Thousands apply to our grad program 

Marc El Khoury recently completed his first six-month rotation in Gunvor’s Global Graduates Program:

“It’s been a steep learning curve, but everyone has been super-supportive and there’s a great bunch of grads working hard to make their mark. Wherever I look, I’m amazed at our focus on efficiency and how the organization continuously applies this to our business.”

Spearheaded by Agnieszka Bala (Aga), Gunvor’s Early Careers Programs Lead, the graduate initiative is designed to attract and engage top talent for the company.

Aga specializes in strategic early careers talent acquisition, taking a proactive approach to identifying and developing future employees who can contribute to Gunvor’s growth. Rather than simply filling open positions, early careers is about building strong talent pipelines in collaboration with the rest of the Human Resources (HR) team, hiring managers, and recruiters—ensuring the company is always prepared to bring in the best people at the right time.

How we recruit for our graduate program

In addition to using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and posting ads online, we actively seek to identify top talent all the time.

One of our tactics is to build strong relationships with academic institutions. For example, Gunvor recently invited 15 London Business School students to Geneva to give them the opportunity to learn about the company and its career offerings. It was an interactive and engaging program and further strengthened the partnership between the organizations.

Gunvor also attends university fairs in the UK such as those of the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, as well as the leading Swiss universities, including the Swiss Federal University of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and ETH Zürich. We have attended events at the Istanbul Technical University in Türkiye and Tulane University in the U.S.

In addition to career fairs, we also contribute to the University of Geneva’s “Masters of Science in Commodities Trading” and the “Master of Science in Business Data Analytics”. Our partnerships extend to Taltech University in Estonia, providing finance and trade support scholarship opportunities, and to the Commodities Trading Club in the U.S. At both Texas and Tulane universities, our traders not only present company insights but also teach courses, sharing their real-world expertise with students and enriching their academic experience.

Aga and the rest of the team network progressively to find top talent and nurture relationships over time. In doing so, they develop a continuous flow of qualified candidates who are well-suited to Gunvor’s culture.

Internships provide another method to find junior talent, as well as enabling us to engage with local communities where we operate. Spanning from two to six months, internships offer hands-on learning experiences across various Gunvor locations and functions including IT, Operations, Trade Support and Finance.

A diverse commodity trading graduate program

In a major recent development for our Early Careers Strategy, Gunvor’s first Global Graduates Program attracts thousands of applications each year. Students work with us in core areas vital to our industry’s future: Trading, Risk Management and Quantitative Analysis. The program is structured into two distinct streams:

The Trading Stream spans 24 months, featuring four rotations of six months each.Participants rotate through Risk Management, Operations, and different Trading desks, ensuring a well-rounded exposure to our core business processes.

The Quantitative Analysis Stream lasts for 12 months and includes two six- month rotations between our Market Research team and Trading desks. This stream is tailored for budding data scientists, emphasizing practical experience in data-driven decision-making.

Said Marc El Khoury: 

“In my first six months I’ve already had the responsibility to design my own quant program, learning from experts around me in Geneva, and I’m hoping to deploy it in my second rotation in London.”

Gunvor’s commitment to attract the best graduates represents a significant investment in the future growth and sustainability of our company, reinforcing our positioning as a leader and pioneer in the industry. 

Within the competitive selection process, Gunvor prioritizes gender parity within the program to align with our diversity and inclusivity goals. Our rigorous screening involves online tests and interview processes, culminating in selection days hosted across our main hubs in Geneva, Singapore, and Houston.

These events have proven enriching for both candidates and our business, and we are proud to have welcomed 15 talented individuals who commenced their journey with us in September 2024.

Growing the program

Aga and the rest of the HR team also help to highlight our brand by adopting a more visible approach their work. Prospective employees are interested in learning about Gunvor’s vision, mission, and culture even before they join the company. Our HR colleagues also explain our goal to be in the top 3 of world-leading trading companies and our actions to invest in energy transition products.

Our business recorded another year of strong growth in 2023. That growth, represented mainly in our trading sector, was accompanied by a 16% increase in the workforce. 247 new employees joined our Group in that year, of which a significant number were in trading roles, notably power, gas and metals. We have been putting resources into research, new trading techniques and new trading skills.

As we grow, we are also seeing more and more talent moving internally within the company, supported by growth programs such as international assignment packages.

Using data to learn and develop

Gunvor is a company that works for the people who work within it. It has always looked to hire the best people to expand and improve our existing businesses, it’s just that now the focus is as much on the candidate experience as it is on the recruitment outcome. To this end, we use data and analytics to create a stream of continuous feedback to allow the HR team to understand what they are doing well and what could be done better.

All this will help us to maintain our core values of respect and honesty, and we strive to make Gunvor a place where everybody belongs and where everybody matters. Gunvor’s continuing growth and success is down to our people, and it’s exciting to know that with such an exceptional early careers program in place, the future is in very safe hands.