Kostas Bintas, former co-head of metals at commodities trading giant Trafigura Group, is leaving the company. He was demoted in a reshuffle in September, capping a tumultuous year for the department.
Mr Bintas will leave Trafigura by mutual consent, according to a person familiar with the matter. He built Trafigura's copper trading book into the world's largest and has long been an outspoken bull in the metals market. He will take gardening leave immediately, the person said.
His departure comes as Trafigura has been struggling over the future of its metals business. In the metals business, which has underperformed over the past two years, there are tensions within the company's senior ranks over how much it should continue to invest.
The metals division has come under increasing pressure as profits have shrunk and the company has been hit by a massive alleged nickel fraud. In contrast, the company's energy trading unit has been raking in record profits, shifting the balance of power among the executives who own most of the company's shares.
Those tensions came to a head in September when the company announced a shake-up of its top leadership, creating a streamlined new management committee made up mostly of executives with backgrounds in energy trading.
Gonzalo De Olazaval, his former co-head, has been appointed sole head of the metals business, while Mr Pintas will continue to run the copper and aluminium businesses but report to him.
Bintas declined to comment. He joined Trafigura in 2009 and rose to become head of copper and co-head of metals. During that time, the company's copper business grew rapidly, overtaking rival Glencore Plc to become the world's largest copper trader.
He was known in the market for his bold trading and bullish views on copper and became one of Trafigura's most recognizable figures, regularly appearing at industry conferences. By 2021, he expects copper prices to rise to $15,000 a ton over the next decade, more than 80 percent higher than current prices.
News of Bintas's departure comes as traders, miners and financiers gather in Shanghai for Asia Copper Week, one of the biggest annual events in the metals world.
For Trafigura, the move adds drama to the company's metals division as the commodities trading giant prepares to report its results for the year ended September in the coming weeks.
The alleged nickel fraud cost the company nearly $600 million, and its head of nickel and cobalt trading left after it was discovered. Trafigura said it doesn't believe any of its employees were involved in the alleged fraud.
The group has also been forced to seek fresh financing for one of its flagship investments, a copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after suffering a cash crunch. Bloomberg reported last month that the project had been put up for sale by its owners.
