- The commercial organization is increasing its capabilities as a strategic value driver, with the organization growing its talent by 30% since 2023.
- Phillips 66 recently celebrated the grand opening of the renovated Phillips 66 Trading Room at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, reinforcing its commitment to developing future commercial talent.
Phillips 66’s commercial organization continues to strengthen its capabilities designed to fully leverage the company’s world-class asset base and extend its value chain into global markets.
Why it matters: With an ever-changing energy landscape, intentional focus on commercial capability-building helps deliver on the company’s vision of being the leading integrated downstream energy provider.
“Commercial connects Phillips 66 to customers across more than 80 countries, helping meet the world’s energy needs through our dynamic team of trading, origination, market analysis, risk, logistics and value chain professionals,” said Mark Hughes, senior vice president, commercial.
CAPABILITY AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Global growth
Since 2023, commercial has grown its team across six global offices:
- Nearly 15% growth, with trading and origination accounting for over 30% of that increase.
- This reflects a team of more than 100 traders and 20 originators globally across the Houston, Calgary, London, Singapore, Beijing and Hamburg offices.
This organizational growth has resulted in trade floor expansions and renovations in four of the six commercial offices. This increase reflects a commitment to developing the capabilities required to maximize value, rather than simply adding headcount.
“Capability-building is a growth strategy in evolving energy markets,” said Hughes. “Our ability to create value now and in the future is directly tied to the type of capabilities we invest in.”
Navigating evolving markets
Hughes explains with the backdrop of shifting supply and demand dynamics, geopolitically driven volatility, energy transition and regulatory changes; this type of investment is table stakes.
“The market does not slow down for anyone,” said Hughes. “The volatility in today’s markets is real, but so is the upside for companies that have done the work to build deep commercial know-how and skills.”
Portfolio evolution
Phillips 66 continues to strategically evolve its portfolio; recent examples include:
- The Coastal Bend integration.
- WRB acquisition.
- Western Gateway Pipeline,
- Agreement to acquire Lindsey Oil Refinery assets.
To capture the incremental value of the company’s portfolio investments, commercial has been elevating its asset-backed trading, supply and logistics expertise.
“Building asset-backed capabilities means making sure we get the most out of our assets while also developing strong trading and origination skills, so we can take advantage of every opportunity our portfolio offers,” said Hughes.
Hughes explained that while the industry is shifting more toward an asset-backed model, Phillips 66 stands out because its strong portfolio “afford[s] us a real advantage that integrates asset optimization with our trading and origination excellence.”
Commercial trades roughly 6 million barrels of commodities every day. Hughes stated, “Every barrel represents a strategic decision — market, timing and customer — where an asset-backed approach leads to strong results and creates greater trading flexibility.”
INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION
Phillips 66 Trading Room
Commercial is growing its capabilities by also investing in future trading talent through collaborations with leading universities, such as Texas A&M University.
As a Platinum Board Member of the university’s Trading Risk and Investment Program, or TRIP, Phillips 66 has supported TRIP since its inception, attracting top-tier talent with many program graduates now contributing to the company’s success in key commercial roles.
On Feb. 24, Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School celebrated the grand opening of the renovated Phillips 66 Trading Room, a specialized finance classroom that supports experiential learning across multiple finance programs. Phillips 66 supported a full renovation of the existing trading room at Texas A&M, including state-of-the-art equipment upgrades.
“Great trading organizations are built on great talent, and great talent is built on great preparation,” said Hughes.
“The new Phillips 66 Trading Room gives students real‑time market experience, preparing them for high‑impact commercial roles in energy. We are proud to have played a role in creating that experience and are even prouder of the energy leaders it will produce.”
Mark Hughes, senior vice president, commercial, Phillips 66
Phillips 66 has hired more early-career graduates from Texas A&M University than from any other university in the last five years, specifically for the commercial organization. To nurture this talent pipeline, commercial launched a new competitive learning journey designed for new hires who aspire to build a trading career.
Developing world-class traders
“Our new Trading Development Program (TDP) turns high‑potential graduates into elite traders through structured training and real‑world exposure,” said Hughes. “TDP is a where bold thinkers become world-class energy traders through immersive role rotations, real-world simulations, mentorship and continuous development across market theory, trading strategies and commercial insight.”
Learn more about commercial and what it is like to be a part of teams in trading and origination.