Global Commodities Conference
by Lugano Commodity Trading Association (LCTA)
July 1-2, 2024
The Global Commodities Conference gathers world-renowned special guests, international trade experts, commodity traders, banking institutions and service providers. It is a unique platform in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland for networking and deepening of issues related to this sector.
Global Commodities Conference 2024
Global geopolitics and trade patterns are rapidly changing. Tensions in the Middle East, in particular, are putting a strain on key commodities, affecting trade routes and supply chains. For its part, the “green transition” is generating major problems about sustainable sourcing and commitment to ethical commodity manufacturing, as well as increasing demand for clean energy-related raw materials. The Global Commodities Conference 2024, organized by the Lugano Commodity Trading Association (LCTA), returned to Lugano on July 1 and 2, 2024, two years after its previous edition to examine and analyze the new geopolitical dynamics and the energy transition, as well as their impact on global commodity markets.
It was an intense and thought-provoking Conference, with excellent networking opportunities, that brought together over 150 industry professionals in Lugano from across Switzerland as well as major centers such as London and Dubai.
The Conference featured Allianz Trade and Axion SWISS Bank as sponsors and was supported by the Ticino Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Cc-Ti), the City of Lugano, SUISSENÉGOCE and the Zug Commodity Association as Institutional partners.
DAY 1, July 1st
The GCC 2024 kicked off on July 1 with a caustic and stinging address on a one-man world, the cause-and-effect links between war, trade and sanctions, and a Switzerland that simply does not exist in the picture, followed by a standing dinner at SEVEN Restaurant in Lugano.
Roberto Grassi, Vice President, LCTA
Yves Rossier, former Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia
DAY 2, July 2nd
The main Conference was held at LAC (Lugano Arte e Cultura) in Lugano and was divided in two sessions, both with an impulse speech followed by a panel discussion: the first session focused on the new Middle East chessboard, the different chess pieces and the effects of the ongoing conflict on commodity trade and shipping. The second session addressed the “greening” of commodities and the “decommoditization” of the sector, as a result of the energy transition, as well as how commodity producers and traders can adapt to this shifting environment.
Matteo Somaini, President, LCTA
First panel discussion
Second panel discussion
Global Commodities
Conferences 2024
All images © studio Daulte / Loreta Daulte
DAY 1, July 1st
DAY 2, July 2nd
Day 1 | Monday, July 1, 2024
18:30 – 21:00
At Seven Restaurant
18.30-19.00 / Entrance
Registration
19.00-19.30
Opening Remark
Roberto Grassi,
Vice President LCTA
Switzerland and Swiss Companies amidst the Re-shaping of geopolitical Alliances
Yves Rossier,
former Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia
19.30-21.00
Standing dinner
Dinner sponsored by Axion Bank
Day 2 | Tuesday, July 2, 2024
08:30 – 14:00
At LAC
8.30-9.00 / Sala 2
Registration and welcome coffee
9.15-10.45 / Sala 1
Session 1
Middle East, the new Chessboard: Challenges and Opportunities
Matthew Bryza,
former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Panel discussion
Moderation: Dimitri Loringett, Journalist
Anna Borshchevskaya,
Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Matthew Bryza,
former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Marco Galimberti,
CEO, DP Trade SA
Ano Kuhanathan,
Head of Corporate Research, Allianz Trade
James May,
Head of Strategy, Duferco SA
10.45-11.15 / Sala 2
Coffee break
11.15-12.45 / Sala 1
Session 2
Integrating Sustainability throughout the Commodity Trading Chain, a Reality Check
Deia Markova,
Head of Trade Commodity Finance, Sustainability Ambassador, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SGCIB), Switzerland and Member of the Executive Board of SUISSENÉGOCE
Panel discussion
Moderation: Dominique Bruggmann,
CFA, Manager Financial Services Risk Consulting, Ernst & Young AG
Simone Knobloch,
COO, Valcambi SA
Giulio Macciocchi,
Head of Finance & ESG, DXT Commodities SA
Deia Markova,
Head of Trade Commodity Finance, Sustainability Ambassador, Société Générale
Stephen Thomas,
Head of ESG & Sustainability, ArrowResources AG
Panel discussion
Moderation: Stephanie Arnold
Manager, Sustainable Finance, Financial Services Risk Consulting, Ernst & Young AG
Simone Knobloch,
COO, Valcambi SA
Giulio Macciocchi,
Head of Finance & ESG, DXT Commodities SA
Deia Markova,
Head of Trade Commodity Finance, Sustainability Ambassador, Société Générale
Stephen Thomas,
Head of ESG & Sustainability, ArrowResources AG
12.45-14.00 / Sala 2
Networking Lunch
Day 1 | Thursday, June 23, 2022
17:30 – 21:00
17.30-18.00 / Sala 1
Registration
18.00-18.20 / Sala 1
Welcome Statements
Michele Foletti
Mayor of Lugano, Switzerland
Christian Vitta
Head of Department of Economy and Finance, Canton Ticino
Matteo Somaini
President, LCTA
18.20-19.20 / Sala 1
Commodity Trading – the challenging geopolitical landscape
Antonio Caprarica, Journalist
Interviewed by Roberto Grassi, Vice President, LCTA
Born in Lecce, after graduating in Philosophy, he launched a long and award-winning international journalistic career. Author of novels and essays, political commentator. He has a past that saw him as a war correspondent for the Italian state broadcaster RAI in Afghanistan and Iraq, as a correspondent from the Middle East and later, in the times of the convulsive post-Soviet transition, for several years from Moscow. Finally, he is remembered for his years as a correspondent from London.
19.20-21.00 / Sala 3
Standing dinner
Day 2 | Friday, June 24, 2022
08:30 – 14:30
8.30-9.00 / Sala 1
Registration and welcome coffee
9.00-9.05 / Sala 1
Welcome statements
Marco Passalia, Secretary General, LCTA
9.05-9.30 / Sala 1
Conflict in Ukraine: what’s next? A different point of view
Matthew Bryza
Former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Ambassador Matthew Bryza completed a 23-year career as a U.S. diplomat in 2012, culminating as Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Earlier, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (2005-2009) and Director on the National Security Council Staff at the White House (2001-2005) for Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus.
During 1998 to 2001, Ambassador Bryza was the Deputy Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Caspian Basin Energy Security.
Bryza served in the U.S. Missions to Russia (1995-1997) and Poland (1989-1991).
Currently, Ambassador Bryza serves on the Boards of energy, mining, and telecommunications companies operating from the Greater Caspian Region to Texas.
Simultaneously, Bryza is managing director of the Istanbul office of Ballard Partners, a major US and lobbying and public affairs firm that helps companies navigate political and legislative issues.He is also CEO of Lamor Turkey, a Finnish-Turkish joint venture that provides solutions to environmental problems.
Bryza is a Board Member of the Jamestown Foundation, a think tank headquartered in Washington, DC. He was Director of the International Center for Defence and Security in Tallinn, Estonia, during 2012-2015, where he founded the Center’s energy security and cyber security programs.
He is a frequent commentator in media outlets including CNN International, Al Jazeera, The BBC, Fox News, The Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Chicago Tribune, as well as numerous outlets in Turkey and the South Caucasus.
Bryza is the recipient of Estonia’s Cross of Terra Mariana (Fourth Class) and Georgia’s Order of St. George.
He received his bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University and his master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Personal presentation
Matthew Bryza was a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center and the Atlantic Council in Turkey.
He was the director of the International Center for Defence studies in Tallinn, Estonia. He resides in Istanbul, where he also works as a business consultant and board member of several private companies.
Ambassador Bryza completed a twenty-three-year career as a US diplomat. His final assignment was as US ambassador to Azerbaijan from February 2011 to January 2012. From 2005 to 2009, Ambassador Bryza served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, with responsibility for the South Caucasus, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and Eurasian energy. Ambassador Bryza simultaneously served as the US co-chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and as US mediator of the Cyprus, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia conflicts.
During 2001 to 2005, Ambassador Bryza served in the White House as director for European and European Affairs on the National Security Council staff. His responsibilities included the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Eurasian energy, and political Islam in Eurasia.
Previous assignments include deputy to the special adviser to the president and secretary of state on Caspian Energy, and political officer at the US missions to Russia (1995-97) and Poland (1989-91).
9.30-10.20 / Sala 1
Shipping and Logistic: Are we still sailing stormy waters?
Harris Antoniou, Founder & Managing Director, Neptune Maritime Leasing Ltd
Gemma Carbone, Business Development Executive, Ifchor
Andrea Organista D’Amato, Principal & Chartering Manager, Armator Shipping
Moderator: Michel’Angelo Piccinini, President, Propeller Club Lugano
10.20-11.00
Coffee break
11.00-12.00 / Sala 1
Compliance and sustainability in war and resource shortage times.
Sarah Hunt, Partner, HFW
Taylor Konkin, Head of Commodity Trading Audit EY Geneva
Deia Markova, Head of Trade Commodity Finance, SGCIB
Thomas Patrick, CFO, DITH
Moderator: Pietro Poretti, Director Economic Development Divisione, City of Lugano
12.00-13.00 / Sala 1
Commodities shortage and global economy.
Marco Arrighini, Head of Southern Region, Allianz Trade Switzerland
Matija Barudzija, CEO, ENET Energy SA
Marco Galimberti, CEO, DP Trade SA
James May, Director Strategy, DITH
Moderator: Florence Schurch, Secretary General, STSA
13.00-14.30 / Sala 3
Standing lunch
Free tickets for commodity traders.
Mandatory registration.
ORGANIZER
MEDIA PARTNER
ORGANIZER
MEDIA PARTNER
SPONSORS
SPONSORS
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS