NFI selects new board members; Tom Pickerell joins World Resources Institute

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].

-The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) announced several additions to its board of directors. The organization allows for a 61-person board with 45 directors at large and an 18-person executive committee chosen from the board. 

The newest members are Eastern Fish Company President Eric Bloom, H&N Group President Christine Ngo, and Trident Seafoods Vice President Paul Doremus. Justin Conrad has also joined the organization as the officer group secretary. 

“This board consists of some of the most focused, engaged, thought leaders the seafood community has to offer,” NFI President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard said in a release. “The guidance and commitment to the industry provided by the NFI Board of Directors has impressed me since my first day on the job. I’m so pleased to welcome these new voices and perspectives.”

The NFI board now includes:

PanaPesca USA President Michael Davis
Cooke Aquaculture Chief Operating Officer Bret Scholtes
Eastern Fish Company President Eric Bloom
Trident Seafoods Vice President Paul Doremus
Stavis Seafoods Chief Executive Officer Soren Dalsager
H & N Group President Christine Ngo
Sea Port Products National Sales Representative Colin Dresser
HEB Vice President, Seafood Jason Driskill
Crocker Winsor President Rob Hallion
Maritime Products Sales and Development Vice President Sarah Hayes
 International Maritime Group Owner R. Isaak Hurst
AZ Gems Executive Vice President of Sales Jamie Marshall
Eddie M's Chief Executive Officer Jordan Mazzetta
Hofseth Chief Executive Officer/Partner Matt Mixter
J.J. McDonnell Manager, Business Development Stephanie Pazzaglia
Bay Hill Seafood President Justin Conrad

- Tom Pickerell (pictured), who left his position as executive director of the Global Tuna Alliance in March 2023, has been appointed as director for the new global ocean program at the World Resources Institute. The World Resources Institute aims to provide think tanks and other policy creators with information and resources on environmental sustainability. Pickerell will work from WRI’s office in London, England. 

"I am deeply honored and excited to join World Resources Institute as the global director of the Ocean Program,” Pickerell said in a release. “Our ocean is not only a vital part of the Earth's ecosystem but also crucial to the well-being of humanity. I am committed to working with the talented team at WRI to drive positive change and sustainable solutions for the ocean. Through innovative research, policy advocacy, and collaboration with the Ocean Panel, we will strive to build a sustainable ocean economy in a changing environment."

- Meritxell Diez-Padrisa has been appointed senior fish health advisor with Alesund, Norway-based PatoGen's fish health team.

- Ohad Maiman has been appointed as the chairman of the board for Pine Island, Florida U.S.A.-based Pine Island Redfish, a startup founded by former Kingfish Maine Operations Manager Megan Sorby. Maiman co-founded the Kingfish Company in 2015. 

“Pine Island Redfish meets the critical trifecta for a strong business case in land-based farming: a high-value species, with limited local availability, and proven to be viable for RAS farming,” Maiman said in a release. “Having worked closely with Megan Sorby for over three years as she developed Kingfish Maine, I am confident of her exceptional managerial and problem-solving skills, and her ability to build Pine Island Redfish into a successful land-based farming company.”

- Singapore-based alternative seafood company Umami Bioworks announced Anil Kumar Rathod has joined the company as media development lead.  Rathod brings more than 15 years of experience in biopharma companies and will work on commercial-scale expansion, the company said.

"It is technical leaders like Anil that will bring cultivated seafood from a proof-of-concept stage to a viable product in the market. We are excited to share our bioprocess development journey in the coming months," the company said in a LinkedIn release. 

Photo courtesy of Tom Pickrell/LinkedIn