Ash Amirahmadi named Sofina Foods Europe CEO; Mariangeles Villanueva leaves Mowi to join Royal Greenland

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.

- Effective 8 August, Ash Amirahmadi will be appointed as the new chief executive officer of Sofina Foods Europe. The company is a subsidiary of Sofina Foods Inc., one of Europe’s food manufacturers. Amirahmadi, the chair of Dairy UK, is a pioneer in the U.K. food and beverage sector and was awarded the OBE for services to the dairy industry earlier this year, according to a release. Sofina Foods Europe acquired Eight Fifty Food Group and Young's Seafood in 2021.

“I am delighted to be joining Sofina Foods and relishing the opportunity to work with Michael Latifi and the Sofina Foods Europe team to build on their significant progress in transforming the business towards category leadership,” Amirahmadi said in a release. “Sofina Foods has a track record of working in partnership with its customers and suppliers, developing sustainable and resilient supply chains, investing in its people, adding value to categories, and long-term commitment to social responsibility across multiple stakeholders. My experience in the U.K. grocery sector mirrors these values and therefore I am honored to lead Sofina Foods Europe on the journey ahead.”

- According to her LinkedIn profile, Mowi Product Manager Mariangeles Villanueva has been named Royal Greenland manager of Spanish operations. She started Royal Greenland in June 2023 after just 11 months at Mowi.

- In April 2023, Linda Farnsworth Gwinn joined the Mississippi, U.S.A.-based Heartland Catfish Company as its new regional sales manager. According to her LinkedIn profile, Gwinn was employed at Core Foodservice for 23 months before joining Heartland Catfish. She also worked at The Core Group for six years.

 - Lisa Esparza has been promoted to the director of quality assurance of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, according to the company’s LinkedIn post.  

"I love helping our employees understand how implementation and maintenance of good practices assure that we are the superheroes responsible for protecting the public," Esparza said. 

Photo courtesy of Mariangeles Villanueva/LinkedIn