About Houston Mercantile Exchange
HMX was established to help create efficient execution of commodity transactions across a broad range of commodity products and industrial materials. In addition to state of the art exchange technology, HMX also provides customers with the efficiency of post execution transaction integration into mid and back office systems and choice of clearing into CME ClearPort®, ICE Block or Nasdaq Futures financial clearing systems. The founders of HMX have commercial, technical and financial backgrounds in the commodity industry and believe that customer satisfaction is not only driven by innovative technology, but the application of commercial knowledge around the technology supported by excellent customer service. We are committed to innovating and improving transaction processes for buyers, sellers and traders in both established markets and those in the early stages of finding liquidity and transparency. HMX is based in the energy capital of the world - Houston, Texas.
Leadership
Eric T. Paulsen - President & CEO
Eric is co-founder of Houston Mercantile Exchange and leads the commercial and business development efforts of the company. He was formerly Vice President of the Commodity Exchange for ChemConnect, Inc. and was instrumental in the development and growth of the commodity exchange business including the acquisitions of Chematch and Chalkboard.
Prior to ChemConnect, Eric was co-founder and principal in the strategic consulting and merger and acquisition advisory company Plassein Partners where among other transactions, he initiated, developed and completed the rollup acquisition of a number of plastic film processing companies. Eric has over 30 years of experience in developing and managing businesses in commodity trading and financial transaction services with companies such as Enron, Texas Gas and CSX.
Eric holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Tech University.
Chris Stamp - Vice President - Technology
Chris is a co-founder of HMX and leads technology, operations and compliance systems for Houston Mercantile Exchange. He is responsible for all technology for HMX including the development and implementation of the electronic trading platform and supporting operations. Additionally, Chris leads operations and development of compliance systems and processes for HMX. Chris has more than 15 years experience developing electronic trading, online auction, and supply chain systems for the financial services, petrochemical, and manufacturing industries.
Prior to joining HMX, Chris was the Lead Applications Developer at Supply Chain Connect, LLC and held a variety of systems development postions at both ChemConnect, Inc. and CheMatch.com, Inc.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in the Management of Information Systems (MIS) from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston where he graduated summa cum laude.
Curtis Cox - Vice President - Refined Products
Curtis leads all commercial marketing and development in the refined products markets for Houston Mercantile Exchange. He is responsible for market development, customer acquisition and relationships in addition to market operations for refined products. Curtis brings a wealth of experience in refined products markets to HMX. His depth of knowledge spans the entire trade cycle of analysis, trading strategy, execution, and operations.
Prior to joining HMX, Curtis led the refined products group at Tauber Oil. Previously, he traded gasoline and diesel at Eni Trading & Shipping, and worked in operations at Northville Product Services.
Curtis received his BBA, Finance from Southern Methodist University in 2007, and his MBA from Rice University in 2013.