Building in the open
80-hour weeks, deals closing at every hour, and my daughters growing up without me in the room. So I stopped. Now I'm building Kingdom Guild from scratch, and writing down what I learn, including what doesn't work.
International business development
15 years in global commodity trading, negotiating more than $100M in contracts a year across the Americas and Europe. French and American, free to work either side of the Atlantic without a visa.
The map traces the road that got me here. Hover or tap any point to read that chapter.
I spent more than 15 years in global commodity and marine fuel markets, negotiating over $100M in contracts a year and running physical trading books across the Americas and Europe. I brokered options in New York, moved physical cargoes through the Caribbean, and supplied marine bunkers along the US Gulf and East Coast and into Canada. Much of that work came down to closing complex cross-border deals, often with language, jurisdiction, and counterparty risk in play at the same time.
I now work independently, applying that same discipline to international business development and to ventures I believe in, including Kingdom Guild and a nonprofit in East Africa. I put that same instinct for risk and fluency across cultures to work for a small number of companies and projects entering markets they cannot afford to get wrong.
What I can help with
Making a deal happen when the language, the country, and the counterparty are all different is a real challenge.
In cross-border deals, earning trust and reading the room are essential. This is where I can help.
Negotiate and close complex international deals, often in a second or third language, with jurisdiction and counterparty risk in play at the same time.
Open new markets across the Americas and Europe, earning trust on the ground and doing the groundwork that makes a new business real.
Your person on either side of the Atlantic, free to work both with EU and US citizenship, and fluent in the culture on each side.
Assess counterparty risk, logistics, and margin before you commit, from a trader who owned all three.
Help stand up or scale a trading or business-development function from its early days.
15+ years trading physical commodities and marine fuels, from oil options to cargoes on the water.
If any of that fits what you're working on, I'd be glad to talk.
If you have a role to fill, a project that needs a steady hand, or an opportunity worth a real conversation, this is the fastest way to reach me. I read every message myself, and if it's a real fit, you'll usually hear back within 24 hours.
Prefer LinkedIn? Reach me there
What I'm building
Connects donors to specific mission projects, named, costed, and trackable, and gives pastors simple tools to reach their supporters. It's day one, and I'm building it in public.
kingdomguild.com →Want to watch it happen? I send updates as it takes shape, the wins and the faceplants included. Drop your email.