The Employee Experience at Atlas: Insights from the Trading Desk

In many ways, a fuel supplier is only as strong as its trading desk. Managing price swings and arbitraging markets is what allows suppliers to offer flexible contracts and predictable pricing to customers.

Energy trading is demanding work. It requires constant monitoring of global markets and the use of complex financial instruments. Doing it well takes deep expertise and discipline, and Atlas has spent decades building that capability.

One of the newest members of the team, Michael Martin, brings a long background in commodities trading. He has traded everything from precious metals to energy, and has lived and worked in markets around the world. We sat down with Michael to get an inside look at this part of the business and his experience with the Atlas team.

You joined Atlas in January. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to the role?

I’ve spent my career building financial models and trading commodities. For the last few years, I was living abroad in London, Switzerland, and Dubai. When I moved back to the United States, I wanted to join a team with strong resources and leadership in the field—and that’s how I connected with Atlas.

I had worked with people who had experience with Atlas’s trading desk, and they had great things to say about the team.

Energy trading can be an inward-looking business. Everyone has their own model and their own book of assets, and the focus is usually on individual performance. One of the first things I noticed at Atlas was how different the culture is from that norm. People are constantly sharing ideas and building on each other’s research and models. There’s real camaraderie.

It’s a very different experience from what you typically see in this world, and I think it sets everyone up to succeed.

Let’s dig into that. What does collaboration look like on the trading desk?

The culture of collaboration runs across the company. It starts with Sam and carries through the rest of leadership and the entire team. The mentality is essentially, “We’re a family, and we look after each other.”

On the trading desk, that manifests as constant communication. These are huge physical markets, and everyone covers different areas and brings unique expertise. We’re always sharing what we’re seeing and hearing with each other, and those insights feed back into our individual models. It feels like you’re trading with the expertise of the whole team behind you.

As I said, I can’t emphasize how rare that is. Those shared insights make a level of success possible that you simply can’t get when everyone is working in silos.

Atlas emphasizes a flat culture, where the best idea wins and everyone is encouraged to share their perspective. Since joining in January, what has your experience been?

I’ve only been here three months, and I can already think of a few instances where Sam, our founder and owner, has walked right up to my desk and asked for my input. It’s really nice—and really rare.

When people feel like they have a chance to contribute to their company’s strategic direction, they become more invested in their work. I definitely feel that here.

I can share a specific example. A few weeks ago, Sam was in the office and I asked if he had five minutes to chat. We sat down in a conference room that same day. I shared my perspective on recent macro developments, and he asked questions.

I’ve had similar experiences with other leaders. Our chief legal officer once sat with us at our desks for most of the day, and we ended up having some really interesting conversations. Others, like Peter, have pulled me into calls with different teams to get my perspective. That kind of interaction happens all the time.

My day-to-day focus is managing our book of assets, but there are plenty of opportunities to contribute across the business. I aspire to be an extended resource for the team, and I know that’s possible here.

Let’s talk a bit about the technical side of your job. It’s a volatile moment for energy markets. What’s it like working at the center of that?

It’s definitely been a crazy few months—with export controls, supply crunches, big geopolitical developments. But at the end of the day, I have a Python model I trust and I’m constantly iterating on. The macro environment may change, but the job doesn’t. We’re still looking for value and managing risk like we would in any market environment.

Like I said, the team has a real depth of expertise that we all get to draw on. There’s experience across every market cycle and visibility into what’s happening across the markets. It makes the team run like a well-oiled machine.

Last question: if you had to share one piece of advice with someone in their 20s just starting at Atlas, what would it be?

Come in ready to work hard and ask questions.

I love working with new people and younger team members, and I think everyone here feels the same way. You’re walking into a culture that genuinely welcomes you.

From there, this is an industry that rewards people who take the time to learn the business. If you throw yourself into learning, building your skills, and staying intellectually curious, you’re going to do well. That’s the ethos at Atlas.