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].
- Kats, the Netherlands-based The Kingfish Company has proposed Karl Buiks as its CEO effective 1 January 2026, replacing Vincent Erenst.
Erenst announced he planned to retire in August 2025, kicking off the company’s search for a new chief executive. Erenst said he will continue to support the team through the transition, Kingfish Company said. Buiks’s appointment will be contingent on an extraordinary general meeting of Kingfish’s shareholders, which the company said will take place in the coming weeks.
Buiks has 25 years of experience in the food, beverage, and nutrition sectors including senior roles at PepsiCo, FrieslandCampina, and Kerry Group. Kingfish said his history includes full P&L ownership and a consistent track record of revenue growth and margin improvement at his prior roles.
“Karl brings the strategic discipline, operational rigor, and brand-building expertise required to drive The Kingfish Company’s next phase of performance and growth,” The Kingfish Company Supervisory Board Chair Jeroen Scheelbeek said in a release. “The Supervisory Board wish to express its appreciation to Vincent for his outstanding leadership, which was central to delivering the Phase 2 expansion and driving substantial revenue growth.”
Buiks said he is “honored” to join the company at a pivotal moment.
“The company has strong fundamentals, a differentiated market position, and significant untapped potential. My focus will be on sharpening our strategy and driving disciplined growth that strengthens value for our shareholders, partners, and customers,” he said. “The company has successfully created a technology and business model that leads to a brighter future for our oceans and food systems at large. I look forward to being a part of it.”
- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based aquaculture and fish tracking technology company Innovasea has promoted Jorge Bravo to the role of managing director of its Chilean operations.
Bravo joined Innovasea in 2020, and the company said he most recently served as the technical manager for Chile. Innovasea said he was instrumental in launching and expanding its operations in the country.
“Jorge has consistently proven himself as a leader and shown a strategic, results-oriented mindset that has been instrumental in driving our Chilean success,” Innovasea Vice President of Aquqaculture Marc Turano said. “I’m confident he will continue to elevate the role and foster meaningful relationships across the region.”
Innovasea said Bravo will oversee operations, strategy, and performance in Chile with delivering solutions for the country’s aquaculture sector taking top priority.
“A cornerstone of this effort will be working closely with farms to better understand pressing issues, technology gaps, and opportunities that will guide Innovasea’s ongoing research and development,” the company said.
Bravo said he’s “excited to partner with local farms” in the new role.
“Through this collaboration, we'll be able to better tailor state-of-the-art solutions that effectively meet their needs and deliver sustainable, long-term growth,” he said.
Innovasea recently made Mark Jollymore the CEO of the company.
