The Rise of Rich & The Founding of the Modern Trading House: Mark Crandall Part 1

Blockchain has the power to revolutionize commodity trading by lowering transaction costs, boosting liquidity and, crucially, providing the mechanism to track, price and trust a range of ESG attributes, which consumers are demanding. But what is blockchain technology, tokenization, smart contracts etc? What about regulation, security and power consumption? In this episode we do a blockchain 101 and look into the commodity trading use-cases being developed by tech’s vanguards. Our guest is Clint Nelsen, a prolific blockchain entrepreneur and co-founder of Startup Weekend - the worlds largest grassroots ecosystem of tech entrepreneurs. Today, Clint is co-founder of Neo Holdings, (visit www.neo.co) a cross-industry coalition and group of companies focused on tokenizing commodities and their trading.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/To find out more about Neo visit www.neo.co

2 Juni 202158min

For commodities traders, trading around storage assets is nothing new. The same is becoming true in power. As the generation of power increasingly comes from renewables, batteries are seen as a key tool to manage the associated intermittent availability and short-term price volatility. These batteries provide a growing opportunity for power traders with the quantitative and technological capability to capture it. Will this be the dominant form of power trading in the energy transition world? Our guest, Aaron Lally, Managing Partner of clean tech trading business Vest Energy, provides his insight on the current and opportunity set, the participants and technology involved and the drivers behind it.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

26 Maj 202138min

We are in the foothills of a commodity super-cycle. Interest and investment is returning to the sector as the narrative of energy transition, inflation driven by policy, and scarcity in the wake of Covid-19, takes hold.  What does this mean for traders over the next year and beyond? What are the trades? In honor of our 50th episode, we are delighted to welcome back our first ever guest John Massey, Head of the Houston Office for commodity trader ECTP. A year ago, John joined us to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on the commodity markets. He made some prescient calls including that Covid-19 would accelerate a re-balancing of the sector and lead to rising prices, rising opportunity, and rising interest. A year later, John discusses the super-cycle he foresaw and gives us his insight on the market opportunity and some predictions.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

19 Maj 202138min

Electric utilities around the developed world face fundamental challenges to their business model as the way power is produced, transported, traded, and consumed is changing. Meanwhile, investors and policies demand rapid reductions in carbon emissions, rendering existing generation assets liabilities and promoting less consumption. Visibility to the customer is more crucial than ever to balance loads and service changing consumer habits. How can utilities meet these challenges and transform into more nimble, future ready organizations? Our guest Julia Hamm, CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance, gives us her insight into these challenges and how utilities in the US are responding. With disruption from all angles, will their actions be sufficient?To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

12 Maj 202154min

Institutional investors and family offices want to invest in commodity hedge funds, as the narrative of the super-cycle and inflation drives both interest and return to form. Ryan Duncan of Bridge Alternatives  provides his unique insider view of hedge funds’ performance in commodities over the past two decades and what themes and lessons can be identified for both the traders and investors. Will we see the fabulous returns (and volatility) of the last bull run? Or will structural changes that have affected performance over the past decade limit the future opportunity? What kind of investor can weather the volatility and risk inherent in the sector and what kind of trader?To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

5 Maj 202141min

Lithium-ion batteries are the platform technology of electric revolution. The cells are standardized, produced under long-term supply contracts and demand is stratospheric. There is little free supply and delivery is in the future, with mega factories taking four years to build. The products themselves go into EVs and the power industry itself. Will batteries be the ultimate commodity of the future? Will trading houses have battery desks sat alongside their metals and power groups? Simon Moores, CEO and founder of Benchmark Minerals (www.benchmarkminerals.com)  joins us for a deep dive on the battery industry. What is the supply chain? How does the market operate? What are the technology challenges with validating, shipping, storing, and marketing? And when will batteries be traded? Moores helps us to answer these questions.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.globalTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

28 Apr 202138min

What will the commodity trading platform be like in 2030? In this episode, we examine ongoing change and trends in our sector and look at how these may play out over the next decade. We are in for some radical changes according to our guest who has spent significant time working on this subject. David Rae, BP’s former CIO Global Oil Trading and Head of Digital Innovation for Trading, guides us through a fascinating glimpse of the future including traders with heads-up displays out of a fighter plane and blockchain changing the nature of trading itself.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.globalTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

21 Apr 202154min

In this episode, we do a deep dive into renewable diesel where the ag and energy worlds collide. Renewable diesel is currently being hailed as a key tool in the energy transition, tackling hard to abate fuels like aviation. Refiners are announcing big investments globally and both ag and energy traders are entering the feedstock space - where prices have risen dramatically. We start from the beginning on what renewable diesel is, the policies that underpin it globally, the technologies, and its supply chains. In this episode, we also look at the challenges from the food for fuel debate and whether feedstock supply can meet demand without undermining the policy goals that created it. Our guest is JW Hackett, a commercial development and policy expert in renewable fuels who has worked for the EPA and on the US Senate Committee for the Environment and Public Works and for the Renewable Energy Group.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

14 Apr 202141min