Indian Tycoon Birla’s Trader Hires Former Cofco Executive as CEO
A trading house controlled by Kumar Mangalam Birla, has appointed a former senior executive from Cofco International Ltd.
(Bloomberg) -- A trading house controlled by Kumar Mangalam Birla, the deal-making tycoon who owns India’s biggest cement maker, has appointed a former senior executive from Cofco International Ltd. to lead the bulk commodities merchant, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Frederik Groth was hired by Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Pte. as managing director and chief executive officer of the company, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Groth will takeover the post from Rajesh Somani, who will remain with the company as an adviser to the commodities business, they said.
Read: Cofco’s Head of Asia Is Leaving Chinese Trader After Two Years
As a part of Aditya Birla Group, Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises has annual revenue of $4.7 billion and trading volumes of more than 31 million tons a year, according to its website. Its business spans from agricultural goods to coal and gas oil, it said.
Groth will join the firm next month and will be based in Dubai, said the people. The company didn’t immediately reply to an email inquiry seeking comment.
Groth was the Managing Director for Cofco International, heading the Asia-Pacific region based out of Singapore, from 2018 to 2020. He was previously a senior executive at Alfred C. Toepfer International, the storied agricultural merchant based in Hamburg, later acquired by food giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.
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