ABOUT US

Michael J. Nugent
President – Founder
Mike began his career in the futures industry in 1973 at Merrill Lynch, and has since served in management roles for three of the largest bank/brokers on Wall Street.

Appointed to the “Coffee Trade Advisory Committee” in 1990, Mike remains a member of that ICE committee.

Currently he is a member of a select committee advising the board of The National Futures Association.

Mike is active in The Southern Coffee Association, Pacific Coast Coffee Association and the National Coffee Association of the United States.

Elected to the board of the New York Coffee Sugar and Cocoa Exchange in 1995, Mike was reelected in 1998 as a member of the board of The New York Board of Trade, after the merger of CSCE with The New York Cotton Exchange. He remained on that board until the sale of NYBOT to The Intercontinental Exchange in 2007.

Joseph Locandro
Managing Director
Joseph Locandro began his career in commodities working with the government export agency of Brazil in the mid 70's.

Upon arrival in New York, he learned the physical coffee trade with a large importer.

At Merrill Lynch in the early 80's, Jo worked with Mike Nugent in his futures brokerage. From there, Jo went to Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, where he was pioneered in developing soft commodity proprietary trading and structured finance

After Bear Stearns was dissolved, Mr. Locandro joined MJ Nugent & Co, Inc., where he has focused on presenting hedge funds with opportunistic trade ideas. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English, Jo also arranges credit and trade finance for commercial customers with a strong presence throughout Latin America.

Herman Kohlmeyer
Managing Director
Herman is the most senior member of the Cotton Trade Advisory Committee of The Intercontinental Exchange. He was formerly a Director of The New York Cotton Exchange and The New York Board of Trade.

Herman has been a lifelong participant in the global cotton industry, as was his father before him.

A Yale graduate, Herman is based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jim McSweeney
Comptroller
Jim holds an MBA from The University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree in Economics from University of California, Berkeley. He has worked in business consulting and finance, and has served as both CFO and CEO of a major public institution.