Gulf Mercantile Exchange (GME), the premier international commodities exchange in the Middle East, is pleased to announce the appointments of James Martin as Chief Growth Officer and Kevin O’Reilly as Head of Commodities. These strategic appointments strengthen GME’s leadership team and support the exchange’s continued growth and innovation across global and regional commodity markets.
James Martin, based in Dubai and London, brings over 25 years of experience driving capital market growth across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. An influential growth executive, James has led transformative initiatives across public and private sectors, international financial centres, and investment hubs. Prior to joining GME, he served as Chief Development & Investment Officer at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and held senior leadership roles at Nasdaq/OMX across the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.
Kevin O’Reilly joins GME with extensive experience in energy, carbon, and other commodity markets. Kevin has held senior leadership roles across leading global institutions, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, where he managed commodity trading teams, structured complex finance solutions, and drove investor-focused strategies.
Commenting on the appointments, Raid Al-Salami, Managing Director, GME, said: “We are delighted to welcome James and Kevin to GME. Their combined experience in capital markets, commodity trading, and strategic growth will significantly enhance our capabilities and support our vision of expanding GME’s presence as a leading regional and international commodity exchange.”
“These appointments mark a key milestone in our growth journey and underscore our commitment to delivering innovative and robust market solutions for our clients. We would also like to thank the team at Spencer Stuart for their invaluable support in facilitating this hiring process,” added Al-Salami.
