Graduating from Texas Christian University with a bachelor’s of business administration in finance in 1995, Gabe Ellisor entered a credit-training program at First Interstate Bank in Houston. During his tenure there, Wells Fargo NA acquired First Interstate, which resulted in a dispersion of many of First Interstate’s bankers to other Houston financial institutions.

Ellisor worked with Mike Fiuzat, who left First Interstate to join Paris-based BNP Paribas shortly after the merger with Wells Fargo. Nearly a year later, Paribas was looking for an analyst and Ellisor rejoined Fiuzat.

While at BNP, Ellisor was the originator of more than $2.8 billion of transactions, including more than $650 million of second-lien loans between 2005 and 2008, giving him a broad experience with raising capital for energy companies.

Ellisor met Chris Wagner and Scott Logan, founders of Denver-based Rivington Capital Advisors LLC, approximately six years ago while BNP and Rivington were involved in executing capital raises for some of Rivington’s private E&P clients. When Rivington decided to open a Houston office in 2008, Ellisor joined.

Now providing investment-banking services to the energy industry, Ellisor spoke with Oil and Gas Investor about the benefits of working in a smaller firm, how the financial markets are slowly regaining their footing and why new members of the industry should stick it out during current hard times.

Investor What drew you to a career in investment banking?

Ellisor I really consider my work at Rivington as my first foray into investment banking, as the BNP platform is built on a commercial-banking model. Rivington’s focus spans more than debt capital, which was the primary product at BNP. Rivington has allowed me to broaden my skill set to include junior debt products and private equity.

Additionally, we do a fair amount of buyside M&A work here, and this is an entirely new venture for me. Finally, joining Rivington fit my desire to get involved more on the transaction side and rid myself of the ongoing maintenance of a loan portfolio.

Investor What is the most interesting project you’ve worked on at Rivington?

Ellisor In the past year, every transaction has had a unique set of circumstances, most of which were caused by over-levered companies that expanded their debt load during the peak of the market. It’s no secret that, until recently, the capital markets were effectively closed for smaller E&P companies.

The most interesting cases have involved recapitalization of balance sheets to pay down bank debt or potentially take out a bond issuance at a discount. In contrast to my first 10 years in the banking sector, every transaction today is a challenge. Each one requires a unique perspective and outside-the-box thinking.

Investor How is the current market affecting deal flow for your clients?

Ellisor M&A activity this year is a fraction of that of the past few years, so I believe everyone’s deal flow is substantially below the norm. While activity in the second quarter has been greater than the first, the disparity between buyer and seller expectations continues to hamper a healthy M&A market. Additionally, the capital sources—private equity, and mezzanine and commercial debt—traditionally employed by smaller E&Ps have been mostly on the sidelines since the financial-market collapse and commodity-price declines in the second half of 2008.

Investor What do you like most about your job?

Ellisor Rivington is a smaller firm that can react quickly to a dynamic marketplace. Here, decisions can be made in a short time frame and, if we decide to work on something outside the norm, only a few individuals have to sign off.

Investor Who has been a professional mentor?

Ellisor Brian Malone at BNP Paribas. He allowed me to work closely with him on a number of high-profile transactions early in my career that gave me the ability to learn firsthand about the E&P financing arena. I can say that a large portion of my knowledge of this business was gained from working with Brian. He also gave me a fair degree of autonomy, which definitely augmented my career development.

Investor Where do you see yourself in five years?

Ellisor I’m here for the long haul and plan to work with the other members of the firm to build something great. In five years, we’ll have much greater penetration into the market and will most likely have expanded our platform and scope of services offered to the industry—whether that means hiring a full-scale M&A team, raising capital to invest on a principal basis or some other new venture.

Investor How do you spend your free time?

Ellisor I like to hunt and fish and watch Astros games, but most of my time is spent with my wife and three children, ages eight, six and four. They are truly a blessing and I’m fortunate to have them in my life.

Investor What would you advise fellow young industry members?

Ellisor The oil and gas industry is a great place to be. While the current environment isn’t all roses, those who stay will ultimately be rewarded, so anyone interested in the energy business should plan to be a long-term player.