Ex-Morgan Stanley banker to be 'next Noble chairman'

Noble Group is set to appoint Ian Potter, a former senior banker at Morgan Stanley, as its next chairman in a few weeks, just as the commodities trader seeks to complete its US$3.5 billion (S$4.8 billion) debt restructuring, sources said on Monday.

Singapore-based Mr Potter has been working with Noble in an advisory capacity for the past few months, said one of the sources, who declined to be named.

Mr Potter is a managing partner at Lion City Capital, a private investment company. He had a stint of nearly two decades at Morgan Stanley, where he was the head of its Asia commodities, among other roles, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Current Noble chairman Paul Brough, a restructuring veteran, brought the firm back from one of the biggest near-death corporate experiences in Asia and had said he would step down once the restructuring was completed.

Noble's next chairman will be tasked with steering the company into profitability as it transforms itself into an Asian-centric trader mainly dealing with coal, freight and liquefied natural gas.

Its third-quarter net loss narrowed to US$99 million from a net loss of US$1.17 billion in the previous year, it said in a Singapore Exchange filing yesterday.

For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue sank 17.4 per cent to US$1.21 billion from US$1.46 billion in the year-ago period. However its operating profit of US$55.7 million reversed the operating loss US$420 million in the year-ago period.

REUTERS, THE BUSINESS TIMES

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 14, 2018, with the headline Ex-Morgan Stanley banker to be 'next Noble chairman'. Subscribe