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].
– Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.-based Phillips Foods announced a planned leadership transition that will see current Chief Executive Officer Steve Philips step back to Chairman of the Board and his son, Brice Phillips, take on the role of CEO.
As chairman of the board, Steve Phillips will remain involved in the company’s long-term strategy decisions and called his time leading Phillips “an incredible honor” in a release.
“I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished together and confident the company is well-positioned for the future,” Steve Phillips said. “I look forward to continuing to support our leadership team in my new role.”
Brice Phillips is being promoted to CEO from vice president of business development and sustainability, where he led growth initiatives and strengthened partnerships. As CEO, he will continue company expansion internationally.
“Phillips has always been grounded in strong family values and a long-term perspective,” Brice Phillips said. “I’m honored to step into this role and excited to build on our legacy while continuing to evolve the business.”
John Knorr will be promoted to president and chief operating officer and longtime executive Dean Flowers will retire at the end of the year.
– Paisley, Scotland-based fish biochemistry data company WellFish Tech announced Erik Tveteraas as the incoming group finance director to help scale internationally.
"The salmon paradox is a real phenomenon," Tveteraas said in a release by the company. "This is the most industrialized, technologically advanced species in aquaculture, and yet mortality rates remain at a level that would not be tolerated in any other protein category. The direction of travel from regulators, from consumers, and from capital markets towards improving fish welfare is clear, and that shift has direct implications for how producers manage health. WellFish Tech has built the right product for this moment."
Wellfish added that Tveteraas spent five years at NuFrontiers, a global feed business, where he managed investments for aquaculture farming technologies, fish health, data-driven precision farming, and alternative proteins. Most recently he was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Norway-based Mycelium (NoMy).
"Erik has seen the aquaculture technology space from the inside, as an investor and as an operator," WellFish Tech CEO Charlie Granfelt said. "He has seen what separates companies that scale successfully from those that do not. That perspective is exactly what we need at this stage of WellFish Tech's development. Having someone of Erik's caliber help us capitalize on that position is a significant step forward for the company. We are very pleased to have him joining the team."
– Brussels, Belgium-based Europêche, the leading representative body of the EU’s fishing sector, announced Mathilde Nouvel as the new project and communication officer, supporting initiatives for sustainable fisheries, driving innovation, enhancing science and safety, promoting equity, and advancing progress. She also helps with the company’s communication strategy.
“Europêche plays a vital role in representing a diverse and strategic sector that contributes to key priorities from food security and Europe’s economic resilience to climate action and ocean governance,” Nouvel said. “I am delighted to join the organization and contribute to strengthening its work. It is crucial that the sector’s efforts and commitments to sustainability are better understood and appreciated across Europe, while ensuring that environmental objectives are pursued alongside social and economic realities.”
Nouvel has three years of work experience in project management and communication in the ocean governance and sustainability space, working on a broad range of fisheries-related issues, including BOUTCAR, Pillars of the Sea, STARFISH, WaveForward, and ITUNNES.
“We are delighted to welcome Ms.Nouvel to Europêche,” Europêche President Javier Garat said in a release. “Her expertise in communication and project management will reinforce our capacity to effectively represent the sector and promote its contribution to sustainable and responsible fisheries.”
– Frøya, Norway-based Norweigan salmon producer Måsøval announced that current CEO Helge Kvalvik is stepping down at the end of June, and current chair of the board Lars Måsøval will assume the role as interim CEO 1 July 2026.
“Lars Måsøval knows the organization, the operations and the industry very well,” Måsøval Chair of the Board Trond Tuvstein said. “The Board believes that he will contribute to continuity and stability during the interim period.”
– Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, U.K.-based Hilton Food Group announced Mark Clare as the independent non-executive chair of the board, effective 1 July 2026 and current executive chair Mark Allen as the incoming group chief executive.
"Mark brings fantastic public company and commercial experience to our Board,” Mark Allen said. “He has been successful at the most senior executive and non-executive levels in a distinguished career. The Board and I are very much looking forward to working with him. In the role of Group Chief Executive Officer, I will value the broad and deep experience he will be able to bring to bear as Chair of the Board, especially as we implement our clear plan arising from our strategic review to focus the business on its core capabilities and deliver sustainable long-term growth."
Clare is currently a non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee at Wickies Group and Drax Group. He has served as chair on multiple company boards, dating back to 2001, and he’s held a chief executive role for Barratt Developments, managing director for British Gas, and CFO of Centrica.
"I am delighted to be joining the Board,” Mark Clare said in a release. “Hilton Foods is at a pivotal stage in its evolution as it focuses on its strategy built around three growth levers, disciplined capital allocation and updated medium-term targets. I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the Board as we seek to maximize the business' core, enhance its mix and expand geographically."
