Now hedge Verition hired a London commodities COO from the fund that closed its gas trading business

Natural gas trading is hot. But not everyone can stand the heat. As we reported in August, US hedge fund Roscommon Analytics lost money and then closed its natural gas desk in January. One of its people just turned up at hedge fund Verition in London. 

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Melanie Payne was Roscommon's London chief operating officer (COO). Now she's commodities COO at Verition. Verition didn't respond to a request to comment. Nor did Payne. She revealed her arrival on LinkedIn.

Payne's new job suggests Verition might be building out its London commodities business.  She says she's an expert in "building, scaling and leading" operational functions.  She spent 10 years in commodities at Morgan Stanley. 

Verition's London commodities portfolio managers include: Gareth Walsh, an oil trader who joined in June 2025 and Simon Boon, a former Glencore trader who joined last December. The two men, who once worked together at Citi, may be starting something. 

Thomas Carson, a director at Redstone Search, said Payne's arrival suggests Verition is building its platform. Payne said experienced commodities hires are increasingly choosing to work for "data‑driven platforms" which combine analytics, risk and origination.  

Verition's commodities hires don't always stick around. James Hutchison, a Millennium portfolio manager who joined Verition in December 2025, is thought to have moved on. So too, Yudong Liu who joined Verition in January from Gunvor.

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