Most traders who want to lead assume the path is performance. Put up the numbers, get the title. It is a reasonable assumption. It is also incomplete.
Performance gets you noticed. It does not make you a desk head.
≈ 5 min left
Personal Growth
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How to Move from Trader to Desk Head: What Actually Changes
The transition from trader to desk head is not a promotion, it is a role change. What to let go of, what to build, and how to survive the first six months.
By Anish Pujari · Not a journalist. Someone who was actually in the room.
Aug 27, 2026· 5 min read
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Written by
Anish Pujari
Anish has spent 12+ years inside commodity trading floors delivering ETRM and trading systems, from front-office deal capture to the post-go-live months where implementations are won or lost. He writes The Trading Narrative for the practitioners who run those desks: traders, delivery leads, and the professionals in between.
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