Notes from The FT Commodities Global Summit 2025: Uncertainty, Security and Opportunity

In this episode we return to Hydrogen with guest Erik Rakhou, Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group.  Low-carbon Hydrogen projects, policy support and predictions continue to dominate the news. So does the debate over its role in the energy transition, from power production to use as a fuel. What is the landscape today, the state of the debate and what will the future of Hydrogen be? What conditions will be needed? Where and how will low-carbon Hydrogen be deployed? Erik, together with co-editor Rosa Puentes, has gathered experts from around the world to publish a free to download book – Touching Hydrogen Future - that’s gives us a sweeping view of the potential future hydrogen economy around the world in 2040, based on technological and policy support today. You can access to book here: https://europeangasmarket.eu. **Episode was recorded just prior to Erik joining. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

9 Mars 202245min

Robert Bensh, veteran energy executive and Ukraine investor, joins us again in a special episode to update us on the harrowing, shocking and tragic events in Ukraine. What has become of the people and companies that Robert partners with? What is happening with Ukraine's energy sector today?  What can be done to help Ukraine? What are the immediate and long-term consequences of the resulting sanctions on Russia?  Has the invasion not only fundamentally changed geopolitics, has it also fundamentally changed the energy sector? In a difficult and personal episode, Robert walks us through how much the world has changed and the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine wrought by Russia's invasion.Email us at hcinsider@hcgroup.global to be connected to Robert for information discussed. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

3 Mars 202231min

Demand for food is growing, and changing, with population increases and demographic change. At the same time, energy transition is creating an insatiable appetite for agricultural products. To date, advances in agri-technology and an efficient global trade has kept prices stable and inflation low. Is this now under threat as inflation takes grip? What is driving demand and how is it changing? Will governmental intervention disrupt the global agri trade with dire consequences for prices and political stability? What of fuel versus food debate? Recorded prior to the events in Ukraine, this episode provides a stark look at the future of the agri markets – the opportunities and the threats – now only heightened given Ukraine’s key role as a food exporter. Our guest is Soren Schroder, former CEO of the agri giant Bunge and board member and investor across the agri sector.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

2 Mars 202250min

At the end of the last decade, Investment Banks dominated commodity trading. The best results, the biggest seats and the best paid. A few short years later and the majority had scaled back or exited. Why? What drove their success and their exit. Now, in the foothills of a commodity super-cycle and the volatility of the energy transition will we see the banks return? The 2021 results, matching the previous highs, of those few banks who stuck it out suggests so. And what will be different this time? Our guest is Kevin O'Reilly, veteran of the most successful banks in commodities, to take us on this sweep of commodity banking history. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

23 Feb 202249min

Trillions of dollars will be needed to transition the global industrial base away from fossil fuels. Unlike the digital revolution, this will be capital intensive and technologically diverse – many of such technologies may be transitory themselves. So, what is the role of the capital markets and the financial institutions that facilitate them? How can investors navigate such a multi-pathed journey? And what of the companies that are forging this route – what determines their valuations and access to funding? To discuss our guests are Citi’s Arash Nazhad, Managing Director of their Clean Energy Transition team and Blake Best who leads their private capital markets offering for the energy transition.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

16 Feb 202255min

Trading is hard. Trading natural gas is trading on hard mode. The market has constantly evolved since its inception over the last twenty years ago, as regulation, transparency and market developments (e.g. shale) have changed the game. In the wake of those changes, many platforms and traders have left. So what does it take to survive and thrive as a trader in the energy markets? We turn to one of the most successful energy traders of all time to find the answers. Our guest is Bill Perkins, veteran gas trader, entrepreneur, author and founder of Skylar Capital. We discuss how the markets have evolved over the last twenty years and what it takes to be, and stay, relevant. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

9 Feb 202256min

The mining sector faces powerful forces that are both disrupting it and creating opportunity. Customers are demanding greater transparency, while the energy transition continues to impact the entire supply chain. To maintain a competitive edge, mining businesses must adapt - reviewing everything from operational capability, to how they market and trade, and their culture and talent. In this episode, Oliver Wyman partner Roland Rechtsteiner takes us into the boardrooms of the world’s largest miners to evaluate their changing environment and the disruptive decisions they face. What will the miner of the future look like and what are the characteristics of the winners? To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

2 Feb 202246min

In this episode we talk with author Owain Johnson, on his recently published book, 40 Classic Crude Oil Trades. A unique window into the world of oil trading and the traders that drive the markets. The book is a collection of forty trades, contributed by the traders themselves,  which span the breadth and scope of oil trading. Owain walks us through four of the best stories, as well as why he decided to write the book and what he learned in the process about what makes a trader successful and common attributes they share. Owain has spent twenty years in the industry and is a Managing Director at the CME Group and heads global research. The book is published by Routledge and available in all good book retailers. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

26 Jan 202243min