Team | Prototerra Partners

Nathan Drake | Managing Partner

Jennifer Drake | Managing Partner

Chris Hansen | Advisor

Jeff Smith | Associate

Tyler Owens | Analyst

Greg Critchfield | CPA/CGMA

Curt Covington | Advisor

Nick Brozovic | Advisor

Peter Everett | Advisor

Get In Touch

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(303) 459-2324

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info@prototerra partners.com

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3200 E Cherry Creek S. Drive, Ste. 220, Denver, CO 80209

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A native Vermonter who moved west, Nathan is a JD/MBA with 25 years’ experience in law and private equity. Nathan left corporate law in 2006 become a principal at Colorado Financial Holdings, a buyout-focused PE firm in the agribusiness sector. He has comprehensive leadership experience in PE, from deal sourcing and execution to equity and debt finance, to portfolio company supervision. Nathan has served as CEO, CFO, General Counsel and Director for a number of portfolio companies. He has successfully salvaged turnaround acquisitions through bankruptcy proceedings and has helped raise and deploy over $100 million in equity and debt. Nathan particularly excels at developing and executing business plans that drive profitability, and at assembling leadership teams.

Nathan has a JD from Harvard Law, an MBA from the MIT Sloan School, and a BA from Brown University.

Born in Kansas and raised in Colorado, Jennifer is an energy industry veteran with broad cross-functional experience ranging from R&D to new product development. She has held leadership roles with a number of electric utilities and has worked in support of energy industry clients for the economic consulting firm Analysis Group and the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Prior to founding Prototerra, Jennifer was Director of Business Services and Transformation for Xcel Energy’s $2B Advanced Grid initiative. Over her 25+ year career, Jennifer has cultivated a robust professional network and has developed a unique insight into industry trends both within and beyond the electric utility value chain.

Jennifer has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MIT Sloan School, a Master in City Planning degree from MIT, and a BA from UC Berkeley.

With roots in both Nebraska and Kansas, Chris specializes in energy sector economics and now politics, with over 20 years of experience in the global energy industry. Chris currently serves in the Colorado State House as Representative for East Denver, District 6, where he has cultivated respect for being data-driven and results-oriented, and for his authentic devotion to public service. Chris currently chairs the Appropriations Committee for the Colorado State House and has successfully sponsored numerous clean-energy oriented bills. As Advisor at Janys Analytics Chris focused on energy sector consulting, and as Senior Director at IHS he led the acquisition and integration of 50+ companies. Chris has also served as Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, having published several papers in professional journals on energy sector economics.

Dr. Hansen has a Ph.D. in Economic Geography from Oxford University, a Master of Science in Technology Policy from MIT, a Graduate Diploma of Civil Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and a BSc in Nuclear Engineering from Kansas State University.

Jeff was born and raised in Pendleton, Oregon, moved to Colorado for college then put down roots in the Eastern Plains, where he and his wife own and operate a premium farm to fork beef company. In his role at Prototerra, Jeff leverages his extensive technical project management skills as well as his extensive network in the agricultural industry. Jeff has 15 years’ experience in construction management, including deep technical sales support and project implementation in agricultural equipment for the Bratney Companies, as well as a stint at Cargill.

Jeff has a BA in Agricultural and Business Management from Colorado State University.

Born in Indiana and raised in Colorado, Tyler is an analytical thinker who pairs a technical background with broad cross-functional business experience. Prior to joining Prototerra, Tyler was a research and analytics specialist for Prophet, a global management consulting firm, and a business analyst for Level Solar, a New York-based solar energy company. In his role at Prototerra, Tyler leverages his extensive analytical skillset to lead due diligence and financial modeling for prospective investments, as well as his background in project management to support operational improvements for portfolio companies.

Tyler holds a BS in Engineering Physics from Biola University, a BS in Civil and Urban Engineering from New York University, and is a CFA Level 2 candidate.

Greg was born and educated in California prior to relocating to Colorado. At Prototerra, Greg leads all operational and deal accounting, extending to supporting portfolio companies as needed. Greg has over 15 years of experience in accounting and public accounting, having held wide-ranging leadership positions in accounting and finance prior to founding his own CPA firm. Greg holds the Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant designations.

Greg has a BS in Accounting from Cal State University- Los Angeles.

Curt grew up on a grape and tree nut family farm in California’s central valley. With over three decades as an agricultural lender, Curt has an unparalleled perspective on trends in the industry and maintains an extensive network within the financial community as well as throughout the agricultural value chain nationally. Curt currently serves as EVP and Chief Credit Officer of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, where he oversees credit policy for both Farmer Mac’s agricultural and rural electric cooperative loan portfolios. Prior to his transition into the Farm Credit system, Curt served as SVP for Bank of the West.

Curt has an MBA in Agribusiness from Santa Clara University and a BA in Finance from the University of Southern California.

Nick was born and raised in England, but now calls Lincoln, NE home in the heartland of America’s Great Plains. Nick is Director of Policy for the Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska, an irrigation industry-endowed think tank focused on global food and water security. An economist by training, Nick has particular expertise in water markets and is known as a broad collaborator across academic, private sector and policy boundaries. Prior to coming to UNL, Nick worked for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Imperial College, London, and as Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Nick has a PhD and MS from UC Berkeley, an MS from the University of Southern California, and a BS from Oxford University.

Peter was born and raised in Montana, though has moved extensively in his career, and currently calls Sydney, Australia home. A food industry executive with over 20 years of experience, Peter is Managing Director of the Australia-New Zealand markets for General Mills. Known for his general manager mindset, Peter has deep functional expertise in marketing, new product development, and numerous consumer-facing channels. Peter’s extensive international assignments across a variety of product verticals afford him a unique perspective on consumer trends and go to market strategies.

Peter has a BA from Carleton College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.