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].
- Statt Torsk has appointed Rune Eriksen as CEO and Martin Kværnstuen as CFO.
In September 2023, Statt Torsk, a cod-farming company based in Stokkeneset, Norway, agreed to merge with Vesterålen Havbruk in late September, one month after it announced a strategic review with the stated goal of finding an industrial partner.
Former CEO Gustave Brun-Lie and CFO Bjug Borgund stepped down as a result of the merger and a subsequent delisting from the Euronext Growth Oslo exchange, Statt Torsk said in a release.
Eriksen is the former COO of Vesterålen Havbruk and general manager and production director of Norcod. Kværnstuen has served as CFO of Vesterålen Havbruk since 2021.
-Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S.A.-based nonprofit SeaShare has appointed Hannah Lindoff as executive director. Lindoff joins the organization after working as senior director of global marketing and strategy for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and will begin on 1 April.
“I am thrilled to join an organization that represents what I consider the best part of the seafood industry, its generosity and the drive to share with those in need and mitigate hunger in the United States,” Lindoff said in a release.
Lindoff will replace current executive director Jim Harmon, following his retirement in August 2023.
“Jim leaves enormous shoes to fill, but I look forward to building on the strong foundation he’s created as we continue to enhance our efforts to get some of the best food in the world to those who need it most," Lindoff said.
-Oslo, Norway-based Arctic Securities has appointed Christian Olsen Nordby as an equity research analyst to cover seafood. Before joining Arctic Securities, Nordby worked for Kelper Chevereaux as an equity analyst, according to his LinkedIn.
-The Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Alliance announced on 8 January it has appointed Georgia Worrall as the new head of the organization.
“She will bring a great awareness and understanding of the actions businesses can take to meaningfully impact worker rights," Seafood Ethics Alliance Chair and Hilton Foods Ethics and Social Sustainability Senior Manager Julia Black said. "Georgia has a successful history of implementing human rights due diligence within seafood supply chains, and I am confident of the beneficial impact her work will bring to the SEA Alliance."
Worrall will be responsible for the effective delivery of SEA's work, which is focused on the meaningful advancement of human rights and labor standards in the seafood industry. Worrall joined SEA in March 2023. She possesses a background in workers’ rights, ethical trade, and the global seafood supply chain, according to the organization.
"My role as the new head will involve enhancing the existing pillars of work whilst reinforcing governance structures, ensuring that the alliance remains resilient and adaptable,” Worrall said in a release. “I look forward to working closely with our members, external stakeholders, and businesses throughout seafood supply chains. Collaboratively, I hope to explore ways to enhance human rights due diligence in the sector, aiming for tangible improvements in the rights and conditions of the workers involved.”
- Nina Santi has been appointed CEO of Norwegian seafood advisory company INAQ AS.
“I look forward to taking on more exciting tasks together with talented colleagues,” Santi wrote on her LinkedIn profile.
Before the appointment, Santi worked at AquaGen as its CEO and joined INAQ in November 2022.
INAQ also announced the appointment of Sondre Skjelbred Refsnes as a senior advisor in its finance department. Refsnes brings auditor experience and has worked in various sectors including aquaculture and renewable energy.
“I am looking forward to becoming part of the highly skilled and experienced team at INAQ, and to work with future solutions and opportunities in an industry that I know well and care for. Financial analysis and strategic problem solving is challenging and continuous work, and I look forward to using both my and INAQ’s combined expertise to solve the customers’ challenges and needs,” Refsnes said in a release.
- Julio Morón Ayala has been appointed as president of the Spanish Fisheries Confederation. Ayala, the longtime director of the Association of Large Frozen Tuna Producers (OPAGAC), representing the distant-water Spanish tuna-fishing fleet, replaces Juan Manuel Liria Franch, who held the position since 2020.
“The only way, in my opinion, to develop it with guarantees for the future, both biologically, socially and economically,” Morón said in a release. “Taking into account the unstoppable growth of the world population and the need for quality proteins, such as those from the sea, to feed it only from these axioms can we maintain a sustainable and satisfactory balance.”
- Benchmark Genetics has promoted Harry Tziouvas from global sales and technical manager of salmon to the commercial lead for the U.K. and global land-based. According to his LinkedIn, Tziouvas has been with the company for nearly six years.
-Bíldudalur, Iceland-based aquaculture company Arnalax has appointed Linda Gunnlaugsdóttir as chief sales officer, effective 9 January.
“Linda is a strong leader with vast management experience, most recently from sales of fish and logistics. She lives in Kópavogur and will work from the Arnarlax sales office in Reykjavík,” the company said in a release. “Arnarlax is very happy to have Linda on board and looks forward to the collaboration and her contribution to our strong team.”
Before joining Arnarlax, Gunnlaugsdóttir served as the CEO of Bacco Sea Products for a year and five months, beginning in September 2022, according to her LinkedIn.
“Looking forward to joining the strong team at Arnarlax,” Gunnlaugsdóttir wrote.
Photo courtesy of Rune Eriksen/LinkedIn
