# Nelson Chu

> Nelson Chu is the New York-based founder and executive chairman of Percent, the private credit marketplace and infrastructure business he founded in 2018. After early roles at Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and BlackRock and several years building a consulting business, he developed Percent around access, reporting, and transaction workflows. He handed the CEO role to co-founder Prath Reddy in June 2026 and continues working on strategy and governance. He also writes about company building, co-hosts Founder Notes, invests in startups, and collects art.

- **Role:** Founder and Executive Chairman at Percent
- **Organizations:** Percent, Lumenary, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, BlackRock, Yamba Malawi, The Bubble Foundation
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics and Political Science, Rutgers University
- **Known for:** Founded Percent in 2018 and led it as CEO for eight years., Percent reported more than $2 billion in issuance across over 1,200 deals at the June 2026 leadership transition., Recognized in Private Debt Investor’s Rising Stars list, as recorded in his Rosenblatt Securities speaker biography.

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Graduated from Rutgers University; the alumni program identifies him as RC’09.
- **Before 2018** — Worked at Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and BlackRock, then founded a strategy consulting business.
- **2018** — Founded Percent, originally known as Cadence.
- **2021** — Percent raised a $12.5 million Series A co-led by White Star Capital and B Capital.
- **2023** — Percent raised a $30 million Series B led by White Star Capital.
- **2024** — Published team notes on investor onboarding, forecasting, investor relationships, and adapting the company’s strategy.
- **2026-06** — Handed the CEO role to co-founder Prath Reddy and became chairman; Percent’s current board page lists Executive Chairman.

## Achievements

- Founded Percent in 2018 and led it as CEO for eight years.
- Percent reported more than $2 billion in issuance across over 1,200 deals at the June 2026 leadership transition.
- Recognized in Private Debt Investor’s Rising Stars list, as recorded in his Rosenblatt Securities speaker biography.
- Built a consulting business whose work helped create more than $1 billion in equity value, according to his public speaker biographies.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Percent announced Prath Reddy as CEO on June 18; Chu moved to chairman after eight years as CEO.
- **2026-06** — The June 18 Founder Notes episode, Mark to model, daily, featured Chu and Reddy discussing private credit liquidity and pricing.
- **2026-03** — Published a Forbes Technology Council article about AI and the value of generalist skills.

## Links

- Website: https://www.nelsonchu.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-chu/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/nelsonchu_

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/nelson-chu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14