Oiling the wheels

John D'Agostino helped set up the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, before going on to become chief operating officer of now-defunct US hedge fund MotherRock. He now consults on various projects in Asia and elsewhere. By Joe Marsh

John D'Agostino has done a lot in his relatively short career. A high point, when he was head of strategy at the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) between 2003 and 2005, was his effort to launch the first Middle Eastern energy derivatives exchange, the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). The low point was probably the August 2006 collapse of New York-based energy hedge fund MotherRock, where he served as chief operating officer under former Nymex president Bo Collins.

D'Agostino has since worked