#21 — Part 1: From Theatre to Trading, Without a Degree: Investment Banking, Hedge Funds & Commodities | Eren Elvis Zekioglu: “Working At Big Brand Companies Matter.” “Build Yourself A Persona.” “If You Can Represent Yourself, Doors Will Open.”
- Author
- Nicole Lee
- Published
- Sun 01 Jun 2025
- Episode Link
- None
From studying theatre to landing a job on Citi’s trading floor, building a hedge fund backed by Glencore, and running operations at Gunvor—one of the world’s largest independent commodity trading houses—Eren Elvis Zekioglu broke into finance without a degree, armed only with a bold letter, acting experience, and a lot of hustle.
In Part 1 of Episode 21 of You Never Know, we talk about how he navigated his way through Citi, Credit Suisse, UBS, and Glencore, what it really takes to thrive in the high-pressure world of trading, why emotional discipline and personality sometimes matter more than a CV, and how the brands you work for shape the doors that open for you.
From stories of mentorship, reflections on career pivots, and the moments that led him to the world of commodities—this episode is for anyone curious about the world of trading, hedge funds, commodities, and breaking into finance in unconventional ways.
Today, Eren is based in Singapore, where he is pioneering the tokenization of real-world assets like oil, gold, and coal through his new venture, Kommoditize—reimagining how global commodity trade flows in the digital era.
I hope this finds you exactly when you need it. Watch out for Part 2 with a focus on commodities and tokenization of real-world assets.
Chapters:
00:00 – From Theatre to Trading: Eren’s Unlikely Start
06:00 – The Bold Letter That Landed 18-Year-Old Eren an Interview at Citi
10:30 – Learning from the Ground Up: Trade Tickets & Coffee Chats
17:00 – The Mindset of a Trader: Emotional Discipline & Focus
24:00 – From Equities To Bonds: Building a Cross-Asset View
29:00 – Mentors, Lessons, and Building a Persona
39:00 – The Role of Big Brand Names in Your Career: Citi, UBS, Glencore, Gunvor
44:00 – Starting a Hedge Fund Backed by Glencore
49:00 – What It’s Really Like Inside a Hedge Fund
54:00 – The Transition into Commodities
57:00 – Wrapping Part 1: Reflections and What’s Next
🚀 Follow me for real conversations on life, career, taking the unconventional road and embracing the unknowns.
❤️
Nicole
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👉🏼 Follow Eren Elvis Zekioglu on:
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/erenzekioglu
Website: www.kommoditize.com
👉🏼 Follow Nicole Lee on:
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/nicoleethisisme
Website: http://www.youneverknow.co/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nicoleleethisisme
TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@nicoleleethisisme
🎬 Filmed at: Poddster Singapore
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