Ivan Vindheim has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Mowi ASA, effective November 12. The 48-year-old seafood industry veteran replaced Alf-Helge Aarskog, age 52, who decided to step down after almost 10 years at the helm of the Bergen, Norway headquartered global salmon aquaculture specialist and integrated seafood supplier.
“I am delighted that Ivan has taken on this challenge. We have had a thorough recruitment process where the board has been looking for the best candidate to lead Mowi going forward. Ivan has a strong commercial track record and has the best qualifications for delivering on our corporate strategy. He also represents continuity,” said Chairman Ole-Eirik Lerøy.
Vindheim has been Mowi’s chief financial officer since 2012. He has extensive experience in the sector and has held various executive positions including the job of chief financial officer at Lerøy Seafood. He holds an MSc in Business and an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics, and he is also a State Authorized Public Accountant and Certified European Financial Analyst.
“I am honored to be given the opportunity to lead Mowi and its more than 14,500 highly competent colleagues in 25 countries. It is with humbleness I take on this task,” said Vindheim.
Aarskog, who has served as chief executive officer of Mowi since July of 2010, is credited for a number of key achievements, including the creation of fish feed operations, significant growth in value-added processing, substantial farming volume growth and most recently the launch of the company’s branding strategy. During his tenure, shareholders have benefited from results and returns.
“Alf-Helge has transformed Mowi to a leading product-driven seafood company, with industry leading positions in genetics, feed, farming, sales and consumer products,” stated Lerøy. “The strategic choices made over the years have turned Mowi into a strong company with a focus on developing the salmon category. Aarskog is a true salmon farmer who has spread enthusiasm and passion for salmon throughout our global organization.”
Kristian Ellingsen, the company’s 39-year-old group accounting director, has been appointed as the new CFO. Prior to joining Mowi he was a director in PwC, where he worked for almost a decade. Ellingsen holds a Master’s degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in informatics from the University of Bergen. He is also a State Authorized Public Accountant.
Impressive Q3 Turnover and Volume
Mowi achieved record high turnover and all-time high volumes in the third quarter of 2019, as reported on October 30. The company’s operational EBIT was EUR 148 million, compared to EUR 207 million in the corresponding quarter of 2018.
“In the quarter we achieved the highest volumes ever both in farming, sales and feed produced. This resulted in the highest turnover we have ever had in a third quarter,” said Aarskog. “We are aiming at further growth next year with a harvest volume forecast of 450,000 tons, up from this year’s 430,000 tons.”
However, he continued, “Due to lower prices and higher farming costs driven by biological issues, the results were lower in the quarter than they were in the same quarter last year. The third quarter was more challenging than normal for our farming organization.”
Mowi posted operational revenues of EUR 1,023 million (compared with EUR 990 million during the third quarter of 2018). Total harvest volume was 116,989 tons (vs. 109,896 tons in Q3 2018).
