To keep up to date with the latest personnel changes across the seafood industry, SeafoodSource is compiling a regular round-up of hiring announcements and other personnel-related shifts worldwide. If you have an announcement, please send it to [email protected].
– Homer, Alaska-based Wild Alaskan Company, a direct-to-consumer wild-caught Alaskan seafood firm, has named Brian O’Leary as its new supply chain senior vice president.
Prior to joining Wild Alaskan, O’Leary served as operations manager at OBI Seafood processing facilities in Seward and Cordova, Alaska, ultimately becoming the company’s vice president of Alaska and then COO. He began his career in the industry first as a fleet manager and then as manager of Ocean Beauty’s Cordova facility.
Wild Alaskan expanded into seafood processing in 2023, acquiring Home Port Seafoods. At the time, Wild Alaskan Founder and CEO Arron Kallenberg said that “Wild Alaskan has reached a scale where we can no longer afford not to be in the processing business.”
– St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada-headquartered Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) has named Nathan Wilbur as its next president.
The announcement was made by the ASF’s joint Canadian and U.S. board of directors.
Wilbur, an engineer by trade, has worked for ASF since 2015, when he joined the organization in the role of New Brunswick program director, ultimately becoming vice president of regional programs.
ASF Canada Chair Brian Porter said that Wilbur was chosen because he “has earned the confidence of ASF’s boards of directors thanks to his consistent record of achievement over 10 years of working for the organization.”
Wilbur spoke of his passion for Atlantic salmon in a release about the appointment.
“Atlantic salmon have been a guiding force and inspiration throughout my life. These remarkable fish tie people together across communities and borders to drive conservation action along their migration from home rivers to Greenland,” he said. “Wild salmon need our help more urgently than ever, and I’m honored and humbled to take on this challenge with our dedicated team of directors, staff, supporters, and partners – advancing ASF as a force for good.”
– Castine, Maine, U.S.A.-based Maine Maritime Academy, a public college which educates students for careers in the maritime sector related to engineering, management, science, and transportation, has selected alumnus Craig Johnson to be its 16th president.
Board Chairman Wayne Norton said that Johnson was chosen thanks to his prior work serving the school.
“As COO and interim president, Craig has demonstrated stalwart leadership across the budgetary and strategic fronts making solid inroads for the Academy throughout the maritime sector,” Norton said. “He is well-respected by faculty, staff, and students alike. Craig has a steady hand and the vision to position MMA for the pivotal moments ahead in the maritime industry.”
Johnson said that he was honored by the appointment and that he believed that the work of educating students in the sector was more important now than ever.
“The maritime industry is on the precipice of incredible growth, and it has been a career highlight to serve MMA as COO and interim president as we create a roadmap that will ensure the Academy’s strength and sustainability in a thriving industry for decades to come,” Johnson said. “I am deeply moved by the young men and women who chose a career in the maritime world. Together with the deeply passionate faculty and staff and alumni, it is a point of pride that we are creating an environment that will lead them to future personal and professional successes."
Prior to joining the Maritime Academy, Johnson spent three decades in the maritime sector working for SEACOR Holdings and XL North. He was also a founding partner in maritime search and consultant firm Flagship Management and held a USCG First Assistant Engineer and Third Assistant Engineer license.
