The HC Commodities Podcast

In this episode, Laurent Segalen, clean energy banker, trader, investor, and co-host of the Redefining Energy Podcast, joins us to discuss European power trading. Why is there a resurgence in power trading? Where are the opportunities now and, in the future, and who will be participating? We follow the story of power trading in Europe from the salad days of the 2000s driven by deregulation, through to the low price-doldrums of the 2010s, to the present day and beyond in the era of energy transition. What will generation, batteries, the grid and trading look like? What role will Hydrogen, digital platforms and blockchain play? Laurent guides us through it all.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/

Commodity Trading Risk Management systems sit at the heart of any commodity trading enterprise. Their design and implementation has been a huge source of pride for some, frustration for others and cost for all in the sector over the past 20 years. However, the role of a CTRM is changing with the broader digitization of the commodity sector itself. Now, CTRMs are becoming the digital core of an organization and must increasingly be understood by traders themselves and able to connect with external systems. Should organizations build or buy CTRMs? Will blockchains and DLTs disrupt the existing CTRM world? These are some of the questions our guest, Richard Payne guides us through. Richard is a Managing Partner at capSpire, a management consultancy focused on the commodity sector. 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/

Globally, we have begun the transformation to the lithium-ion Economy. Mega battery factories are growing exponentially. The problem is lithium supply. Mining is constrained by available ores and multiyear start up times. Chemical processing and cathode production is technically challenging, environmentally impactful, and concentrated in China. EV manufacturers are buying all the Lithium supply they can on decade-long contracts. Lithium demand is forecast to outstrip supply by double in 2040 – even with the most optimistic forecasts. What does this mean for producers, commodity traders, financiers, governments and OEMs? How can the world tackle the problem of lithium. Simon Moores, CEO of Benchmark Minerals, the foremost independent pricing agency for Lithium walks us through the lithium supply chain and its consequences.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/

In this episode we dig into rare earth metals - key elements for everyday technologies but also vital to the energy transition from electric motors to wind turbines. Beyond this, these elements have become of strategic national importance. We examine the supply chain and market structure, both historically with its booms and busts and whether the next cycle will be different and why. We also look at what the opportunities might be for commodity traders and investors. Our expert guest on this episode is Chris Goodman. Chris is on the board of Canada Rare Earth, a former executive of Talaxis, and has twenty years’ experience trading hard commodities.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.com To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

The atmosphere has too much carbon. This poses an existential threat to society and to the businesses emitting it, unless they start to capture it. Tackling carbon is one of the biggest challenges (and opportunities) in the commodities sector. Neo-classical economics suggest we put a price on carbon and let markets sort it all out. Unfortunately, the reality is so much more complicated – from geopolitics, to sources, measurement and verification. Jon Goldberg, founder and CEO of Carbon Direct and former hedge fund owner and Goldman commodity trader, guides us through this vital, urgent but complicated subject.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

In this episode, Javier Blas and Jack Farchy join us to talk about their new book, The World for Sale. The book spans the history of the rise of the independent commodity traders, their phenomenal success, and their impact on the modern world. Our guests walk us through the big themes in the book, the events and participants in the last commodity super cycle, and the challenges that lie ahead for these global actors in the next one.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Measuring risk is at the core commodity trading and Value At Risk is its most common expression. However, as frequent outsized and unexpected losses, stop outs and personnel departures attest, all our tools, especially VaR, are imperfect. How is risk measured and why do we get it wrong? What makes a good risk framework and what is the future of capturing market and other sources of risk in a digital world. Geir Robinson, former CRO of BP’s Integrated Supply  & Trading business joins us to discuss.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/ 

In this episode Jeff Currie, Global Head of Commodity Research at Goldman Sachs, walks us through the drivers and consequences of the coming commodity super-cycle. Over the next decade, redistributive policies, energy transition and the search for new sources of old and new economy commodities will drive a macro shift in prices across all verticals. What will this mean for the sector, commodity trading and its talent? Jeff gives us a concise and compelling argument and a call to action.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

The commodities sector is rich, of strategic national interest, at the center of geopolitics, and environmentally impactful. Thus, it is a focal target for cyber-attacks from criminals, national actors, hacktivists and others. As the sector digitizes, the threat and potential risks are only increasing. The threat posed and the responses required is a board level conversation for many companies - and our guest, Simon Hodgkinson, the former Group Chief Information Security Officer for BP, gives ample insight into why that should change.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/  

Our guest, Arcady Sosinov, CEO and Founder of Freewire Technologies, believes Electric Vehicles present the biggest industrial change and opportunity in our lifetimes. With most major automobile manufacturers announcing phasing out combustion engines by 2035, we have passed the tipping point.This transformation will have profound consequences and disruption for the commodities sector from the impact on power grids, to infrastructure, to market participants and to supply chains. Will your car manufacturer or a utility be your next power provider? Arcady guides us through why EVs are taking over, the interplay of customer behaviors and infrastructure and how this could lead to the biggest disruption in the energy word since the industrial revolution. We explore.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.comTo connect with our host  Paul Chapman,  you can find him at  www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/