Citadel’s Top Natural Gas Trader Steps Back to Adviser Role

Chris Foster, Citadel’s long‑time natural gas trader, is leaving day‑to‑day trading after nearly two decades and will stay at the hedge fund as a senior adviser to Sebastian Barrack, who runs the firm’s commodities operation.

Foster built Citadel’s European natural gas business and led the team that generated an estimated $2 billion of the firm’s roughly $8 billion commodities profit in 2022. That year’s gains followed sharp price moves in European gas markets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Operational control of the European natural gas desk has been handled by two traders Foster hired, Stephen Carter and Adam Frame, since last year. They will continue to run the desk while Foster provides strategy and risk guidance to Barrack rather than engaging in front‑line trading.

Energy markets have shown renewed volatility this year. Oil and gas prices rose after the outbreak of the Iran conflict earlier in the year, and European natural gas prices reached a three‑year high this week following further escalation in the region. Those price swings have affected trading opportunities and risk for commodity desks.

Citadel’s commodities unit reported stronger results in 2022 than in recent years. The division’s returns were less pronounced in 2025 and in the early part of 2026 compared with its performance during the 2022 energy crisis.

Ken Griffin has previously estimated that Citadel’s commodities business produced about $30 billion for the firm over its history. Foster’s change in duties ends an active trading career that spanned almost 20 years and concentrated on European gas markets.