Glencore's global head of naphtha Oliver Bowen to join rival Vitol, sources say

Oliver Bowen Leaves Glencore to Join Competitor Vitol as Naphtha Head

Oliver Bowen's Transition from Glencore to Vitol

By Shariq Khan and Robert Harvey

Impact on Glencore's Trading Operations

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Glencore's global head of naphtha trading, Oliver Bowen, is set to leave for rival Vitol, four sources told Reuters on Tuesday, making him the latest top trader to depart from the London-listed commodities trading and mining firm in recent months.

Vitol's Strategy in Naphtha Market

Bowen will start at Vitol on November 7 and oversee the world's largest commodities trader's European naphtha book, one of the sources said.

Future of Naphtha Trading

The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential information.

Bowen could not be contacted for comment. Vitol and Glencore declined to comment.

Bowen's departure from Glencore comes as the company undertakes a broader reorganization of its trading operations, after facing a sharp slump in earnings from that department. Core earnings from Glencore's energy and steelmaking coal trading activities fell to $306 million in the first half of this year, the lowest for that period since 2016, the company reported in August.

Bowen, 42, has been Glencore's head of naphtha trading since at least 2017, according to a profile on the UK government's Companies House. He served as a director of the UK-based Petrochemical Feedstock Association since February 2017 until he resigned in April this year, the profile showed.

Glencore's current head of oil and gas trading, Alex Sanna, is set to step down from his role at the end of this year, Reuters earlier reported, citing a staff memo. Another Glencore veteran, Maxim Kolupaev, who currently heads gas and power trading for the firm, will replace Sanna, who headed the company's oil trading desk for the past six years.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York and Robert Harvey in London; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)