Board & leadership

Tom is co-founder, CEO and CIO of TradeFlow. He has over 30 years of commercial expertise in commodities and energy and is the business and system architect for TradeFlow's digitised trade-finance solution.

He is a recognised practitioner in the global natural resources market, with senior regulated experience across financial institutions including Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Crédit Agricole, and Crédit Lyonnais, and trading firms including BHP Billiton. His career has spanned trade finance, project finance, investment banking, supply chain and operations, derivatives, physical markets, and fund management — across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Tom has authored more than nine books on energy and commodity trading and risk management. He has held Chair Professor and Adjunct Professor roles at universities globally, served on the United Nations FAO Commodity Risk Management Advisory Group, and was a former Senior Energy Advisor to the United States Department of Defense (TFBSO).

John is a co-founder of TradeFlow and serves as Chief Legal Officer and Head of Compliance. He leads the development of the funds' legal infrastructure and works with leading counsel on its enforceability.

John has overseen the classification and licensing of TradeFlow's specialist intellectual property and worked alongside insurance underwriters and external lawyers on the legal aspects of the fund's risk matrix — particularly in relation to bulk commodity transactions and their exposure to multiple jurisdictions.

A commercial lawyer with expertise in regulatory, compliance, structuring, and transactional matters, John ran his own international commercial law firm from 2003. He has written and lectured on the rule of law, the Eurasian Economic Union, the CSTO, and international commercial enforcement. Prior to law, he worked for Ernst & Young. John was educated at Oxford and is chairman of Hertford College RFC.