James Oconnell

Background

About James Oconnell

I feel incredibly fortunate to have managed multiple high-performance teams across three continents. I love writing but I really caught fire in management. Anyone born in the west of Ireland knows the shortest path to success is hard work, dedication, and just a smidgen of good luck. Forever grateful to those who provided the opportunity to shine, I love steep challenges like the mountains I ride up here in Colorado. When I took a job writing about precious metals many friends questioned my career choice. Months later when gold broke through $250/oz they were all back on the phone wondering how to make a killing. None did but there’s nothing like a good comeback story to keep eyeballs on a screen. The first time I broke a competitor's news-story monopoly on annual negotiations between producers and refiners, I was playing pool with my source at 1am in Scottsdale, Arizona. My first management position brought significant internal and external challenges. Removed from an important industry index some years earlier, the product languished with revenue of just Repairing strategic relations, improving content, and astute hiring resulted in sales finally having a product to sell. It sold itself. If you wanted to know what was really going on in the market, you needed Coal Trader International. The business grew exponentially and soon I was off to build a new team in Singapore. Truthfully, I did not want to leave Singapore after just four years, but analytics called me to Colorado. There ensued a steep learning curve as I acclimatized to a challenging working environment, stagnant products, failing tech but a workplace brimming with possibility. The marriage of data savvy analysts with sharp and curious reporters revived weary flagship newsletters and multiple analytic reports. Leading the Denver management team helped spread the impact throughout the office engendering high morale, respect, and, ultimately, loyalty. When Platts acquired PIRA and analytics came under one umbrella, I was tasked with improving output, reducing costs and ‘do no harm’ with six siloed teams as the Americas Director of News. I initiated a project with sister division, Market Intelligence, immediately saving $500k and ultimately $4 million. Following the recent merger with IHS Markit, I inherited small teams where I was able to achieve cost savings of over $2 million while improving readership by 50%. Fueled by passion and determination, a desire to improve and bring people with me on the journey, this global nomad is primed for the next opportunity.