant in my life to date have been my parents and my wife. They have taught me the value of hard work, sacrifice, humility and resilience.”

Future aspirations

“My primary goal is to help build our energy credit business into a $15 billion to $20 billion investment platform.

I am motivated to produce the best investment performance we are capable of delivering for our limited partners and the firm. I’m passionate about the opportunity to continually grow our business. To be able to work at Riverstone, one of the largest private capital investors in energy and energy-related infrastructure globally, is a privilege, which also keeps me motivated to succeed.

Young industry professionals bring a different perspective. The oil and gas industry, like many other industries, is transforming real time based on new technology innovations and approaches. Much of this transformation, in particular energy transition, is being led by young industry members.

The industry needs to be committed to ESG in a real and responsible way to thrive in a world where carbon footprint reduction is incredibly thematic.”