Macquarie’s $58m man Nick O’Kane was the bank’s great problem solver

But it was notable that Wikramanayake, who praised O’Kane’s “massive contribution and impact” to the group, suggested this year’s CGM result would actually be of a better quality than the 2023 bonanza, with income broadly in line that of 2022 despite the calmer market dynamics.

That, Wikramanayake says, speaks to the more hidden growth story that O’Kane has helped to build during the past five years in charge of the CGM division.

Like many things at Macquarie, the CGM division can feel a bit like a black box – activity happens at one end, profit comes out the other. But the best way to think about it is as a provider of solutions to common market problems.

Are you an American gas utility that needs to manage their long-dated power supply obligations, or suddenly finds themselves caught short of gas? Macquarie’s CGM business can help, by trading and shifting molecules across the US gas pipeline network.

Are you a pension fund that wants exposure to a basket of commodities, without taking the risk on the physical minerals? The CGM business has just the instrument.

Are you a commodities-focused business that needs help with transport, logistics or storage? Or assistance hedging your exposure to a commodity, or a currency, or some sort of financial instrument? The CGM team can help.

Do you need finance to purchase some asset or another? There’s a structured lending solution at hand.

At certain times a certain market or part of a market will get dislocated – as energy markets in 2023 did – and the demand for the services of the CGM business will go up. Revenue will climb, Macquarie’s group profits will soar, and a leader like O’Kane will probably earn an extraordinary amount of money – that’s the way the Macquarie model is set up, to richly reward those who drive the business.

But beneath these peaks and troughs, and that $58 million pay packet, O’Kane triumph has been to keep growing the division in two ways.

First, by steadily building client numbers and relationships to around 4,000. This is vitally important, given about 85 per cent of the division’s revenue comes from existing clients. Ass Wright eloquently put it on Tuesday: “We are victims and prosecutors of volatility, but ultimately we build the business around and around solutions to those clients.”

Second, underlying growth has come through diversification; in the current year, for example, Wikramanayake says oil and agriculture commodities activity has been a bigger contributor in the last 12 months, helping to buttress weaker power activity.

Kane leaves the business in good hands. Wright was described as one Macquarie insider on Tuesday as the glue of the CGM business, and a leader who has already built up a lot of loyalty.

But where the CGM business delivered 7 per cent of Macquarie’s profit in the 2018 financial year shortly after Kane’s appointment, it is likely going to be responsible for more than 45 per cent in 2023.

Wright has big shoes to fill.