Cobalt Congress Speaker

Michael R. Hollomon II

Commercial Director / Member of the Board of Managers, US Strategic Metals

Mr. Hollomon is currently the Commercial Director and a Member of the Board of Managers at U.S. Strategic Metals. He was the first employee of the company involved from its founding and is responsible for Government Affairs, Sales and Marketing and Commercial matters. Mike was a physical commodities trader for two of the world’s largest commodities trading houses, Glencore International and Gunvor SA and has been in the global mining and metals industry for over 26 years including roles as CEO and Director on multiple mining company Boards. Prior to joining USSM, Mr. Hollomon was the Head of the Coal Department for international trading company Gunvor Group Ltd, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

He assisted Gunvor’s transition from a pure oil trader to a diversified mining and trading firm. He helped build the solid energy fuels department from the ground up and oversaw the acquisition of mines in Russia, South Africa and the U.S., sitting on boards of three Gunvor entities. Mike spent the bulk of his career with the world’s largest commodities trading firm Glencore International AG. He started on the trading floor in Baar, Switzerland in 1996 as a Traffic operator working directly under Ivan Glasenberg and eventually moved to Moscow, Russia in 1999 as a Trader. He later became the Head of solid energy fuels department in Russia for Glencore and oversaw the growth of the division from 1 mm metric tons of the energy fuel per annum to the largest single exporter from Russia at 22 mm metric tons per year. Mike was crucial to Russia opening its global exports to the largest buyers in the world by instituting world class logistics standards from Siberian and Yakutian mines to ports from the Baltic to the Black Sea to the Far East.

Mike is a graduate of Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. Mike finished his degree at FSU while working in the State House of Representatives for State Congressman Dave Thomas who eventually hired Mike as a legislative assistant out of college. Mike further attended Law School at St. Thomas School of Law in Miami, Florida before moving to Europe and beginning a future in commodities.