China Aviation Oil looks to M&A opportunities

THE chief operating officer (COO) of mainboard-listed China Aviation Oil adheres to a strict code of ethics, and can be a contrarian of sorts. A seasoned trader, Jean Teo is known to be a straight shooter.

"There's a need to stand firm and say 'No', even to the boss. I know this is uncommon in a Chinese-run firm, but it's important to do what is right," she says.

The chemical engineering honours graduate from the National University of Singapore began her career at BP Singapore in 1997. She was seconded to China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp as head of trading in January 2008, four years after it was rocked by a US$550 million derivatives trading scandal.

She left BP in 2010 to join Cargill International as a senior distillates trader. A year later, she returned to Asia-Pacific's largest physical jet fuel trading company as its COO. "I really enjoy trading, but I wasn't sure I wanted to remai…