EXCLUSIVE-Vitol trader Addison, architect of US-Venezuela export deal, set to retire, sources say
By Shariq Khan
NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - John Addison, Vitol's top U.S. gasoline trader who helped the firm win a deal for the first exports of Venezuelan oil following leader Nicolas Maduro's capture by U.S. forces, plans to retire from the world's largest commodities trading house, four sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Addison, 47, is well-known among rivals and colleagues for his success as a gasoline trader, and has been a member of Vitol's U.S. executive team since 2012. An internal Vitol memo about his retirement, seen by Reuters, described him as "one of the most successful traders in the history of the firm."
He is expected to be replaced by his deputy on the refined products desk, gasoline trader Jean-Marc Monrad, one of the sources said.
The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential details.
Addison declined to comment, and Vitol said it would not comment on personnel issues. Monrad did not immediately respond to a message on LinkedIn.
In January, Addison led negotiations with the U.S. and Venezuelan governments in efforts to clear a multibillion-barrel backlog of crude oil accumulated by Venezuela's state-backed oil company PDVSA during a U.S. naval blockade of the country.
Vitol and rival Trafigura were the first companies tapped by the U.S. government to market the oil. The U.S. government has since issued a general license for any interested companies to export Venezuelan oil.
Vitol has sold over $1 billion of Venezuelan oil to refiners in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has billions of dollars more Venezuelan oil to sell, the sources said.
Vitol's trading turnover - a measure of volume - last year came to $343 billion, up 3.6% from 2024.
JOINED VITOL IN 2009
The Hoover, Alabama, native started his career with Enron in June 2001, just before the energy firm's infamous collapse. He joined European major Shell in 2002 and moved to Glencore in 2005.
Addison moved to Vitol in 2009, where he headed refined products trading in the Americas, and has been the most senior gasoline trader in the U.S. since joining the executive team. The firm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in profits on gasoline during his leadership, three sources said.
His trading career involved oversight of both physical gasoline markets in the U.S., the world's largest fuel consumer, along with financial instruments for crude oil, diesel and other parts of the energy market, a colleague and two rival traders said.
He has traded for Vitol through several waves of market disruption ranging from major hurricanes, freeze events, key pipeline outages, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of military events, the internal memo about his retirement noted.
PLANS TO FOCUS ON ENERGY POLICY
Addison plans to focus on politics and energy policy following his retirement, one source close to him said.
Addison has been a backer of U.S. Vice President JD Vance since Vance ran for the U.S. Senate, and he also contributed to President Donald Trump's 2024 re-election campaign.
Addison volunteers with his alma mater Vanderbilt University, to which he and his wife Shannon donated $30 million last year.
