Navigating Lower Volatility: Introducing HC Group's Annual Review 2024-25

In 2024, amid the lower volatility trading environment, energy and commodities professionals and companies alike searched for growth and invested in future skillsets.

HC Group's Annual Review 2024-25 reviews the key talent trends that shaped recruitment in the sector globally in 2024, using expert analysis and data. Our team of specialists consultants also look ahead to the major themes likely to reshape hiring in 2025.

This edition of our Annual Review includes more than 350 People Moves, our unique guide to notable individuals who have switched roles in our industries. In an editorial by the director of HC Talent Intelligence, we also explore the future of commodities trading skillsets.

Below we share a preview of our Annual Review talent data analysis.

2024's Key Talent Data in Focus

The 2024 commodity talent landscape showed almost a 20% decrease in people moves, but greater fragmentation in companies hiring compared with 2023 - indicating the effectiveness of retention strategies amid rising competition. Top hirers included both established European trading houses and emerging players from the Middle East. 

Middle East Talent Attraction

An analysis of 2024's talent market trends across the Middle East - focused on the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar—underscored the region’s growing prominence as a key global commodity trading hub. This rise was driven by its strategic geographic location and favourable regulatory environment.

HC Group saw 66% of Middle East talent being recruited from outside the Gulf in 2024, while only 4% of professionals left for positions elsewhere, mostly through internal transfers. This demonstrates the region's continued success in attracting and retaining commodity trading talent, driven by NOCs expanding internationally.