Alex Beard joined Glencore in 1995 working in the oil commodity department as a crude oil trader. He was responsible primarily for the Commonwealth of Independent States, and gained considerable expertise in high-sulphur crude oils.

Mr. Beard was appointed chief executive officer of the oil and gas business in 2007, overseeing all of Glencore’s crude oil and oil products marketing, shipping, exploration and production, and other oil-related investments, as well as being a director of various other Glencore Group companies.

Mr. Beard holds an M.A. in biochemistry from the University of Oxford. Before Glencore, he worked for five years with BP in its crude oil department.