Chris Oliver departs American Seafoods; Daniel Suddbay picked to lead Global Tuna Alliance

To keep up to date with movement and job shifts across the seafood industry, SeafoodSource is compiling a regular round-up of the latest industry position-shift updates.

- Chris Oliver is leaving his role as special advisor on government affairs for Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based American Seafoods to join the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and serve as its designated member on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), he announced on 1 May. Oliver will be one of the four non-voting members of the council. According to Alaska Fish News, Oliver will begin at the council effective 1 June. Oliver was appointed as head of NOAA Fisheries in 2017 by former U.S. President Donald Trump, and previously worked for the council for three decades as a biologist, deputy director, and executive director.

“Oliver has extensive experience in the council process and will be a great asset to the Commission and the NPFMC moving forward,” Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Executive Director Barry Thom said in a letter. 

- On 16 March, Jon Hickman left his position as president of Alaska operations for Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A.-based Peter Pan Seafood Co. According to his LinkedIn, he spent more than two years at the company, having previously served as the COO at Silver Bay Seafoods.

 - The Global Tuna Alliance announced its selection of Daniel Suddaby executive director, effective 22 May. Suddaby has more than 20 years of fishery experience and marine conservation, the organization said. Suddaby replaces Tom Pickerell, who left GTA to join The Pew Charitable Trusts as its manager of international fisheries.

“The GTA has already made significant strides in accelerating sustainable tuna management and fishing practices, and I am excited to lead the organization and amplify its impact by working collaboratively with our partners to drive positive change in the global tuna supply chain," Suddaby said. "Together, we will build upon the exceptional work accomplished thus far, fostering an increased collective commitment for our oceans and the communities that depend on them."

- Ben Lambden, the species manager for farmed salmon and tuna at London, England-based seafood supplier New England Seafood International, has left the company after almost seven years. Lambden was recently appointed sustainable aquaculture and fisheries manager at Tesco. According to his LinkedIn, Lambden began the position in May.

- Norwegian land-based salmon company Proximar Seafood announced the recent appointment of Ole Christian Willumsen as its new CFO. Proximar is building a land-based salmon farm in Oyama Town, Shizuoka, Japan. Before joining Proximar, Willumsen worked at Equinor for five years as its Japan country manager, according to his LinkedIn.

"I am excited to be joining Proximar and getting to know the company’s highly skilled people. I look forward to taking an active role in developing Proximar to the next stage including complete farming operations and funding of further growth plans. I am confident that Proximar will become a leading player within sustainable land-based fish farming in Japan and Asia,” Willumsen said in a release. 

- In the wake of Kristian Moeller's departure as managing director of GlobalG.A.P., the eco-labeling and standards organization announced on 17 May that managing directors Elme Coetzer-Boesrsma and Markus Philipp will remain on the company’s leadership team. 

“We are thankful to Kristian for his years of service and look forward to crossing paths with him in his new role,” Coetzer-Boersma said. “Looking to the future, this transition presents an opportunity for us to come together and continue pursuing our mission with renewed vigor. We remain committed to tackling industry challenges and are well-poised to make further progress with our sustainability solutions. Thanks to the launch of IFA v6 and GRASP v2 last year, we are well on our way to offering smart solutions for key issues such as energy efficiency, biodiversity, and risk mitigation in social areas.” 

 - Ron Risher, formerly international sales manager for Seattle, Washington U.S.A.-based OBI Seafoods, has joined aquafeed company Grobest, as co-president. According to his LinkedIn profile, he changed jobs in April 2023.

 - Stuart Cabon announced he is leaving his role as chief procurement officer for food manufacturing company Nomad Foods.

“After nearly four amazing years at Nomad Foods, my time is coming to an end as I complete my transition before moving to an exciting and humbling new challenge in July,” Cabon said on his LinkedIn, without specifying what that next job will be.

 - On 11 May, Bangkok, Thailand-based Thai Union announced Chris Shearlock as its newest director of sustainability for Europe. He is following Tracy Murai, who has been appointed the company's assistant director for global fisheries sustainability. 

“Chris’ appointment comes at an important moment in the group’s sustainability journey as we will soon announce a major update to our sustainability strategy SeaChange with new and expanded goals and commitments through 2030,” Thai Union Group Director Adam Brennan said in a release.

Photo courtesy of Global Tuna Alliance