Marcel van Poecke
Chairman
Marcel has more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector. He is the Chair of Atlas Invest, a private holding company he founded in 2007, which is engaged in investments across the broad energy spectrum. He is also Chairman of Energy at Carlyle. Previously he was Head of Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP) from 2014 – 2022. CIEP focuses on the energy sector outside North America with a particular focus on oil and gas: upstream, midstream, downstream and oil field services.
Marcel is also Chair of ONE-DYAS, Vice Chair of Moeve, Co-Chair of TES, Vice Chair of Energy Intelligence Group and a nonexecutive Director of Discover Exploration, SierraCol and Black Sea Oil & Gas. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of WCS in New York, The Wildlife Conservation Society.
Marcel has a degree in Agricultural Business Administration from the University of Wageningen and a Master’s in Business Administration from the William E.Simon School of Management of the University of Rochester, USA.
Stewart Peter
EVP Group Trading
Stewart Peter joined VARO in August 2025 as Executive Vice President Group Trading and member of the Executive Board. Based in Rotterdam, Stewart leads VARO’s Trading organisation and is responsible for driving value creation, unlocking synergies, and ensuring seamless integration of trading activities as the company expands following the planned acquisition of Preem.
With more than 25 years of experience in the energy sector, Stewart brings deep expertise in crude oil, refined products, and derivatives trading, as well as refinery optimisation, risk management, and strategic business development. Prior to joining VARO, he was Head of Supply and Trading at Aramco in Houston. He has also held senior leadership roles at Klesch, Standard Bank, and ABN AMRO.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Land Economics from the University of Paisley and a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Strathclyde.
Stewart’s leadership plays a pivotal role in supporting VARO’s transformation and growth agenda, ensuring that trading remains central to supplying an expanding customer base and optimising flows across conventional and renewable energy.