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].
- Norwegian salmon-farming firm Salfjord has appointed Jan-Harald Hauvik as its new chairman of the board.
Hauvik has held several leadership roles in the wellboat and aquaculture sectors, with directly related experience including seven years spent as the chairman of the Wellboat Owners Association in Norway and as the chairman of investment firm Bølgen Invest.
This depth of experience drew Salfjord to Hauvik, according to the company, especially as it aims to become a bigger player in the land-based salmon and trout aquaculture scene in Norway, which requires raising capital. The company also wants his direct input in the construction of a new facility at Tjeldbergodden in the Aure municipality of Norway that Salfjord hopes will produce over 35,000 metric tons of fish per year.
“I am deeply impressed by what I have seen from players using hybrid flow-through technology. They can deliver top fish welfare and some of the best fish I have seen in my 30 years in the industry” Hauvik said in a release. “I am convinced that land-based salmon farming is part of the future of the seafood industry, and with a hybrid flow-through technology that is well-tested and proven, the risk is significantly reduced. Therefore, I look forward to being involved in developing Salfjord’s facility at Tjeldbergodden.”
- After 37 years at Danish seafood-processing firm Espersen and nearly 25 of those years as its CEO, Klaus Nielsen has announced he is leaving Espersen to focus on non-executive board roles he holds, including at Beck Pack Systems, a sister company to Espersen.
The move will officially take effect 5 August, and Tino Bendix, who most recently served as CEO of a Danish veterinary equipment manufacturing firm, will take over as Espersen CEO on that date. After Bendix takes over the role, Nielsen will serve as senior advisor to Bendix until January 2025, when he will leave Espersen altogether.
"Leading Espersen has been the honor of my life and a great privilege, and I have to thank the board and the owners for trusting me to continue the family legacy. From my first day in 1987 until today, I have cherished every moment,” Nielsen said in a LinkedIn announcement. “None of it would have been possible without my fantastic colleagues, a very strong organization, and the solid partnerships we have with our customers and suppliers. The company will be in great hands with Tino, and I look forward to supporting him in his onboarding."
Espersen Deputy CEO Max Sorensen is also leaving the company in pursuit of a supply chain management unrelated to seafood. He had served under Nielsen as deputy CEO since January 2019.
- Norwegian aquaculture machinery company Fluctus has hired Åsmund Aasebø as its new health, safety, environment, and quality assurance manager.
Before accepting the role, Aasebø was responsible for IT and quality, health, safety, and environment at Bergen, Norway-based aquaculture manufacturing services company Fjord Maritime.
“Being allowed to become part of the Fluctus team is very exciting. Fluctus is a company I have followed since its inception, and it is extra fun that the company is located in the village I grew up in,” Aasebø said in a release. “I have gained many years of experience with quality work and system building and look forward to being able to contribute my knowledge to the organization.”
Aasebø will begin the role 1 August. This appointment comes on the heels of Fluctus recently signing a commercial agreement with ITG to distribute products to the Norwegian market, with both companies calling the new agreement "an important step" toward consolidation in the aquaculture industries of both Chile and Norway.
- Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands-based insect protein production firm Protix has hired Piotr Postepski as its new chief commercial officer.
Postepski had spent the last 10 years at U.K.-based animal pharmaceutical product manufacturing firm ECO Animal Health, working his way up to the company’s global commercial and corporate development director role before his departure for Protix.
“Protix is the market leader in insect-based nutrition for healthy and sustainable feed and food – a true gamechanger in the protein and lipids industry,” Postepski said in a LinkedIn post.
Protix said that in his new role, Postepski will help guide the firm’s international expansion while ensuring that growth is achieved profitably.
“Not only does Piotr’s strong commercial expertise and extensive experience in creating new business align perfectly with our goals, but his passion for biotechnology and implementing sustainable solutions also make this a perfect match,” Protix said in a LinkedIn post.
- The Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF) has hired Morten Lund as its new head of aquaculture.
FHF said the role will include directly managing research and development funds and ensuring they lead to traceable value creation and sustainability as much as possible.
Lund began the role 1 June. With a background in veterinary sciences as well as his most recent role as fish health advisor at Norwegian aquaculture technology firm Pure Salmon Technology, Lund can also help FHF ensure greater fish health takes place across the industry, it said in a release.
- The Norwegian Seafood Council introduced Ashild Nakken as its new Southeast Asia regional director at the 2024 THAIFEX food and beverage exposition in Bangkok, Thailand, in late May.
The role will be based in Bangkok and will entail increasing the value, awareness, and demand of Norwegian seafood in the Southeast Asian market, according to NSC.
Nakken has nearly two decades of experience working for Norwegian seafood companies in Asia. Her most recent role was serving as value-added packaging manager for the Asian market at salmon-farming firm Lerøy, which she held since September 2017. She also served as the director of the Chinese market at the Norwegian Seafood Council from 2006 to 2011.
Nakken is replacing Asbjørn Warvik Rørtveit, who had held the role since May 2019.
The Norwegian Seafood Council also promoted Børge Lotre from acting director of market insights to full-time director of market insights, effective 24 June. He had been serving as acting director in the role since May 2023.
- Urk, Netherlands-based seafood wholesaler Visscher Seafood Group has established a new sales office in Asia, aiming to expand its sales of value-added salmon to the region.
Rutger Pasman, who is Visscher’s new director of business development, will lead the growth of value-added sales in Asia, according to the company.
“I’m grateful for the trust placed in me to develop VAP sales to Asia within this impactful organization,” Pasman said. “I’m very much looking forward to facilitating our customers in this region together with the team.”
Yumei Xie will serve as the new office’s sales representative, working directly alongside Pasman.
