Unlock the Publisher’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Former Macquarie commodities trader Nick O’Kane has agreed terms to join Mercuria as the Swiss trading firm seeks to expand its gas and energy businesses, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Under the preliminary agreement, O’Kane would initially be based in Dubai, the sources said. The 50-year-old Australian will take on a senior leadership role to grow Mercuria’s gas and energy businesses, particularly in Asia, one of the people added. The appointment has yet to be finalized, the person warned.
O’Kane, who left Macquarie last month after nearly three decades, was the group’s highest-paid executive in 2023, earning A$58 million ($38 million), 75% more than the chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake. His pay also surpassed that of JPMorgan Chairman Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon.
Commodity traders predict huge increases in demand and volatility in gas and electricity markets as the global energy system shifts away from more polluting oil and coal. Mercuria’s rivals, including Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor, have also expanded their gas and energy teams.
Mercuria and O’Kane declined to comment.
While at Macquarie, O’Kane transformed the Australian Bank into an energy trading powerhouse. Last year the commodities and global markets business that he helped create and run accounted for almost 60% of Macquarie’s profits. The trader had been tipped as a potential successor to Wikramanayake.
Privately held Mercuria has not outlined a succession plan for CEO and co-founder Marco Dunand, who turns 63 this year. A person close to Dunand said he has no immediate plans to resign.
Mercuria – founded by Dunand and fellow ex-Goldman Sachs trader Daniel Jaeggi in 2004 – has already hired senior bankers. In 2014, the firm recruited Magid Shenouda, former co-head of commodities at Goldman Sachs. Shenouda had previously been tipped as a possible successor to Dunand and Jaeggi.
In 2021, Frederic Barnaud, former head of Singapore’s Pavilion Energy, joined Mercuria as chief strategy and commercial officer, but left after less than a year.
Unlike Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor, which remain more focused on physical oil trading, Mercuria has also moved into financing, offering services more similar to those offered by investment banks. It bought part of JPMorgan’s physical commodities trading business in 2014 to strengthen its operations, particularly in U.S. energy markets.
The company reported net profit of $3 billion in 2022 on revenue of $174 billion, up from $1.25 billion in 2021, as volatility in commodity markets supercharged traders’ profits.
Oil trading accounts for around 30% of total revenues, but in addition to gas and energy trading, the group is also investing in green technologies such as battery storage and biogas. Dunand said half of the company’s annual investments will go towards energy transition projects.