Kurush Mistry

Kurush Mistry has extensive experience analyzing commodities, focusing on Crude Oil, Refined Products, and Renewable Fuels. Originally from India, Kurush attended the top management school in the country and has had a varied career at prestigious organizations, navigating through significant changes. He has a deep passion for music, enjoys exploring new places, and takes pride in being a resident of New York. After completing a Commerce degree in Chennai, India, he became a Chartered Accountant, excelling in all three qualifying exams with top honors.

With a solid foundation, he pursued an MBA in finance at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, where he gained knowledge about the latest business concepts, collaborated with peers from diverse educational backgrounds, and honed his problem-solving and communication skills. After completing his MBA, Kurush began his professional journey in 2003 when he joined Lehman Brothers in Tokyo.

He was selected to join their Interest Rate Strategies Team, which provided his first exposure to working in an international corporate environment, allowing him to apply his financial expertise in real-world scenarios and immerse himself in a diverse cultural experience. In 2005, he moved to Lehman in New York. He worked with their award-winning Interest Rate Strategies team until 2008, managing a diverse portfolio of products such as US Government Bonds and Interest Rate Derivatives. During this time, he established a strong reputation among Lehman's US clients, including central banks, mortgage companies, and pension funds, and played a crucial role in the team's growth.

Following the financial crisis in 2009, Kurush made a career change and joined Morgan Stanley, one of the leading oil trading firms, where he worked on their US gasoline and diesel physical trading team. Here, he provided analytics support, collaborated with traders to develop profitable strategies, and gained valuable experience in physical and paper gasoline trading. This brief stint in trading has given him a unique perspective on his analytical work and allowed him to engage in meaningful discussions with his trader clients.

In 2014, Kurush joined Freepoint Commodities as the sole Oil analyst and has since significantly contributed to developing their global oil analytics framework, incorporating alternative data into analysis, particularly in the post-COVID era. From 2014 to 2023, he worked closely with over 25 traders, providing them with market intelligence, supply-demand forecasts, and trade ideas for various products in the Oil industry, including crushing crude, LPG, gasoline, fuel oil, and refinery margins. In 2022, his expertise expanded to include renewable fuels and feedstocks, such as ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuels, and US soybean oil.

Throughout his career, Kurush has shown a strong interest in recruiting, mentoring, and training junior colleagues, assisting them in advancing their careers. He takes great pride in seeing them grow into senior roles at renowned organizations. Kurush has been living in New York since 2005 and feels at home in the fast-paced, diverse city, where he can take advantage of its rich cultural opportunities. Amidst his busy schedule, he finds comfort in playing his guitar and listening to music. He also has a keen interest in reading non-fiction, politics, and traveling, which has taken him to various destinations rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. In 2009, Kurush had the unique opportunity to produce a low-budget feature film set in New York, collaborating with a team of inexperienced creators.

Although the film received modest critical acclaim, the experience was refreshing and challenging, taking him out of his comfort zone and exposing him to a different industry and the complexities of running a small business.