TOP 100 MAGAZINE

Trevor Welch

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One glance at Trevor Welch’s résumé, the impressive array of awards and achievements that have marked his 22 years in banking, finance, and fund management will tell anyone that he’s a trusted authority in his field. He’s been featured in Bloomberg's “Taking Stock” and in the Wall Street Journal. As a founder, partner, and fund manager, he’s led award-winning investment firms recognized for their excellence, including AI Hedge Fund’s Best Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund, Best Ideas Fund of Hedge Funds, and a multi-year nominee of Hedgeweek USA’s Best Multi-Strategy Fund. Trevor’s accomplishments and accolades alone are awe-inspiring. But there is no greater declaration of confidence in his skills, expertise, and character than his long-held relationships with the investors he’s served for the last 15 years—spanning from the day he left his role at Goldman, Sachs & Co to join a hedge fund firm that would later be acquired, on to today as he marks a decade as the founder and managing partner of TAVA Capital and VP of Finance for a burgeoning clean tech startup. Leading a thriving firm, Trevor delivers on TAVA’s goal to simplify the complexity in various alternative investment structures, quantitatively optimize fund/pooled investment vehicles, and provide better risk management, operational efficiency, and outsized investment returns for investors.

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About TAVA Capital

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Based in Utah, TAVA Capital is an outsourced chief investment office, startup, and fund management consultancy focused on hedge funds, venture capital, and esoteric alternative investment vehicles. The firm manages funds and consults on investments for a select few relationships, including as fund manager and investment consultant for Oros Multi-Family Office and the Private Office of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Alnehayan in the U.A.E.  Trevor continues to accept compelling engagements on investment vehicles and serves as a strategic partner to other fund managers through TAVA.

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Trevor is driven by a sincere devotion to his investors’ success and his desire to make a meaningful impact on the world. “As an investor, I’ve always looked for deeply impactful opportunities,” he shares. “Many of the companies in which I look to invest are those serving the social good—primarily, bettering people’s lives and improving the global environment.” This is precisely what motivated him, in fall of 2022, to add the role of VP of finance for Blue Sky Energy Corporation, a coal reclamation company focused on processing coal and carbon waste to create cleaner advanced materials and energy sources. “The need for advanced carbon technology is compelling, and I’ve had portfolio interest in this field for the last 12 years—so, this is an opportunity to help them grow,” Trevor explains.

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We sat down with Trevor to learn more about TAVA’s origins, Blue Sky Energy, and how fate brought them together on behalf of the betterment of humanity.

 

What compelled you to start TAVA Capital as a venture investment and consulting firm and now to add Blue Sky as acting VP of finance to that role?

 

Shortly after leaving Goldman Sachs, I was a junior partner of a hedge fund firm and managing assets in 2009 through the financial crisis. My partners and I sold the hedge fund side of the business in 2013, but there was a side vehicle for private venture-stage investments that wasn’t part of the acquisition.  I remember investing early in  private deals, and fell in love with the idea that small advances in an industry like energy can drastically improve the lives of people across the globe. My work investing for and with the Sheikh’s office and across the U.S. keeps me deeply connected to the global human experience and loving people from all walks of life.

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Now, a decade later, with Blue Sky Energy, I have the opportunity to do something profoundly beneficial to society. Blue Sky Energy is a compelling investment case, but the ability to contribute more significantly to this team has a deeply personal meaning to me.  I’ve known and been friends with the founder of the company, Alan Hall, for 14 years. He co-founded a successful VC firm himself and previously exited a company to a major corporation. I’ve always felt aligned philosophically on the deeper meaning of investing and entrepreneurship to benefit societal advances. When Alan approached me about Blue Sky Energy, I felt that it was an opportunity to help people, both at an individual and a societal level.

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You’ve invested in a variety of technology and energy ventures in your career, many of which are working for the social good. What made Blue Sky Energy particularly attractive to you?

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The successful economic path of Blue Sky Energy is different from many traditional technology VC investments and, therefore, justifies a different type of risk capital that I can help the company access. The faster we can get this technology into markets across the globe, the faster we’re cleaning top-level coal waste, generating fuel, and advancing sustainable, more environmentally friendly products and energy solutions. In many target locations, we’re helping revitalize communities that have contributed so much to our society historically, and now face a declining future in traditional, fossil fuel markets.

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Your journey from investment professional to Blue Sky Energy seems like a full-circle moment—one might say, your destiny. What are your thoughts on that?

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I’m a big believer that a higher power watches over all of us, rich and poor. I’ve been very blessed with amazing opportunities and experiences throughout my career. I love investing and building businesses that can provide so much, for so many. I have much more to learn, to do, and to give in my career. The work at TAVA Capital, in the Middle East, and with Blue Sky Energy is energizing. A growing number of investors that I serve through TAVA are also passionate about investing in ventures like Blue Sky Energy—companies that not only provide a financial return to their portfolio, but also serve a purpose for the greater social good.

 

Trevor Welch

Founder & Managing Partner — TAVA Capital

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorwelch/