LME CEO Matthew Chamberlain to stay as bourse recovers from nickel chaos
- Matthew Chamberlain had announced plans to leave in May for Komainu, a custody business for digital assets
- Decision to stay follows a chaotic period that saw nickel trades cancelled, week-long suspension
Chamberlain announced in January that he was planning to step down next month for a top role at Komainu, a custody business for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets backed by digital asset firm CoinShares, crypto-wallet company Ledger and Nomura.
“Events of recent weeks have brought into focus the importance of the LME and the metals markets,” Chamberlain said in a statement. “I want to continue to work with the team on supporting the long-term health and efficiency of the market and drive forward the sustainable development of our industry.”
Nickel prices, alongside other commodities, surged in early March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns about supply shortages.
The issues surrounding nickel trading followed a long-running campaign by Chamberlain to modernise the metals exchange and make it more attractive to hedge funds and other investors.
His reforms have included efforts to rein in more boorish behaviour by traders, including banning alcohol consumption during the workday and stopping companies from hosting LME Week-branded events at strip clubs and casinos.
Chamberlain, a former UBS banker who advised HKEX in its £1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) purchase of LME, joined the metals exchange in 2012 as its head of business development before being promoted to CEO in 2017.
Following Chamberlain’s decision to stay in the CEO role, Adrian Farnham, the CEO of the LME’s clearing operation, will retire as originally planned in July, the LME said. Farnham had deferred his retirement to serve as interim CEO while the bourse searched for a successor to Chamberlain.
At the same time, Catherine Lester, the LME’s chief financial officer, is leaving to pursue interests outside the company after more than eight years with the bourse, the LME said.
Tabitha Silverwood, who is currently serving as acting CFO, will succeed Lester on May 1, the bourse said. Silverwood has been with the LME since 2014 and has served as head of finance since January 2019.
“I’m very excited about [news that Matthew is staying on]. Matthew is a first class professional, very well trusted by the LME board and has the full support of the board,” Nicolas Aguzin, the HKEX CEO, said during a briefing on the HKEX’s first-quarter results on Wednesday.
The issues in the nickel market “was something that was quite extraordinary and unprecedented in the market”, Aguzin said.
Additional reporting by Georgina Lee in Hong Kong