POWERS brings you inside the minds of world-class leaders who have built, battled, and succeeded at the highest levels.
POWERS digs beyond the surface with questions driven by curiosity, uncovering stories and insights rarely shared publicly. Each episode delivers timeless wisdom and hard-earned lessons that apply across business and life.
The show has earned a reputation for asking the right questions at the right moment. The focus is on timeless principles, proven through years of discipline and risk, not on shortcuts. Each conversation is direct, deliberate, and designed to leave listeners sharper than when they arrived. The aim is simple: to deliver insights that matter and can be carried into business and life.
Since its launch, POWERS has drawn a high-caliber audience of builders, investors, and decision makers. Past guests have represented companies such as Starwood Capital, JLL, Hillwood Capital, Chick-fil-A, Morning Brew, Founders Podcast, Tiny Capital, Permanent Equity, Fort, Matthews REIS, Bonobos, and ConvertKit.
At its core, POWERS is a celebration of leadership, of work that matters, and of the American spirit that makes it possible.
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POWERS brings you inside the minds of world-class leaders who have built, battled, and succeeded at the highest levels.
POWERS digs beyond the surface with questions driven by curiosity, uncovering stories and insights rarely shared publicly. Each episode delivers timeless wisdom and hard-earned lessons that apply across business and life.
The show has earned a reputation for asking the right questions at the right moment. The focus is on timeless principles, proven through years of discipline and risk, not on shortcuts. Each conversation is direct, deliberate, and designed to leave listeners sharper than when they arrived. The aim is simple: to deliver insights that matter and can be carried into business and life.
Since its launch, POWERS has drawn a high-caliber audience of builders, investors, and decision makers. Past guests have represented companies such as Starwood Capital, JLL, Hillwood Capital, Chick-fil-A, Morning Brew, Founders Podcast, Tiny Capital, Permanent Equity, Fort, Matthews REIS, Bonobos, and ConvertKit.
At its core, POWERS is a celebration of leadership, of work that matters, and of the American spirit that makes it possible.
#387 - Ken Hersh - Co-Founder NGP Energy Capital Management - The Godfather of Energy Private Equity
POWERS
1 hour 16 minutes
5 months ago
#387 - Ken Hersh - Co-Founder NGP Energy Capital Management - The Godfather of Energy Private Equity
Since 2016, Ken Hersh has served as President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center which houses the George W. Bush Library and Museum and the George W. Bush Institute.
In 1988, he co-founded NGP Energy Capital Management, one of the nation’s largest natural resources private equity firms which pioneered private capital investing in the sector. Until 2016, he served as CEO, investing over $12 billion, earning a 27-year 30% annualized rate of return, making it one of the nation’s leading private investors. In 2023, the Oil and Gas Investor magazine inducted Ken into its Hart Energy Hall of Fame as one of the top 50 “pioneering men and women who have shaped energy over the last half century.”
Additionally, Ken manages his family office that invests across multiple industries. He sits on numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards, including the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. He sits on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Links:
George W. Bush Presidential Center - https://www.bushcenter.org/
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Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:53) - Ken’s early career
(00:16:36) - Richard Rainwater and creating NGP
(00:29:25) - The original thesis for NGP
(00:34:55) - Scaling NGP
(00:46:36) - The Shale revolution
(00:49:29) - Horizontal Drilling in 2025
(00:51:45) - The importance of having a great business partner
(00:54:01) - Is “Let’s back teams” still the best investment model?
(00:55:01) - Ken’s approach to raising capital
(00:56:37) - Is there a modern-day Richard Rainwater?
(00:58:34) - When a deal goes wrong
(01:06:04) - The global state of energy in 2025
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POWERS
POWERS brings you inside the minds of world-class leaders who have built, battled, and succeeded at the highest levels.
POWERS digs beyond the surface with questions driven by curiosity, uncovering stories and insights rarely shared publicly. Each episode delivers timeless wisdom and hard-earned lessons that apply across business and life.
The show has earned a reputation for asking the right questions at the right moment. The focus is on timeless principles, proven through years of discipline and risk, not on shortcuts. Each conversation is direct, deliberate, and designed to leave listeners sharper than when they arrived. The aim is simple: to deliver insights that matter and can be carried into business and life.
Since its launch, POWERS has drawn a high-caliber audience of builders, investors, and decision makers. Past guests have represented companies such as Starwood Capital, JLL, Hillwood Capital, Chick-fil-A, Morning Brew, Founders Podcast, Tiny Capital, Permanent Equity, Fort, Matthews REIS, Bonobos, and ConvertKit.
At its core, POWERS is a celebration of leadership, of work that matters, and of the American spirit that makes it possible.
