Trafigura is set to appoint Richard Holtum as chief executive

Unlock Editor’s Digest for free

FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Trafigura, one of the world’s biggest commodities traders, is preparing to announce the appointment of Richard Holtum as chief executive as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

Holtum, a former British military officer, has enjoyed rapid growth at Trafigura since joining Glencore in 2014. He currently heads Trafigura’s gas, power and renewables division.

Holtum will succeed Jeremy Weir, who served as chief executive for 10 years during a period of rapid growth for the company. Weir, who is currently also executive chairman, will become chairman, the person added.

A spokesman for Trafigura declined to comment.

Under Weir Trafigura developed its traditional oil and metals businesses while expanding into gas and power trading, carbon markets and emerging areas such as hydrogen. Last year it traded the equivalent of the combined oil demand of the UK, France and Germany – an average of 5.5 million barrels a day. Profits rose from $1.1 billion in 2014 to a record $7.4 billion last year.

At the same time, Weir has had to manage a number of crises, including several inquiries into Trafigura’s past behaviour. In March, the company pleaded guilty to charges by U.S. prosecutors of bribery in Brazil between 2003 and 2014 and agreed to pay $127 million in fines and lost profits.

The company and its former chief operating officer Mike Wainwright, who helped Weir run the business until last year, will stand trial in Switzerland in December over alleged bribery in Angola between 2009 and 2011. Trafigura said Wainwright denies the charges against him .

Weir’s tenure also included one of the biggest scandals in the metals sector, in which Trafigura lost about $600 million due to alleged fraud by its business partner Prateek Gupta. Trafigura brought charges against Gupta, who denied the allegations.

The company has seen a number of changes in its top ranks recently, including the retirement of CFO Christophe Salmon in June.

Weir told the Financial Times in April that the next Trafigura boss will not necessarily be the company’s most successful trader and will need to be able to interact with governments and present the company to the world.

“You have to learn how to operate in that kind of system,” he said.

Prior to joining Trafigura, Holtum served for five years in the British Army after completing officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He then spent two years trading oil at rival Glencore before joining Trafigura’s LNG team in 2014.