Mark Pickering has stood down as CIO of energy wholesale firm EDF Trading. Mark Pickering left the energy commodities trading giant last month after a…

Mark Pickering has stood down as CIO of energy wholesale firm EDF Trading.

Mark Pickering left the energy commodities trading giant last month after a two-year stint as CIO. Owned by the world's largest utility firm, EDF, the energy wholsale trader manages round-the-clock international purchases of electricity, carbon, natural gas, coal, freight, biomass and oil worldwide.

The IT executive was accountable for a major technology revamp which includes the replacement of the company's core energy trading risk management (ETRM) system. The project, reported to be one of the company's priorities for 2010-11, is hoped to support the company's expansion in the international wholesale energy markets.

Before joining EDF Trading, Pickering served as CIO at companies, including Shell Trading and Enron. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is now a non-executive director at commodity trading and risk management software firm Amphora, among other activities.

The new CIO at EDF Trading is Jeremy Lock, who was appointed to the role last month. Lock was hired by the firm as a programme manager in November 2009 and was previously head of IT for trading and sales at British Energy.