[Editor's note: A version of this story appears in the October 2018 edition of Oil and Gas Investor. Subscribe to the magazine here.]

Daniel Vogel started his career as an analyst in the leveraged finance group at Lehman Brothers, a global financial services firm. A “bull market hire” from a small liberal arts school in Vermont, he thought he initially had to play a bit of catch up.

“I had no formal training in finance, accounting, etc. But within a few months, I realized that my background was indeed an advantage as I was able to pick up new concepts rapidly and approach situations from different angles,” Vogel told Investor.

After finishing Lehman Brother’s analyst program, he transitioned to the buyside at GSC Group as an associate in 2008. At GSC, he invested in leveraged loans and high-yield bonds across multiple industries including energy.

The itch to get involved in direct lending led Vogel to join alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management’s growing credit platform as an associate in 2010.

After a few years and a handful of private deals under his belt, Vogel saw that Apollo sought to build out an energy lending business. Vogel jumped on the opportunity and has devoted the past seven years to building out an energy credit franchise.

In 2013, he was promoted to principal at Apollo and later to managing director in 2016.

Born and raised in Bethesda, Md., Vogel graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a degree in economics. He was also a member of the varsity swim team and water polo team. He got his first exposure in investing as president of the student investment committee where he managed a $300,000 stock portfolio for the school’s endowment.

Vogel is an associate board member of the George Jackson Academy in New York, a privately funded school for gifted underprivileged students. He also leads Middlebury College’s MiddMentoring summer internship program, which encourages connections between interns and alumni across the finance industry.

In his spare time, Vogel enjoys skiing, playing golf and spending time outdoors.

Oil and Gas Investor: Was the transition to the energy sector a steep learning curve?

Vogel: I still consider myself a student and will never be fully up to speed considering how rapidly the industry keeps changing. The 2011 learning curve would leave an energy investor wholly unprepared for the 2018 landscape.

Investor: As the managing director at Apollo Global Management, what are your duties?

Vogel: I am fortunate to work with a team of talented individuals in our New York and Houston offices. We focus on originating, executing and managing a portfolio of loans, bonds and preferred equity investments.

We have a flexible mandate to invest in both originated and liquid energy credit.

Investor: What do you enjoy most about the energy industry?

Vogel: The people. We get to work with some of the brightest and best teams. Energy folks are passionate and hard working.

Investor: Which deals have you worked on at Apollo that are significant to you?

Vogel: We have worked with dozens of companies, and no two deals are exactly alike.

Recently, funds managed by Apollo provided Kimbell Royalty Partners with a $110 million preferred equity solution to help finance their acquisition of Haymaker Minerals & Royalties LLC. Despite a very tight timeline, I really enjoyed working with a sophisticated management team on a transformative acquisition.

One of the more memorable deals I worked on was a preferred equity solution for Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. I had a longstanding relationship with the management team and Apollo-managed funds were an anchor on their second lien term loan since 2014.

Through an ongoing dialogue and considerable collective brainstorming, we were able to construct a financial solution that met the needs of the company and helped them acquire high-quality assets despite a challenging commodity backdrop in mid-2016.

Post-acquisition, the company executed a successful IPO, the first of its kind coming out of the oil and gas crisis in late 2016.

Investor: What do you think about the deal market today?

Vogel: Given strong industry relationships, the broad Apollo platform and the capital-intensive nature of a growing industry, we have a robust pipeline of opportunities. The A&D market seems to be picking up, and we are actively pursuing acquisition financings.

We are also seeing a lot of interest in development capital for companies that want to grow their production base and further delineate their assets ahead of an ultimate exit.

Investor: Any advice for the younger generation looking to grow in their career?

Vogel: Nothing comes easy. Work hard, don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Ask questions. Ask for more work and be willing to put in the extra time early on. It will pay dividends down the road.

Brandy Fidler can be reached at bfidler@hartenergy.com.

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