Trafigura Names Gas Boss Richard Holtum as CEO From January

(Bloomberg) — Trafigura Group has appointed gas, power and renewables head Richard Holtum as its new chief executive officer, replacing Jeremy Weir who will stay on as chairman of the commodity trading giant.

Holtum, a 39-year-old former British army captain, will become CEO on Jan. 1, the company said in a statement. The announcement marks a stunning rise for Holtum, who joined Trafigura a decade ago and was little known outside of the world of gas and power when Bloomberg first reported earlier this year that he was in pole position to succeed Weir as CEO.

The change comes at a pivotal moment for Trafigura, which is owned by about 1,400 of its top employees and vies with Vitol Group and Glencore Plc for the title of the world’s biggest commodity trader. The company has never been more powerful, but is facing a number of challenges: it has seen a wave of senior staff departures, while a drop in profits means it faces tough choices over whether to keep up the pace of share buybacks —  that main way the company’s senior traders get paid.

Trafigura and its former Chief Operating Officer Mike Wainwright are also preparing to go on trial in December on corruption charges in Switzerland, after Trafigura pleaded guilty to separate charges in the US in March. Wainwright has denied the Swiss charges, while Trafigura has said it will defend itself in court.

Tuesday’s announcement marks only the second CEO handover in Trafigura’s 31-year history, after Weir took over in 2014 from founder Claude Dauphin, who remained chairman until his death the following year.

Weir, 60, who is currently both CEO and executive chairman, will step down from his executive responsibilities at the end of the year, Trafigura said. 

Over the past ten years, he has overseen Trafigura’s rise into one of the dominant forces in commodities trading, including by building out the company’s global gas and power operations alongside the more traditional businesses trading oil and metals. The unit has become a key profit driver, particularly in the wake of the energy crisis that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Holtum joined Trafigura as a trader in liquefied natural gas team in 2014. He became head of gas by 2019, and in 2022 was appointed to run the company’s global gas and power business. 

As part of the leadership transition, he will hand over his current responsibilities to Igor Marin, currently head of power trading, with effect from Oct. 1.

“Richard has achieved extensive success in developing high-performing teams and building Trafigura’s gas, power and renewables business into a robust and growing third pillar for the group,” said Sipko Schat, an independent non-executive director at Trafigura.

Weir has also presided over by far the most profitable period in Trafigura’s history — the company earned more than $17 billion in the previous three financial years. Since Weir started as CEO, the firm’s equity has grown from $6 billion to more than $17 billion.

However, it reported a sharp drop in first-half profit for the six months through March, as the volatility that traders thrive on eased across global commodity markets. 

(Updates with additional information throughout)

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