Delivering Effective Global Energy Solutions

In March 2025, Mark Russell was appointed CEO of Puma Energy. Mark brings extensive leadership, commercial and risk management experience from his roles with the Trafigura Group over the last two decades —most recently as Trafigura’s Head of Energy for Middle East and North Africa as well as the Chief Commercial Officer for TFG Marine.

Earlier in his career, Mark played a key role in developing Trafigura’s Africa fuel trading activity, as well as starting its bunkering business in West Africa. Mark joined Trafigura in 2006, firstly in Risk Management before becoming a Fuel Oil Trader in 2010. Mark has a degree in Geography from Royal Holloway University, London and a Master’s degree in Management Science from Southampton University.

Carlos was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Puma Energy in September 2021 having joined Trafigura in 2013. He has 21 years of experience in M&A, financing and asset and portfolio management in the energy sector. He started his career in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs in London and Moscow executing numerous M&A, equity and debt capital market transactions.

He joined Trafigura from Glencore where he was responsible for M&A in the Oil department. Throughout his career, Carlos has been heavily involved in portfolio management, integration and restructurings. Carlos also served as Co-Chief Executive Officer for Wolverine Fuels LLC in 2017 and 2018. Carlos served as a Board member of several Trafigura Group companies including Wolverine Fuels, Porto Sudeste and Mineração Morro do Ipê. Carlos is a Spanish and Swiss national and holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of ICADE Madrid, Spain. He is a Spanish native speaker and fluent in English, French and Russian.

Martin Urdapilleta was appointed Head of Puma Energy Latin America in June 2021 and is responsible for Puma Energy’s downstream businesses and operations across the region. He also holds the position of General Manager, Argentina for Trafigura. Martin joined Trafigura in 2008 in the Buenos Aires office as a regional petroleum products trader. In 2010, having relocated to Geneva, he became Head of the Bio-Diesel desk and in 2012 Co-Head of the Distillates desk. In 2013 he moved to Singapore and took on the additional responsibility of managing the Naphtha and Condensates desk.

In 2015 he became Head of Oil Trading Asia and a Director of Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. He was appointed Global Head of Crude Oil from September 2016 to December 2017, in addition to running the Asian oil business. Martin was appointed General Manager of Trafigura Argentina in August 2018, responsible for the Group’s growing activities in the country. Prior to joining Trafigura, Martin worked at Bunge, focused on bio-diesel and agricultural products. Martin is an Industrial Engineer by training and graduated from the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires.

Ben Ouattara is Head of Africa at Puma Energy. He joined the company as Chief Operating Officer of Africa in January 2022.

Previously, Ben was Senior Executive of Oil Gas, the Managing Director of Vivo Energy Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, and the Chief Executive Officer of SIFAL Lubricant Blending Plant, where he provided thought leadership and operational guidance for the efficient management of these businesses.

Ben has over 25 years of experience in the downstream oil and marine businesses. He was a Naval Commander of Offshore Logistic Support Base and the Captain of Oil Tankers across European and African coasts before joining Shell in 2003 as the Marine Technical Advisor for West Africa.

Prior to becoming General Counsel at Puma Energy, Nicacio spent 10 years as senior counsel at Trafigura mainly focused on Africa and Latin America with 22 years’ experience in the commodities industry. Before joining Trafigura, Nicacio was Chief Legal Officer Middle East-North of Africa for Vale, based in the Middle East and prior he worked as International Projects legal counsel, covering major integrated capital projects in Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Nicacio graduated in Law and Management in Brazil with a MBA in International Trade from FGV (2005) and post-graduation in International Trade Law from Universita di Torino/Istituto di Studi Europei (2004).

In 2025, Leyla was appointed Global Head of Human Resources at Puma Energy. She brings more than 25 years of experience in the energy sector, with deep expertise in organisational transformation, talent strategy and change management. Leyla joined Puma Energy in 2012 as Regional Head of HR for Latin America, following 29 years with ExxonMobil where she held a range of senior HR roles. Throughout her career, she has led complex organisational change, overseen multi-market integrations, and developed workforce strategies supporting business growth and transformation. Leyla graduated from the National University of Engineering in Nicaragua. She completed post-graduate studies in Labour Relations and holds an MBA from INCAE Business School.

Omar joined Puma Energy as Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability in January 2022. Prior to joining Puma Omar spent 5 years working for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) as Senior Vice President of Group Communications where he was responsible for internal and external communications, brand positioning and corporate social responsibility. He played a central role in helping to reposition, transform and modernise the organisation.

Previously he served as Head of Energy Communications for Mubadala (the UAE Sovereign Wealth Fund and an important Trafigura partner), and Strategy and International Communications Manager for Masdar (Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy Company). Omar is a Board Member of the World Energy Council and the Chair of their Strategy and Communications Committee. He has a BA in English Literature from Concordia University in Canada and an Executive MBA from Insead Business School in France.

Rebekah Ganim was appointed Global Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) for Puma Energy in July 2023. She has extensive experience in championing operational excellence and a bottom-up culture in global organisations, and has transformed safety from being a compliance activity to a core organisational value.  Prior to joining Puma Energy, Rebekah has held leading roles at Qantas Airways, John Holland Group, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the SunRice Group in Australia, China, Thailand and the United States of America. Rebekah is an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer by training and graduated from Kangan Institute in Australia. She has a Post Graduate Degree in Occupational Health and Safety Management and Executive Business Administration from RMIT University in Australia, and completed a Leadership Development Program at Harvard Business School in China.

Tanay Tiwary joined Puma Energy in 2019 as Head of Business Process Transformation. Since then, he has established and scaled high-impact functions spanning digitization, data science, and operational excellence — accelerating Puma Energy’s transition into a more agile, data-driven, and customer-focused organization.

Appointed as Global Head of Digitization in 2025, Tanay is focused on embedding digital tools into day-to-day operations, empowering teams to make faster decisions, improve customer experience, and drive sustainable performance.

Before joining Puma Energy, Tanay was part of Citi’s prestigious Leadership Cohort Program, where he led digital transformation initiatives across South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from MIT, Manipal, and an MBA from the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras.