DRW loses head of North American gas and power trading after $176M loss

Teoman Guler, the head of North American gas and power trading at DRW Holdings, has left the firm following a $176 million loss tied to wild price swings during a recent winter storm. His departure marks the latest in a string of senior exits from the Chicago-based proprietary trading giant’s energy desk.

Guler had held the role since May 2022. His exit comes after gyrating prices in natural gas and power markets turned what should have been a manageable volatility event into a nine-figure hit.

A pattern of departures

Guler wasn’t the first to go. Michael Kennedy and Adam Findlay, both based in DRW’s Houston office, exited the firm back in February 2026 after the same volatility event rattled the energy trading unit.

DRW is one of the most sophisticated proprietary trading firms on the planet, with operations spanning equities, fixed income, crypto, and commodities.

DRW has been here before

This isn’t even the first time DRW’s energy desk has buckled under volatility pressure. Back in 2021, the firm restructured its entire energy trading unit, a process that also resulted in the exit of multiple senior employees. Guler’s hiring in 2022 appeared to be part of that rebuilding effort, bringing in leadership to steady the ship after the prior round of upheaval.

For context, $176 million is a significant loss even for a firm of DRW’s scale. While the company is privately held and doesn’t disclose comprehensive financials, a single-event loss of that magnitude in one trading vertical is the kind of thing that forces internal conversations about capital allocation and risk appetite.

What this means for energy trading and beyond

It’s worth noting that DRW has operated a dedicated crypto asset trading desk since 2014. That business, which operates under the Cumberland brand, has been a meaningful part of the firm’s portfolio for over a decade. The current losses and departures are entirely on the traditional energy side, not the digital asset side.

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