Operational Excellence (OPEX) Daily Briefing – Monday, December 01, 2025: New CEO, New Operating System: Lessons from Gunvor
Điểm Tin Operational Excellence (OPEX) Mỗi Ngày – Thứ Hai, Ngày 01/12/2025: Thay CEO, Thay Chuỗi Giá Trị Vận Hành: Bài Học Từ Gunvor
Welcome to my unique weekday article for the paid subscriber-only edition.
Operational Excellence (OPEX) Daily Briefing – issued on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
Điểm tin Operational Excellence (OPEX) hằng ngày (phát hành các ngày thứ Hai đến thứ Sáu).
This is the bilingual post in English and Vietnamese. Vietnamese is below.
Đây là bài viết song ngữ Anh-Việt. Tiếng Việt ở bên dưới.
English
PART 1 – OFFICIAL INFORMATION
News reports on December 1, 2025 indicate that commodities giant Gunvor Group is entering a major “reset” in both leadership and ownership. According to Reuters, Gunvor—one of the world’s largest independent commodity traders specializing in crude oil, refined products, and gas—announced that its CEO and co-founder Torbjorn Tornqvist will step down and sell his entire stake in a management buyout conducted by the company’s executive team.
Reuters states that this transaction took place only weeks after the U.S. Treasury referred to Gunvor as a “Kremlin puppet” due to its historical ties to Russia, while also blocking what would have been Gunvor’s largest deal ever: a proposal to acquire the international assets of sanctioned Russian oil company Lukoil.
In its official press release, Gunvor emphasized that Tornqvist’s departure and share sale are intended to “establish a clear reset and a forward path for the company,” as misunderstandings about its past had become an unacceptable distraction. The management buyout will transfer the majority of Tornqvist’s stake to roughly 60 key employees, with governance mechanisms ensuring that no individual will hold controlling power.
Reuters reports that the 72-year-old Tornqvist held approximately 86.1% of Gunvor at the time of the announcement. The deal value was not disclosed, but based on Gunvor’s financial results, the company’s equity value at the end of 2024 was around USD 6.5 billion. After the agreement is completed, Tornqvist will step down as CEO, leave the board, and no other members of his family will remain employed or involved in Gunvor’s management.
Alongside the ownership change, Gunvor also announced its new leadership. Gary Pedersen—formerly a senior refined-products portfolio manager at Millennium Management before joining Gunvor in 2024—has been appointed CEO, succeeding Tornqvist. Pedersen currently heads Gunvor’s Americas division, where the company is actively expanding its investments in U.S. shale oil, gas production, and energy assets, with Gunvor’s U.S. portfolio valued at over USD 4 billion.
Reuters highlights that this transition ends 25 years of Tornqvist’s leadership since he co-founded Gunvor in 2000 with Russian partner Gennadiy Timchenko, building Gunvor into the largest trader of Russian oil during the 2000s before diversifying across regions and product categories. Gunvor now trades roughly 3.2 million barrels per day of oil and liquid products, ranking behind major competitors such as Vitol and Trafigura, but remaining among the global leaders in energy commodity trading.
According to the Reuters coverage on December 1, 2025, Gunvor is conducting a major leadership and ownership restructuring: long-time CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist is stepping down and selling his entire stake to an internal management group in a management buyout, while operational leadership transitions to Gary Pedersen. The company’s official message is that this move aims to “reset” its image and strategic direction amid heightened U.S. scrutiny over its historical links to Russia and its efforts to expand its presence in the U.S. energy market.