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].
– Former OptoScale Chief Commercial Officer Kristian Henriksen has joined INAQ as a new partner.
Henriksen stepped down from his role at Trondheim, Norway-based fish measurement data firm OptoScale at the end of December 2025.
The company provides advisory services to seafood companies both in Norway and internationally, utilizing market analyses and consulting to help aquaculture vendors gain capital in the seafood sector. In a release, the company said Henriksen’s international expertise will be vital for global expansion operations this year.
“INAQ is in an exciting phase with clear ambitions for further development,” INAQ Managing Partner Nina Santi said in a release. “The appointment of Kristian is an important part of our commitment, and his broad experience in commercial management, consulting, and international customer follow-up will be very valuable to us going forward.”
– Icelandic aquaculture technology company KAPP has appointed Ólafur Karl Sigurdarson as its new deputy CEO.
Sigurdarson's new role involves focusing on managing daily operations while also scaling up and developing cooling technologies for aquaculture firms, according to a company release.
"KAPP is a remarkable company built on a strong foundation with clear growth objectives," Ólafur said in a release. "The company's reputation is strong, based on good values along with a powerful workforce and ownership. I am very much looking forward to getting to know the company better and the strong team working there, as well as supporting the company's next growth phase. There are great opportunities for KAPP to become a leader in ensuring positive impacts on the global food value chain in the future."
The company develops such products as OptimICE Liquid Ice Machines and the RAF Injection Machine System.
"OptimICE, in particular, has revolutionized the industry by providing liquid slurry ice made from seawater directly onboard ships, effectively replacing traditional flake ice,” the company said in a release.
KAPP has announced plans to expand into the West Coast of the United States, as well as Canada.
– Norway-based aquaculture technology company ScaleAQ has hired Cristian Sauterel as head of operations within the firm's Chilean division, effective in February 2026.
Sauterel joins ScaleAQ after working as head of production at Australis Seafoods for the past 12 years, and he has also worked for salmon-farming firm Mowi.
“We have conducted an extensive search across Chile to find the right person to unlock our potential,” said Ben Øksnes, interim CEO at ScaleAQ Chile. “Cristian has a deep understanding of the challenges and complexities of salmon farming.”
“I am truly excited to join ScaleAQ Chile,” Sauterel added. “There are tremendous opportunities to further develop the industry, and I am proud to become part of the ScaleAQ Group, whose owners are deeply committed to salmon farming.”
ScaleAQ CEO Audun Sivertsen said Sauterel’s role will include identifying Chilean farming best practices grounded in biology and said the new hire’s experience made him the best candidate for the role.
Sauterel joins as ScaleAQ has invested “significant resources to strengthen its understanding of Chilean aquaculture, culture, and identity,” the company said.
