Our great-grandfather was the first. He traded commodities at a time when physical markets in Zambia ran entirely on trust, relationships and the ability to read a harvest before anyone else could. That instinct passed through our grandfather and his generation — his siblings and cousins all active in trade, building networks across the region. By the third generation, that family knowledge had grown into something institutional — one family member today runs one of the largest milling companies in Zambia.
Phil is the fourth generation. And he did not inherit a position — he built one. A decade of active trading across maize, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, beans and pulses, cashew nuts, sugar and fertilizer across Southern and East African markets. A background that also spans farming, bulk fuel distribution, transport and logistics, and real estate — all of which inform how he sees the full chain from soil to global market.
Stone Peak Trading was founded because Phil saw three things simultaneously: market gaps nobody was exploiting, unprofessionalism that was costing traders money, and a total absence of systematic thinking in a market that rewarded it. He built Stone Peak Trading to operate differently — with market intelligence, deal discipline and a standard of execution the market wasn't used to seeing.
That standard now drives everything — our trading operation, our consulting engagements, our education systems and every deal we facilitate.