Commodities moves: TP Icap fires Phizackerley

Phizackerley replaced at TP Icap, former Shell oil head Muller joins Vitol, and more

TP Icap has replaced its chief executive John Phizackerley with Nicolas Breteau. The interdealer broker made the announcement in a trading update in which it revealed growing costs are expected to put pressure on the business in the months ahead.

“It has become clear that a change of leadership is required to execute our medium-term growth strategy,” TP Icap chairman Rupert Robson said.

Phizackerley, a former Lehman Brothers and Nomura executive, took charge at Tullett Prebon in 2014, steering it through the £1.28 billion deal to purchase the voice-broking business of Michael Spencer’s Icap, which created TP Icap in 2016.

TP Icap had expected the merger to create annualised cost savings of £100 million by 2019, but this target was revised to £75 million. The trading statement also warned of “ongoing cost headwinds of around £10 million”, relating to Brexit, Mifid II, regulatory and legal costs and IT security, a figure it expects to increase to £25 million in 2019. 

Breteau joined Tullett Prebon in 2016 as chief commercial officer and most recently was the head of TP Icap’s global broking business. 

The group has also named Robin Stewart as its chief financial officer. Stewart joined Collins Stewart Tullett in 2003 as head of tax and has been acting as the company’s interim chief financial officer since November 2017.

Muller joins Vitol seven months after quitting Shell

Mike Muller, formerly Shell’s head of global crude oil trading and supply, joined London-based oil trader Vitol in July. At Vitol he will work in the business development division covering crude oil and oil products; Vitol did not confirm his new job title.

He first joined Shell International Trading in 1989, working in London as a trader and Dubai book manager before moving to Melbourne as a trading and chartering manager for Shell Company of Australia in 1993. In 1997 he transferred to Shell International Eastern Trading Company in Singapore as a business development manager and global product leader for chemical feedstocks. He was promoted to global leader for crude oil trading and derivatives in 2003, and to head of global crude oil trading and supply in 2013. He left Shell after 28 years at the end of 2017.

Raia joins RJ O’Brien

Joseph Raia has joined the New York office of futures brokerage and clearing firm RJ O’Brien as managing director of global commodity futures. He will be responsible for building out RJO’s energy and metals clearing and execution business globally, in futures, options and cleared over-the-counter products.

Raia comes from Goldman Sachs where he was managing director and global head of commodity futures sales from 2011. Prior to that he served as managing director and global head of energy and metals products at CME Group, a role that started in 2008 when CME acquired the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) where he had been working.

Raia was hired by Nymex in 2001 to develop and launch its pioneering OTC facility Clearport. He began his career in the US Merchant Marine, after graduating from the State University of New York Maritime Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Transportation Management. 

Daigler joins CFTC as counsel

Matthew Daigler has joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a senior counsel to chairman Christopher Giancarlo, the CFTC announced.

Daigler will advise on commission matters, including the chairman’s swaps reform agenda as set out in its white paper, Swaps regulation version 2.0: an assessment of thec implementation of reform and proposals for next steps. The paper, which Giancarlo describes as an update to the US Dodd-Frank Act, was written by Giancarlo and CFTC chief economist Bruce Tuckman, and released on April 26 at the annual meeting of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

Before joining Giancarlo’s office, Daigler spent three years as an associate at the Washington, DC, office of Allen & Overy, where he advised financial institutions on a wide range of regulatory matters, including CFTC swap dealer registration and compliance with CFTC swap rules, as well as advising broker-dealers on a broad range of regulatory matters.