Scipion Capital, a commodity trade finance investment manager, has appointed Paul Baker as head of trade finance to oversee all of the company’s trade functions.
In this newly created role, he will report to the firm’s chief investment officer, Nicolas Clavel.
Baker (pictured) brings to Scipion 30 years’ experience in identifying, structuring and closing trade finance facilities.
Before joining Scipion, Baker spent eight years at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe (SMBC), where he was an assistant general manager in the firm’s structured trade and commodity finance department. Prior to this, Baker was director for metals and mining in the commodity finance department at West LB, where he led the development and management of commodity finance facilities for ferrous and non-ferrous metal trading companies.
Baker has also held a variety of trade finance VP and manager positions at leading international financial institutions, including Citi Bank, UFJ Bank, UBS, ING Bank and Banque Paribas.
Baker’s appointment follows a series of strategic decisions Scipion has made over the past year to grow its investment, marketing, legal and operational teams across its international offices.
Clavel says: “Paul is a very strategic hire for us. He will play a crucial role in managing and building out our global trading desk, developing our trade finance facilities, and advising on key deals. Our investors and trade teams alike will strongly benefit from his long-standing industry experience, reputation and networks.”
Baker says: “Scipion has an impressive track record since first launching the business. Their trade team is amongst the most experienced and accomplished in the industry and their experience of the sector and of the African continent is unrivalled. They are well primed to take advantage the growing institutional demand from investors worldwide, and I am looking forward to contributing to the next stage of this success story.”
