Overview

Trayport is the dominant electronic trading platform for European energy markets, providing OTC derivatives execution infrastructure to utilities, investment banks, trading houses, and energy brokers. During my tenure, I led the commercial organization through significant growth, scaling revenue from £20M to £42M while expanding internationally and entering new asset classes.

This period provided deep expertise in scaling established FinTech businesses, managing complex institutional sales cycles, and building high-performance commercial teams - experience that directly informs Handleport's consulting practice today.

Career Progression

Head of Sales, Marketing, PR and Business Development (2011-2013)

Full commercial leadership across global operations, including 45 staff and 25 direct reports

Head of Sales and Client Services (2010-2011)

This included building all the commodities related sales, marketing and PR functions across the business. I integrated sales and client management functions as we disbanded the business units, Client Services, the client maintenance function and support functions transitioned to their own vertical after scale.

Head of Business Unit, Trader Systems - Commodities (2007-2010)

Complete P&L responsibility including sales, support, development and QA - approximately 50 staff at peak, this was the initial role where the business was focussed around three verticals, Exchanges (focussed on selling our software to stock exchanges), Brokers (focussed on selling our software into leading brokers for use in other asset classes than commodities) and Trader Systems (setup to build and maintain the first vertical). Commodities, especially energy related commodities came to dominant the business entirely.

Key Achievements

Revenue Growth & Business Transformation

• Grew business unit EBITDA from £3M to £10M (pre-2010)

• Scaled revenue from £20M to £42M (2010-2013) - 110% growth over 3 years

• Maintained consistent profitability throughout growth period

• Contributed to circa $1bn exit for investors (from $70M entry over 5 years prior)

International Expansion

• Restructured Asian operations (assumed responsibility Oct 2010, permanent VP appointed Feb 2012)

• Built presence across Central and Eastern Europe

• Established office infrastructure and support capability in new regions

• Developed local market expertise across multiple jurisdictions

Sales & Marketing Professionalization

• Implemented Miller Heiman consultative selling methodology

• Deployed CRM systems and structured sales processes

• Built marketing and PR team from scratch

• Launched new products including Trayport Joule platform

Senior Client Relationships

Direct C-suite negotiations with major institutions:

• EDF (major European utility)

• Glencore (global commodities trading house)

• ICAP (leading inter-dealer broker)

• Shell (oil major)

• Multiple investment banks and energy trading firms

Team Leadership

• Led 50+ person global team across multiple offices

• Managed 45 staff with 25 direct reports at peak

• Built high-performance sales culture with structured development

• Created marketing function that didn't previously exist

Technical Innovation

Trayport Energy Market Access Gateway (EMAG)

Project period: January 2008 - April 2013

Led commercial strategy for unified connectivity layer enabling multi-exchange access:

• Simplified market data distribution and order routing

• Reduced integration complexity for clients connecting to multiple venues

• Became core differentiator in competitive positioning

• Oversaw the development of (and named) a new product called Joule the main front end now

Architecture & Product Leadership

• Chaired TradeTech Architecture stream for multiple years

• Contributed to platform architecture evolution

• Input to high-performance trading system design

• Market microstructure expertise influencing product development

Industry Leadership & Recognition

Conference speaking & thought leadership:

• Chair: TradeTech Architecture stream (multiple years)

• Regular speaker at major energy trading conferences

• Featured in Trayport promotional video series

• Energy Risk video interviews

Positioning: Recognized industry expert in energy trading technology and market structure

Skills & Expertise Developed

Commercial capabilities:

• Complex B2B sales cycles (6-12 month timeframes)

• C-suite relationship management at major institutions

• International business development

• Sales methodology implementation (Miller Heiman)

• Revenue forecasting and pipeline management

Leadership experience:

• P&L management with significant revenue responsibility

• Team building and scaling (50+ people)

• Performance management across geographies

• Strategic planning and execution

Market expertise:

• OTC derivatives markets (power, gas, commodities)

• Electronic trading platform operations

• Exchange connectivity and market structure

• Regulatory environment (EMIR, MiFID implementation period)

Technical knowledge:

• Trading system architecture

• Market data and order routing infrastructure

• Risk management systems

• High-performance computing requirements for trading platforms

Strategic Lessons

This experience shaped Handleport's consulting approach in several key areas:

1. Scaling established businesses - Not just startup experience, but proven capability to grow mature companies through structured methodology

2. International expansion - Hands-on experience building operations across Europe and Asia with appropriate local considerations

3. Product-market fit - Ensuring product development aligns with commercial strategy and actual client needs

4. Sales professionalization - Bringing structure to sales organizations that have relied on organic growth

5. Complex stakeholder management - Navigating relationships with major institutions where decision cycles are long and technical requirements are demanding

Transition to Entrepreneurship

The Trayport experience provided the foundation for subsequent ventures:

• Deep market knowledge across derivatives and electronic trading

• Proven commercial track record with measurable revenue growth

• Extensive industry network across exchanges, banks, and trading houses

• Understanding of scale challenges beyond typical startup environment

Upon leaving Trayport in March 2013, directly co-founded London Derivatives Exchange, applying lessons from scaling an established business to building a new exchange from scratch.

Relevance to Handleport Services

This experience directly informs our consulting practice in:

• FinTech scaling strategies - Proven methodology for growing revenue in competitive markets

• Sales organization building - Implementing structured processes and CRM systems

• International business development - Practical experience across multiple regions

• Product positioning - Understanding how to position technical products to sophisticated buyers

• Team building at scale - Managing substantial teams across geographies

The Trayport period established credibility with major institutions and deep understanding of what it takes to scale a FinTech business from established player to market leader.

This career foundation enables Handleport to provide credible, experience-backed advisory services to clients facing similar scaling challenges.