CME Bolsters Energy Business

The Chicago derivatives exchange operator will fortify its energy business with the addition of a 30-year veteran.



CME Group recently announced that it has appointed Gary Morsches as managing director of its energy business.



“We are very pleased to have Gary join the CME Group energy team,” said Kenndal Vroman, managing director of commodity products, OTC services and information products at CME in a release. “Gary brings a history of success in building businesses in the energy sector that will be invaluable to us as we continue to build on our existing energy complex and offer innovative new products that help customers meet their business needs and manage risk.”



Neither Morsches nor Vroman were immediately available for comment.



Morsches will be based in New York and will report to Vroman. His appointment took effect Sept. 30. He has had more than three decades of experience in the energy industry, most recently as a partner and managing director for Boston Consulting Group, advising clients in the energy space on business strategy and development. Morsches previously served as president and chief executive officer of Conectiv Energy, and has also held senior management positions for leading energy companies such as Mirant Corporation, Southern Company Energy and Marketing, Enron and Access Energy Company. Morsches earned an MBA degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton.



The new hire by the CME may come as a way to shuffle up an energy business that lagged behind some of its other units. The company recently recorded an all-time record 17.1 million contracts traded per day in August, an increase of 46 percent from 2010 and of 35 percent from July. Metals volume reached a record 521,000 contracts per day, an increase of 131 percent, as investors flocked to the safety of gold. Interest rate and equity index options, the company’s top two products by volume, were also up 83 percent and 47 percent, respectively. Energy, on the other hand, the company’s third largest offering by volume, was up just eight percent over 2010.