Cooke Aquaculture announced on 13 July it has selected Philip Wiese to serve as the company’s managing director for its aquaculture operations in Canada's Maritimes, just days after it announced the purchase of a new transport company in the region.
Wiese’s most recent role was CEO at Huon Aquaculture, a role he was appointed to following Huon’s sale to JBS Australia. Prior to that, he served as the company’s deputy CEO from 2011 to October 2021.
“Wiese brings significant aquaculture expertise to Cooke, having successfully delivered for nearly 15 years with Huon, including as chief financial officer, with responsibility for financial management, information technology, human resources and operations,” Cooke said.
Wiese was also the director of the Tasmania Salmon Growers Association, where he led collaboration across the Tasmanian salmon industry. According to Cooke Aquaculture, Wiese’s new role with the company will see him report directly to Cooke CEO Glenn Cooke. Wiese will be leading all of Cooke’s operations in Atlantic Canada “by fostering the alignment of people and resources and championing operational excellence and sustainability by driving efficiency, financial performance and profitability, employee engagement, and stakeholder relations,” the company said.
Cooke Aquaculture’s hiring of Wiese comes after it failed in its attempts to purchase Huon Aquaculture. Cooke revealed its interest in purchasing the company in August 2021, setting up a fight between it and JBS Australia.
Cooke Aquaculture’s push to purchase Huon was ultimately unsuccessful, with shareholders of the company approving the JBS offer of AUD 3.85 (USD 2.61, EUR 2.59) per Huon share, worth at the time roughly AUD 425 million (USD 288.6 million, EUR 286.1 million). Cooke has since pursued an acquisition of Tasmania, Australia-based salmon-farming firm Tassal.
Wiese’s hire comes soon after Cooke also announced its subsidiary, Shoreland Transport Inc., had acquired Connors Transfer Limited – a provider of trucking and transportation services in Nova Scotia, Canada. The acquisition, announced on 7 July, includes a fleet of 143 trucks and 261 trailers with four terminal locations, according to Cooke. Glenn Cooke has taken over as CEO of Shoreland Transport, according to the company.
“Connors is a trusted transportation provider known for their exceptionally high level of customer service. It’s growth over the years, supported by a number of long-term employees and customers, is a testament to the fact they are one of the most reliable and transparent operators in the industry,” Cooke said. “We’re pleased to be welcoming Connor’s 215 employees to Team Cooke.”
The purchase will help the company with further vertical integration amid the “many challenges” in logistics, Cooke said.
“Many of Connors customers operate in food retail and agri-food, so their business and fleet align very well with Shoreland’s current operations and will enable us to improve services with our customers,” Cooke said.
