Leaver steps down as CEO of Dubai Oil Exchange DME

Leaver steps down as CEO of Dubai Oil Exchange DME

The chief executive of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), Thomas Leaver, has stepped down after four years at the helm of the largest energy futures exchange in the Middle East.

March 7, 2012 2:14 by Reuters

Leaver’s departure comes after US-based exchange operator CME Group injected funds in February, a record month for DME oil futures trade, to boost its stake and recapitalise the DME.

“I wanted the company to get to the point where the future is far more certain,” Leaver told Reuters.

“The recapitalisation is done, volumes are on the uptick and it is time in the relay race to pass to the next guy.”

Leaver said he had decided to leave the DME after six years at the company long before CME doubled its stake in the DME to 50 percent.

DME rules dictate that his successor cannot come from one of the shareholders.

“A recruiting firm has been appointed and the search has been going on for some time,” Leaver said.

The exchange saw a record volume of DME Oman Crude Oil Futures contracts traded in February, equivalent to around 108 million barrels.

But the DME has yet to realise its long-held goal for its Oman contract to challenge Brent and US crude futures as a global benchmark. (Reporting by Daniel Fineren; editing by Jason Neely)