02 December 2025 , 13:01
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Swedish oil billionaire Torbjörn Törnqvist is stepping down as CEO of his oil trading company Gunvor and selling his majority stake in the company.
“The time is right for this transition,” says newly appointed CEO Gary Pedersen in a press release.
The announcement comes just weeks after the Trump administration called Gunvor a "Kremlin puppet." In a press release, the company says that "misconceptions" about the company’s past have become "an impossible distraction."
Gunvor will also make changes to its board and management team to exclude Torbjörn Törnqvist’s family members and representatives.
Employees borrow
According to the press release, Torbjörn Törnqvist’s share in Gunvor is being sold to current employees of the company. Few financial details are given in the press release, but according to the Financial Times, a group of 60 employees will buy Törnqvist’s 86 percent of the company. In some cases, it will be financed with seller loans that will be repaid annually at a fixed interest rate to Törnqvist’s family foundation, the newspaper writes.
Gary Pedersen, head of Gunvor’s North American operations, has been appointed as Törnqvist’s successor as CEO. He is a US citizen and joined Gunvor last year.
"A generational shift has been underway for some time, and we have the financial strength, liquidity and leadership to continue driving our global growth strategy forward," says newly appointed CEO Gary Pedersen in a press release.
Bought out co-founder
Earlier this fall, Gunvor attempted to buy the international assets of Russian oil company Lukoil. Gunvor later withdrew the bid after the US Treasury Department wrote on social media that they would never approve a license for Gunvor as they see the company as a "Kremlin puppet."
Torbjörn Törnqvist founded Gunvor together with Gennady Timchenko in 2000. Gennady Timchenko stepped down as a major owner of the company when he ended up on the US sanctions list in 2014 in the wake of Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula.
World Affairs Correspondent