Ionut Lazar

Ionut (Johnny) has been with CRU since 2007 and is responsible for CRU Consulting’s advisory work in decarbonization, policy support and portfolio strategy.

Ionut brings to this role a wealth of experience in dealing with clients’ strategic challenges gained from spending the last decade as CRU’s head representative in diverse and sensitive regions for the commodity industries, including East Asia, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Europe.

Between 2017 and 2021, Ionut was CRU’s Regional Director for Business Development in India, Middle East and Africa, managing CRU’s relationships with key industry participants, such as aluminium producers in the Gulf region and India, petrochemical and fertilizer producers in the Middle East and North Africa, and mining companies in South Africa. Ionut has coordinated strategy work aimed at diversification in line with mining companies’ commitment to environmental sustainability, as well as assignments to improve the marketing strategies of major industrial conglomerates within the regional and global markets. Ionut was also responsible for coordinating inbound sustainability enquiries from the region, as well as Europe and Russia.

Ionut was previously in charge of business development in East Asia between 2012-2017, during which time he opened CRU's office in Tokyo and worked closely with Japan and Korea’s major mining and metal companies. During this time, he helped provide advice on long-term strategic planning to Japanese trading houses, including portfolio management and investment strategies, as well as analyses of commodity investment supercycles and their use in strategic decision-making.

In a period spanning a huge commodity cycle peak and subsequent trough, Ionut began his CRU career in CRU Consulting in 2007 and developed a specialisation in contractual negotiation support and consulting advice for governments, as well as an affinity for the global ferroalloy markets. Ionut was also involved in due diligence work covering project finance and M&A activities.

Prior to joining CRU, Ionut spent two years working as a counselor for the Fight Against Fraud Department as part of the Prime Minister's Chancellery in his native Romania. His responsibilities included drafting the Department's communications with the European Commission and risk analysis covering financial legislation.

Ionut holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Political Philosophy and a Master of Arts degree in Social and Political Science, both from Cambridge University. He is fluent in Romanian, Italian and Japanese, and also speaks French.