Non-Executive Director, Commodity Credit Governance

The decision behind every financed tonne

The director will examine whether earnings compensate for the full chain of exposure: customer default, price movements, ownership disputes, storage failures and delayed liquidation. A portfolio can appear diversified by borrower while remaining concentrated in one warehouse operator, logistics route or underlying buyer. Identifying those connections will be central to board challenge.

Matters requiring board attention

Management should receive clear challenge on proposed concentration limits, eligible commodities, advance rates and the circumstances in which exceptions become unacceptable. The director will scrutinise stress scenarios that combine falling collateral values with slower recoveries and reduced funding availability. They will question whether reported collateral coverage is supported by enforceable rights and independently verified quantities.

Committee participation may cover credit appetite, material provisions and assurance over collateral controls. The director should insist that recurring policy breaches, overdue inspections and unexplained stock movements reach the appropriate governance forum. They must also recognise when additional controls would make an otherwise attractive product commercially unviable and require management to revisit its design.

Experience that translates into useful challenge

Candidates need senior experience in commodity lending, structured trade finance or comparable physical-asset credit risk. Evidence should show how they assessed repayment sources, challenged security assumptions and responded to deteriorating exposures. Familiarity with warehouse receipts, collateral management agreements and borrowing-base mechanics is important; legal enforceability must still be confirmed by qualified counsel.

The board needs someone who can distinguish a weak control environment from an isolated operating mistake without taking over management. Previous director experience is valuable, alongside financial literacy, independence of judgement and the ability to handle commercially sensitive information.

Effective contribution will be visible in decision papers that expose uncertainty, risk limits that remain credible during stress, and management reporting that connects physical stock to financial exposure. The director will support sustainable commercial development while ensuring that growth proposals can survive difficult questions before capital is committed.