Helima Croft

Managing Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy

RBC Capital Markets

Helima is a Managing Director and the Head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research at RBC Capital Markets. She specializes in geopolitics and energy, leading a team of commodity strategists that cover energy, metals and cross-commodity investor activity. Helima is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a select group of individuals who advise, inform and make recommendations to the Secretary of Energy with respect to any matter relating to oil and natural gas. She also is a CNBC contributor, a member of the channel’s exclusive family of experts, is on the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Council, is a member of the Trilateral Commission, and is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Helima joined RBC Capital Markets from Barclays, where she was a Managing Director and Head of North American Commodities Research. Prior to that, she worked in Lehman’s Business Intelligence group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Central Intelligence Agency, where she focused on geopolitics and commodities. Helima has received many industry accolades throughout her career and received her PhD in economic history from Princeton in 2001.

Session Overview

Tuesday, 4 November

12:00

Global strategy Conference Room B 12:00 - 12:45

Redrawing the map: geopolitics and energy markets

The global energy market is being driven by intersecting geopolitical and market dynamics. As governments respond to inflation, industrial policy, and security concerns, the lines between energy and foreign policy are increasingly blurred. US political decisions, including election outcomes, foreign policy shifts and industrial and trade strategies, are having far-reaching effects on global energy flows, investment patterns, and energy security frameworks. At the same time, shifting geopolitical dynamics, from evolving US–China relations and developments in the Middle East to the reconfiguration of Russian energy flows, are redrawing commodity markets and trade corridors. Together, these dynamics are reshaping how governments, producers, and investors assess risk, allocate capital, and define strategic energy partnerships.

Attendee insights:

Understand how evolving dynamics are influencing global markets across the geopolitical and economic landscape.