Taylor quits JP Morgan, energy group rejigs

Beau Taylor has resigned as JP Morgan’s head of global energy. The precise reason for Taylor’s departure is unknown, but an internal memo seen by RiskNews states that: “Effective immediately, Beau Taylor will be leaving the firm.”

The memo, written by Blythe Masters, head of commodities and currencies at JP Morgan in New York outlines a new organisational structure that will have Catherine Flax and Ray Eyles as co-heads of the firm’s global energy sales and trading franchise business. Both will report to Masters directly.

Although sharing the role with Eyles, Flax will focus on sales and marketing, while continuing to manage global commodity sales for the time being. Similarly, Eyles will focus on trading while temporarily retaining his former role of managing the metals business and strategic trading in the currencies and commodities group.

Taylor is widely credited as having spearheaded JP Morgan’s re-emergence as a major player in over-the-counter energy derivatives. The firm won Risk Magazine’s Energy Derivatives House of the Year Award in both 2006 and 2007.

RiskNews was unable to contact Taylor, and it is unclear whether he has accepted a position elsewhere. A former colleague says that rumours that Taylor is to join a major hedge fund are wide of the mark and that, instead, he is likely to take a senior role at another dealer in the not-to-distant future.