Mehdi Wetterwald Exits Trafigura’s Metals Unit Amid Transformations
Mehdi Wetterwald, previously co-head of battery metals at Trafigura Group, is leaving the trading house, marking the latest in a series of senior departures from its metals unit.
Wetterwald, who had been with Trafigura since 2012, was appointed as co-head of global nickel, cobalt, and lithium trading alongside Daniel von Arx last February. Following a significant alleged nickel fraud against the company, von Arx later assumed sole leadership of the division.
Sources familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that Wetterwald is departing for personal reasons.
His exit adds to a string of senior figures leaving the metals division, which has faced challenges such as nickel losses and financial issues with a Congolese copper-cobalt project supported by Trafigura.
Over the past year, notable departures have included Socrates Economou, the former head of nickel and cobalt trading; Kostas Bintas, the former head of copper and co-head of metals; Simon Grenfell, the former head of metals business development; and Svetlana Kabanova, the former head of metals operations.
Despite these changes, Trafigura CEO Jeremy Weir described the metals performance as “robust” in the annual report, noting that the unit’s profits would have exceeded the previous three-year average without the impact of the nickel loss.
