Trafigura Announces Retirement of Senior Executives in Management Reshuffle
Global commodity trader Trafigura revealed on Friday that two senior executives would retire this year, marking a significant transition within the company’s leadership and paving the way for a new generation of management.
Last September, the Geneva-based firm streamlined its management structure by consolidating divisional leadership roles. Ben Luckock assumed sole responsibility for oil, Gonzalo De Olazaval for metals and minerals, while Richard Holtum expanded his portfolio to include renewables and power.
Trafigura disclosed that its CFO, Christophe Salmon, would retire at the end of June after serving 12 years with the company, and executive director Jose Maria Larocca would retire at the end of September. Stephan Jansma, currently serving as CFO, Asia Pacific, is set to take over as group CFO from July 1.
Larocca, who was a trusted confidant of the late Trafigura founder Claude Dauphin, joined the company in 1994. He led the oil desk from 2007 until transitioning to his executive director role in 2018.
The departure of these executives comes amid a period of record profits for Trafigura. The company achieved a remarkable profit of $7.4 billion in 2023, surpassing its previous record of $4 billion in 2022, resulting in substantial bonuses for its shareholders.
Trafigura significantly increased its dividend payout last year to approximately $5.9 billion, compared to $1.7 billion in 2022.
Sources familiar with the situation indicated a shift in focus toward determining Jeremy Weir’s potential successor as CEO, with several candidates under consideration.
Trading firms such as Vitol, Gunvor, and Mercuria have flourished amidst the market volatility of recent years, including the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Europe’s energy crisis of 2021-2022, and the extensive Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
