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Former Macquarie star commodities trader Nick O'Kane has agreed to terms to join Mercuria as the Swiss trading house seeks to expand its gas and power business, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The sources said that according to the initial agreement, Okin will be based in Dubai initially. The 50-year-old Australian will join in a senior leadership role to grow Mercuria's gas and power activities, particularly in Asia, one of the people added. The appointment has not yet been finalized, the person cautioned.
O'Kane, who resigned from Macquarie last month after nearly three decades, was the group's highest-paid CEO in 2023, earning A$58 million ($38 million), or 75 per cent more than CEO Shemara Wickramanayake. . His salary also exceeded that of JP Morgan Chairman Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs Chairman David Solomon.
Commodity traders are anticipating huge increases in demand and volatility in gas and electricity markets as the global energy system transitions away from more polluting oil and coal. Mercuria's rivals, including Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor, have also expanded their gas and power teams.
Mercuria and Okani declined to comment.
While at Macquarie O'Kane transformed the Australian Bank into an energy trading powerhouse. Last year, the global commodities and markets business he helped build and manage accounted for about 60 per cent of Macquarie's profits. Merchant was nominated as a possible successor to Wikramanayake.
Privately held Mercuria has not specified a succession plan for CEO and co-founder Marco Dunand, who turns 63 this year. A person close to Dunand said he had no immediate plans to step down.
Mercuria – which was founded by Dunand and fellow former Goldman Sachs trader Daniel Jaeggi in 2004 – has hired senior bankers before. In 2014, the company appointed Maged Shenouda, former co-head of commodities at Goldman Sachs. Shenouda had previously been nominated as a potential successor to Dunand and Gigi.
In 2021, Frederic Barnouw, former head of Pavilion Energy in Singapore, 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 pushed into financing, offering services closer to those offered by investment banks. In 2014, it bought part of JPMorgan's physical commodities trading business to strengthen its operations, especially in US energy markets.
The company reported net income of $3 billion in 2022 on revenue of $174 billion, up from $1.25 billion in 2021, as volatility in commodity markets increased traders' profits.
Oil trading accounts for about 30 percent of total revenue, but alongside gas and power trading, the group also invests in green technologies such as battery storage and biogas. Dunand said half of the company's investments each year will go to energy conversion projects.
