• Octagon Commodities SA

WE ARE A SWISS BASED TRADING COMMODITIES COMPANY

with great strengths from Africa & China

OCTAGON was founded in 2020 by a strong team of entrepreneurs and highly experienced professionals in physical commodity production, trading, logistics and finance. Our management team has over a century of combined experience. We have an active on the ground presence and shareholding in mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo providing an advantage for African sourcing.

We maintain a full scope of trading services and support including financing, logistics and investments to our core trading business operations.

Our diverse team brings a balanced approach to international business and cross cultural communications. We pride ourselves on professionalism, integrity, reliability, flexibility and our ability to build sustainable relationships with our partners across the value chain and across the globe.

 Meet the team:

Marie-Laure Donck

Marie-Laure Donck co-founded Octagon in January 2020 with over 30 years of experience in non-ferrous trading. She previously worked 27 years for Traxys, a leading international commodity trading company, heading up the copper & raw materials department focusing on sourcing from the African and Turkish markets. She has also developed strong relationships with Chinese partners for over two years overseeing major copper, cobalt and nickel investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Marie-Laure has also worked in Europe covering South American and Asian markets. She is a Metallurgical Engineer with a degree from Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles.

Hassan Moukachar

Hassan Moukachar has been active in Southern Africa for nearly 20 years with extensive experience navigating the mining and logistics market in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. His responsibilities and roles have included mine management, site operations, corporate affairs, commercial activities, and supply chain management, while frequently handling negotiations and management from pit to port. Hassan holds two bachelor degrees in Finance and Management from the Lebanese University in Beirut.

Ho Lun Ng

Ho Lun Ng is an entrepreneur who started his commercial career in mining, real estate, and digital technology. He founded a real estate investment and development company, and a digital technology company in the United States before his management role in Huachin Holding. Since 2016, Ho Lun is responsible for the worldwide business development of Huachin holding. Huachin is one of the leading corporations focused mainly on mining investments and minerals sourcing across Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. Ho Lun studied Business Finance and Economics at the University of Southern California.

Maurice Taylor

Maurice Taylor is an independent consultant specializing in international trade finance with 30 years of experience offering strategic advisory services to commodity traders. He is the founder of MFT Services, a firm that provides specialised and high-end solutions for the management and operations of commodity trading companies. Prior to his current activities, Maurice was a bank manager at BBL, Geneva and Banque Paribas (Suisse) SA, Geneva. He holds a B.A degree in Mathematical Economics from Brown University, United States of America.

Jean-Philippe Jeunehomme

Jean-Philippe Jeunehomme has over 25 years of experience in the banking industry, out of which 20 years in Commodity Trade Finance at BNP Paribas Bank followed by 5 years as a Trade Finance Manager of a Swiss based multi-commodity trading company. He graduated from French National Engineer High School ENSMM and also holds a Master’s degree in Audit and Finance from ESCP Europe business school in Paris.

Simon Cohen

Simon Cohen is the Head Metals Trader at Octagon. Simon has over 25 years of experience in non-ferrous metals and steel trading with a strong track record of success in emerging markets. He has global experience including Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco and traded for Middle East and African markets. He has also been an expert witness on commercial and valuation matters for international disputes in field of non-ferrous metals and their raw materials. Simon graduated from the University de Nice and Oxford Brookes University (UK) and holds a DEA in International Trade Law.