As we enter the planning season, we consider why business planning in the commodity sector is so challenging. And how uncertainty and a more volatile world have made it even more so? What can organisations do to build resiliency and flexibility into planning, and what tools are available to better manage the downsides and also capture opportunities?
Speaking to our host Paul Chapman on this episode is Savvas Manousos. Savas has spent a long career building and running trading platforms and is now part of Enco Insights, a global advisory network dedicated to energy and commodities. As an Enco Insight Partner, Savas and his colleagues are supporting Corporates and Strategics around the world, building, developing and implementing plans big and small to meet the challenges of the commodity sector today.
Enco Insights provides senior energy & natural resources advisors for short to long-term engagements to the private equity world, the legal world and of course corporates when the stakes are high and the insight matters.
Read below for our key talent impacts from this episode.
Key Talent Impacts
How can energy and commodities firms replace static planning with agile, rolling forecasts that demand cross-disciplinary talent?
Energy and commodities firms are replacing annual, static planning with rolling forecasts, option portfolios and faster decision cadences. This shift raises demand for individuals who think in portfolios, can quickly reallocate capital, and work fluently across trading, logistics, treasury, legal, and risk. Prioritise agile operators with cross-disciplinary literacy and rotate talent to build that blend.
What leadership qualities are needed to run empowered, cross-functional teams that can respond rapidly to market shocks?
Organisations are creating small, empowered teams with real resource-allocation rights to respond to market shocks on a weekly or monthly basis. This changes leadership profiles: best-fit leaders convene diverse experts, make fast, compliant decisions and break silos. Collaboration becomes a core performance metric alongside P&L ownership and governance discipline.
How should incentives evolve to align traders and operators with long-term, enterprise-wide value creation?
Traditional “percentage of book” pay can clash with enterprise agility. Incentives are shifting towards longer horizons, including equity or phantom equity, and team components tied to risk-adjusted returns and total shareholder value. Reward behaviours that enhance the whole portfolio—such as reallocating capital to higher-return opportunities and supporting enterprise-critical fixes.
Why are war games and red-team exercises becoming essential for talent development and strategic resilience in commodities?
Regular red-teaming and competitive simulations help avoid strategy whiplash and rear-view planning. This elevates demand for analytical storytellers who model competitor moves, convert scenarios into hedges, contracts and inventory rules, and validate assumptions with customers. Scenario skills and customer-back insights become standard planning inputs.
How can firms close the leadership and experience gap in commodities while building resilient teams for the future?
A thin mid-career cohort and impending retirements are widening the experience gap. Firms are blending in-house teams with seasoned external advisers to accelerate capability while keeping ownership of solutions. Leadership development, targeted lateral hiring and smart partnerships or leases provide the scale and resilience needed to execute in volatile markets.
HC Group is a global search firm dedicated to the energy and commodities markets.
Explore the full HC Commodities Podcast archive