From Garage Startup to Octus: How LevPro Modernized Front-Office Workflows (Ryan Barrows & John Porges, Co-Founders of LevPro)

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 After beginning his career at JP Morgan and Barings, Steven saw how manual, fragmented, and outdated many debt market workflows remained — and believed technology could help solve them.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.

John Fraser, Partner and Chairman of Global Structured Credit Strategies at Tikehau Capital, joins your host Brian Bejile, CEO of Octaura on The Ramp Up. John has accumulated a wealth of knowledge over his 30 years in the CLO industry. From his early days traveling the world to starting his own shop, John has had an incredible journey. In this episode, John talks about taking a step back from the business, and why he couldn’t stay away for long.

Hans Christensen, Co-founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of MJX Asset Management joins your host, Brian Bejile, CEO of Octaura on The Ramp Up. Hans’s seemingly typical career journey turned out to be anything but. Beginning as a credit analyst at Harris Bank with a hand calculator and a slide rule, Hans has witnessed the evolution of credit industry, spending a good chunk of his career at Citi before moving to Barclays and eventually spinning the business out into MJX, which currently manages over $17 Billion across multiple CLO funds.  Hans has built an incredible business and counts himself lucky to be surrounded by a team of smart, highly experience people who have stuck around for the journey. But how did Hans “the credit guy” get to where he is today?  About Hans Hans Christensen is co-founder of MJX Asset Management. Prior to joining MJX, Hans was Chief Investment Officer for Barclays U.S. Collateralized Debt Obligation (“CDO”) asset management business. Hans also worked at Citibank N.A. for 20 years in various portfolio management, credit, and corporate finance roles. Previously he worked at Banker’s Trust Company and began his career with Harris Trust & Savings Bank in Chicago.  Privately he is Vice Chair of The Army War College Foundation. He is also co-founder of a charity that runs an elementary school as well as a vocational school for girls and women in Pakistan.   Mr. Christensen received his BS in Finance from Indiana University and his MBA in Finance from DePaul University

John Popp, currently managing director and global head of the Credit Investments Group at UBS Asset Management joins your host Brian Bejile, CEO of Octaura, on The Ramp Up. John has had a storied career, which began on what some would call a less traditional path to the world of finance. John has spent most of his career building structured credit platforms at Indosuez, First Dominion, CSAM – and now UBS Asset Management. John credits his success to the broad perspective his path has provided, as well as the incredible network and community he’s developed over the years.About John:John G. Popp is a Managing Director of UBS Asset Management. He is the Global Head and Chief Investment Officer of the Credit Investments Group (CIG) with primary responsibility for investment decisions, portfolio monitoring processes and business development for CIG's global investment strategies.  He established CIG in 1997. Mr. Popp served as the Chief Executive Officer and President from February 16, 2010 to November 14, 2023, and currently serves as a Director of the Credit Suisse Funds, the Credit Suisse Asset Management Income Fund, Inc. and the Credit Suisse High Yield Bond Fund.  Mr. Popp is a member of CIG’s Corporate Credit Forum, Structured Credit Forum, and PCO Investment Committee. Prior to joining CIG, Mr. Popp was a Founding Partner and Head of Asset Management for First Dominion Capital, LLC, overseeing the management of $2.5 billion in Credit Securitization Vehicles.  From 1992 through 1997, Mr. Popp was a Managing Director of Indosuez Capital and served as President of Indosuez Capital Asset Advisors, Inc., and President of 1211 Investors, Inc.  While at Indosuez, Mr. Popp was responsible for building the firm's asset management business, including the development of three Credit Securitization Vehicles aggregating $1.3 billion.  In 1989, Mr. Popp joined the Corporate Finance Department of Kidder Peabody & Co., Inc. as Senior Vice President, previously serving as Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisitions department of Drexel Burnham Lambert. Mr. Popp is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution's Foreign Policy Leadership Committee, the Leadership Advisory Board of the Wharton School and the Juilliard School Council. In addition, Mr. Popp is a former member of the Board of Directors of The Loan Syndications & Trading Association (LSTA). Mr. Popp graduated with a B.A. from Pomona College and an M.B.A. from the Wharton Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania.

Peter Gleysteen, Founder, CEO & CIO at AGL Credit Management joinsyour host Brian Bejile, CEO of Octaura on The Ramp Up. Peter is a legend in thestructured credit industry, successfully navigating every economic cycle andmarket crisis since his career began in 1975. Pulling from his uniqueupbringing, Peter has honed the ability to shed a different perspective throughouthis career – leading him to launch innovations that laid the foundations of howtoday’s loan market operates. With experience starting not one, but two buysideshops, Peter is an incredible wealth of knowledge.  About PeterPeter Gleysteen is the Founder, CEO, and CIO of AGL Credit Managementwhich he established with the support of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. AGLcreates and manages corporate credit investments including CLOs and privatecredit with managed assets of $16 billion.Gleysteen has over four decades of credit and management experienceand successfully navigated every economic cycle and market crisis since hiscareer began in 1975. Gleysteen’s prior two employers were JPMorgan Chase &Co. and CIFC Asset Management.At JPMorgan Chase, and antecedent entities Chemical Bank and ChaseManhattan, Gleysteen was the lead banker on many of the largest LBO, M&A,and Restructuring financings in the 1980s and 1990s. He ran global loansyndications as Group Head of Global Syndicated Finance, was responsible forthe global corporate loan portfolio as Group Head of Global Capital Management,and then served as the Chief Credit Officer.Gleysteen was integral to the evolution of the bank loan asset classfrom inception, including making the first “B-Loan” in 1989 and conceiving andinstituting the “Market Flex” pricing convention in 1997.Gleysteen founded CIFC Asset Management in 2005 and managed it as CEOfrom inception to 2014 when it was sold. He served as Vice-Chairman and specialadvisor until 2016.Gleysteen formed AGL Credit Management in 2018 and launched it in2019. In 2024, AGL announced an exclusive private credit collaboration withBarclays Bank PLC.Gleysteen has a BA in History from Trinity College, a MBA, ExecutiveProgram, from the University of Chicago, and attended St. PetersburgUniversity, when Russia was the USSR. He is a member of the Council on ForeignRelations and a board member of Mystic Seaport Museum.

This month, co-founders and managing partners of HalseyPoint Lynn Hopton and Yvonne Stevens join Brian Bejile on The Ramp Up. Lynn and Yvonne are veterans of the CLO market. They've been securitizing assets since the market's early days in the '90s. After decades of working together at SunAmerica and then at American Express, they seized the moment and started their own shop, HalseyPoint in 2018. To get HalseyPoint off the ground, they built on their resilience, the relationships they curated, and a lengthy track record of success. The launch of HalseyPoint was fully embraced and celebrated by the street. And now, the business is thriving. About LynnPrior to founding HalseyPoint, Lynn was the Co-Head and Senior Managing Director of the Leveraged Debt Group at Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (and its predecessor companies) for 18 years from April of 2000 through March 2018. She was responsible for running the leveraged debt business of Columbia which had approximately $9 billion in assets under management at its peak, including over $8 billion in CLO vehicles. She also was the lead portfolio manager for all funds and chair of the credit committee.Lynn previously worked as a Managing Director at AIG/ SunAmerica for nine years where she was responsible for the management and trading of over $3 billion of assets across a variety of fixed income asset classes.She began her career as a banker covering private equity sponsors on the west coast for Security Pacific Merchant Bank.Lynn received a BA in Economics with distinction from Northwestern University and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.About YvonnePrior to founding HalseyPoint, Yvonne was the Co-Head and Senior Managing Director of the Leveraged Debt Group at Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (and its predecessor companies) for 18 years from April of 2000 through March 2018. She was instrumental in building the platform to be one of the early CLO managers recognized for consistency and performance. Prior to joining Columbia, Yvonne was a portfolio manager at SunAmerica/AIG for seven years where, among other responsibilities, she developed a structured finance expertise in CLO mezzanine investments beginning in the early 1990s. In addition to managing a $2 billion CLO mezzanine portfolio, she expanded that focus from investing to issuing CLOs as a manager, helping to raise and create the first SunAmerica-managed CLO named Galaxy in 1999.Prior to SunAmerica, Yvonne started her career in the bank training program at Irving Trust Bank and then subsequently worked at GE Capital in a loan underwriting and origination role.Yvonne received a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.