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].
- Anacortes, Washington, U.S.A.-based seafood wholesaling company Sugiyo USA has hired Michael Gillette as its new corporate marketing manager.
“We are delighted to have someone of Mike’s caliber to help drive growth and visibility,” Sugiyo USA President Susan Ruiz said. “I’m confident that his breadth of marketing and business development knowledge will certainly elevate how people see and react to our products.”
According to Sugiyo, Gillette has over 25 years of consumer packaged goods marketing experience, mainly in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
“It’s a thrill to join such a talented and dedicated team of seafood experts. Taking the reins for such a highly regarded brand with a fascinating heritage and a passionate consumer base is a true honor,” Gillette said.
In his role, Gillette will oversee marketing activities as well as increase the presence of Sugiyo’s crab-flavored surimi products in grocery and foodservice businesses across the country.
- Alf-Helge Aarskog, who served as CEO of Mowi between 2010 and 2019 among several other roles within the seafood industry, has joined the board of Smir Group, a Norwegian aquaculture technology firm.
“We are very pleased that Alf-Helge Aarskog wants to contribute to the board of Smir Group. His knowledge of the important interaction between technology and biology will be important for our development,” Smir Group Owner and Business Developer Frank Øren said in a release. “At the same time, Smir Group is growing, both geographically and as a company, and Alf-Helge has a lot of experience that will contribute to us being able to [assist] our employees.”
Aarskog has also served as CEO of Leroy Seafood Group and sits on the board of several seafood companies, including Samherji, Grieg Maturitas, Innovafeed, and more.
“[Øren] and the team have developed Smir Group in an exciting direction, at the same time that Smir Group is moving into areas that are very interesting for the future development of the aquaculture industry. Here, I hope that I can help contribute and, at the same time, learn more about farming,” Aarskog said.
Smir Group’s aquaculture technology offerings include deworming, cage, and waterborne feeding systems. It was founded in 2015.
- Norwegian aquaculture and livestock medicine supplier VESO has hired Lindsey Toon as its new regulatory lead.
Toon recently served for six years as the director of regulatory affairs at Scottish health product supplier Benchmark Animal Health, which, among other services, offers sea lice treatment solutions to aquaculture operations. She also has regulatory and product development experience in other aquaculture and pharmaceutical roles.
In her new role, Toon will provide regulatory guidance to both VESO’s clients and its internal team while it develops products.
VESO was first established by the Norwegian Agricultural Science Research Council in 1988 and later converted into a limited company. It is now 95 percent owned by AquaNova Invest, with the remaining shares owned by current and former employees. The company has operations in Norway, Iceland, and Chile and provides such services as vaccines, stunning methods, and lice remedies.
- Moises del Rio, who recently left his global business manager role at Chilean salmon-farming firm AquaChile, has announced he is joining Chilean food and beverage firm Nutrisco as its global business director for North America.
“I will be contributing to the development of our seafood units, Orizon Seafood and Fiordosur, both renowned for their delicious, premium, sustainable products,” he said on LinkedIn. “I'm eager to support the continued success of these leading brands and to be part of a company at the forefront of innovation in the seafood industry. [I am] looking forward to connecting with my network and exploring new opportunities that align with our shared vision for a sustainable future.”
Del Rio worked at AquaChile for nearly eight years and helped launch Verlasso, the company’s smoked salmon brand, during his time at the firm.
“It's time to turn the page and embark on a new chapter. It has been an honor to be part of a company that has consistently pushed the boundaries of sustainable salmon farming,” he said at the time.
Nutrisco has been aiming to grow its footprint in both Europe and North America, with del Rio’s appointment aiming to satisfy the latter goal.
- Norwegian aquaculture technology firm Aquabyte has appointed Steve Tucker as its CEO, under a year after he joined the firm as its president and COO in October 2023.
“Since joining the company last year, I have been lucky to work with such an incredibly accomplished group of people. A huge thank you to our brilliant founder Bryton Shang and to the investors in Norway, Silicon Valley, and around the world for their unwavering support for our business,” Tucker said on LinkedIn. “I would also like to give a big shout out to the Aquabyte team whose drive and dedication has seen us expand into five countries. We are now on track for 100 percent growth in 2024 and to exceed USD 15 million [EUR 13.5 million] in revenue.”
Tucker has held C-suite positions for over 20 years but never for a seafood company until joining Aquabyte. Most of his leadership roles were for software and technology companies in several industries. Shang has become executive chairman of Aquabyte upon Tucker’s appointment.
“I am immensely proud of what the team has accomplished at Aquabyte. Steve brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership in Norway and Silicon Valley. He has been instrumental in Aquabyte’s profitable growth and is well-positioned to drive growth and innovation in both Norwegian and global aquaculture,” Shang said in a release.
Aquabyte was founded in 2017 and aims to explore how machine learning and AI can improve fish farming practices.
- Audun Fjeldvaer has become the group CEO of Trondheim, Norway-based salmon-farming technology and advanced solutions firm ScaleAQ.
“I am looking forward to starting the job as CEO. ScaleAQ is an important partner for our customers. We develop technology and deliver products and solutions that are critical for profitable and sustainable salmon farming,” Fjeldvaer said. “We will strengthen our good cooperation with customers and, at the same time, ensure that all good aspects of the ScaleAQ culture are continued. When our customers are successful, we are also successful.”
Fjeldvaer has been with the company since 2013, working within sales, product strategy, and technology development roles. Starting April 2023, he began leading the company’s largest division: ScaleAQ Seabased, which will now be led by Sigurd Flaat Liljefjell.
“Liljefjell has shown great commitment and initiative and, together with the management team at Seabased, has contributed greatly to ScaleAQ, achieving the results we are now seeing,” Fjeldvaer said. “Together, we will bring the entire group even closer to the industry. We will continue the strong customer focus and work patiently and purposefully together with our customers on tomorrow's solutions.”
ScaleAQ reported total 2023 turnover of NOK 3.4 billion (USD 319 million, EUR 288 million).
- Høyvik Rokne has joined Norwegian aquaculture pharmaceutical manufacturing firm STIM as a fish health specialist.
“[I am] very happy about joining STIM and a team filled with knowledge and expertise within fish health and environmental services,” Rokne said on LinkedIn.
Rokne previously worked for five years at salmon commodities exchange Fish Pool, first as an exchange broker and then as its head of sales. Since then, she has worked at fish-farming sustainability firm ThinkAqua and as LCA program manager within Nutreco’s sustainability team.
- Hou Yi, who founded Chinese Alibaba-operated grocery chain Hema and retired as the company’s CEO in March of this year, has opened a seafood restaurant in Shanghai.
Hou opened Oyster Bistro in the Huangpu District of Shanghai in early August, and the restaurant features such dishes as barbecued oysters and shrimp products.
After leaving Hema, the company turned toward Yan Xiaolei to head up the firm, who was previously serving as Hema’s CFO. Since Yan took the reins at the firm, Hema has turned toward upping its salmon offerings at its stores, striking a deal with Cermaq and Mowi for a combined 700,000 fish per year.
