Jawad Jamil appointed Ocean Harvest CEO; Måsøval hires Anders Hagestande as CFO

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].

- On 5 September, Johan Brouwer was named managing director of Morubel and executive frozen sales leader for Cooke Europe. Prior to joining Cooke Europe, Brouwer worked at Veramaris as its director of business development. He also previously worked at Seafood Connection, and Marine Harvest, Morubel said in a press release. 

Morubel is a leading shrimp processor in Western Europe that cultivates, processes, packs and distributes shrimp and other seafood products. It was purchased by Cooke in August 2022.

"Based in the Netherlands, Mr. Brouwer is a 25-year veteran in seafood and brings significant experience in foodservice, retail sales and account management. He is joining Cooke Inc. from Veramaris, where he was the director of business development," Morubel wrote. 

- Ed Ley-Wilson (pictured), the former head of aquaculture at Alness, Scotland-based Aquascot, has joined the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) as its director of innovation and business development. 

“Sarah Riddle and her team have done an extraordinary job to date and I will be working hard both to continue and to build on their existing work,” Ley-Wilson wrote on LinkedIn.

-Jawad Jamil has been appointed CEO at Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.-based Ocean Harvest. The firm is planning to build a land-based salmon farm in the U.A.E. with a planned annual output of 2,000 metric tons.

“Jawad will provide leadership and commercial-related support for the development of the company’s other projects in the broader MENA region and beyond,” according to Jamil’s LinkedIn profile. 

- Norwegian aquaculture company Måsøval announced Anders Hagestande has been appointed as its new CFO. 

The Frøya, Norway-headquartered salmon farmer posted decreased year-over-year operating revenues, as well as drops in sales revenue for both its farming and sales and processing segments in Q2 2023.

"Salmon farming is a team effort. Taking on a key role in such a strong organization is a significant vote of confidence and means a lot to me. Måsøval has a long history and is one of the pioneers in the development of Norwegian aquaculture, “ Hagestande said in a release. “Måsøval is one of the best-managed aquaculture companies today, and there is a major responsibility in managing and further developing the company. I believe that my experience throughout the value chain and strategic understanding can be valuable in contributing to the company's development."

Prior to joining the Trondelag, Norway-headquartered company, Hagestande worked as the CFO at Blue Resource Group and Bjoroya and as a financial controller at Nova Seas.

- Irvine, California U.S.A-based restaurant chain Pokeworks promoted Regina Cheung to CEO from CFO. Cheung will hold both positions until the position has been filled.

“Poke plays a large role in Asian food culture,” Pokeworks Co-Founder Mike Chen said in a statement, Restaurant Business reported. “Having a leader who shares that culture as part of her DNA will help us maintain that authenticity. We expect big things from Regina in her new role.”

Photo courtesy of Ed Ley-Wilson/LinkedIn