Trevor Woods, chosen in February to head U.S. natural gas and power trading, left earlier this week. Gas traders Chris Malone and Brendan Connellan also resigned. The departures were confirmed by e-mail today by Brian Marchiony, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan. He declined to comment further.
George ``Beau'' Taylor, the former head of JPMorgan's global energy business, left last week after two years with the bank. He was replaced by Catherine Flax, head of commodity sales, and Ray Eyles, head of metals.
JPMorgan, the third-biggest U.S. bank, has said it plans to hire more energy traders in Europe and Asia. Energy initiatives will add $100 million to $160 million in annual earnings as early as this year, William Winters, the co-head of investment banking, said March 6.
The bank expects to capture 8 percent of the $11 billion a year in revenue from worldwide energy trading it forecasts for 2010, according to Winters. JPMorgan began expanding its energy- trading desk in 2005 to balance risks from its larger fixed- income trading business. The bank trades oil, natural gas, electricity and other energy contracts.
Blythe Masters, JPMorgan's global head of commodities and currencies, said in a May 15 memo to employees that energy is a ``major'' area of focus for investment at the bank over the next two years.
