Chairman's Profile

Biography

Lucas C. Hartmann founded LCH Holding in Zurich in 2006 after fifteen years in physical commodity trading, where he built and ran precious-metals desks in Zurich and Singapore. He started the company with two partners and a single conviction: that the best returns in commodities go to those who own the assets, not those who merely trade around them. That conviction led to the acquisition of the group's first gold mining concession in Ghana in 2009 — the decision that transformed a trading house into an industrial group.

Over the following two decades, Lucas guided the group's expansion into refining, energy, construction, logistics and finance, always following the same playbook: enter a sector only as a long-term owner-operator, keep debt conservative, and reinvest profits into the next generation of projects. He stepped back from day-to-day management in 2021, handing executive leadership to Elena Marchetti, and now chairs the group's board and investment committee. He remains closely involved in major capital decisions, including the recently completed Sierra Dorada expansion in Peru.

Lucas holds a degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen and is a member of several Swiss and international industry associations. Outside the office he is a keen alpinist and funds a scholarship programme for mining engineering students from the communities where LCH operates.