Sergei Mikhalev is a former banking executive with over 25+ years of specialized experience in commodity finance, as well as associated project and asset finance. Leveraging his extensive background, he provides hands-on advisory services within the commodity and transportation finance space across Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Throughout his banking career, he has held roles in various sectors and functions at JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, with his last assignment being Head of Commodities, Asset Finance, Corporates, and Financial Institutions at Amsterdam Trade Bank.

Since moving to the corporate side in 2020, he has helped to raise over $850 million for commodity traders and producers through transactional facilities, structured prepayments, and mezzanine/equity financing across the mining, metals, energy, and petrochemical industries.

Andrei Makarov is an experienced M&A professional specializing in the energy sector, with a recent focus on managing and executing complex transactions across Sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently, he has led buy-side M&A processes for downstream oil and gas assets, including the high-profile Galp Energia and Vivo Energy divestments, as well as acquisitions and joint ventures in terminal infrastructure.

His M&A work spans the entire deal lifecycle — from strategic planning, market and target screening, and investment evaluation, through to due diligence, financial modelling, valuation, negotiation, and deal structuring. He has successfully managed acquisitions, divestments, joint ventures, carve-outs, and post-deal integrations, ensuring seamless execution in challenging international environments.

This hands-on approach is backed by over 17 years of global M&A experience, including senior roles at Trafigura Group, where he delivered major transactions across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.