The relentless international growth of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance has received a further boost with the appointment of leading global banking figure Jean-Francois Lambert as strategic adviser to the metals, industrials, energy and resources group.
Mr Lambert, former Managing Director, Global Head of Commodity and Structured Trade Finance for the HSBC Group, will support the development of Wyelands Capital, the financial pillar of the GFG Alliance, as well as assisting with the continued expansion of the group’s global commodity trading, industrial and energy businesses which have a combined annual turnover of $10 billion.
The Group, which includes metals and industrial business Liberty House and sister energy and resources business SIMEC, is currently pursuing opportunities to acquire assets in several countries across the world, including USA, France, the Netherlands, India and Australia, among others.
During a 34-year finance career Mr Lambert has held a succession of top-level international positions with the HSBC Group and, prior to that, with Credit Commercial de France. During his six years leading HSBC’s commodity and structured trade finance operation he helped the bank become one of the world’s major financial players supporting commodity supply chains, with operations in 15 countries and a team of over 160 frontline specialists.
He is the founding partner of Lambert Commodities which provides bespoke commodity trade and structured finance solutions to producers, traders and investors. As a highly- respected specialist in trade finance he writes regularly on the subject in the media.
Commenting on his appointment as adviser to Wyelands Capital he said: “I am thrilled to be associated with Sanjeev’s vision for the development of an integrated and sustainable global enterprise and am looking forward to contributing to the success of the Wyelands business and the wider GFG Alliance.”
Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance said: “JF has a huge reputation in the international structured trade finance sector and his expertise will be a major asset to us in the development of our financial services offer and the worldwide growth of GFG as a whole. I’m delighted to welcome him as an adviser to our team.”
