AQUACULTURE
INDUSTRY FACES Yara International ASA: Torgeir Kvidal appointed acting CEO
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orgeir Kvidal is appointed Acting CEO effective 7 October 2014, and Jørgen Ole Haslestad has resigned as Yara CEO."Yara's Board have concluded that Haslestad is not the right person to lead the company going forward, also in light of the on-going talks with CF Industries. Haslestad would not have a role in a potential merged company," says Leif Teksum, Chairman of the Yara Board of Directors. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jørgen for his contribution to Yara, first as a Board member and since 2008 as CEO. Yara has made considerable progress under Haslestad's leadership," says Teksum. "The discussions with CF Industries will continue with Kvidal leading the Yara team, with support from the Board and in particular from me as Chairman," says Teksum. Torgeir Kvidal (born 1965) has served as Chief Financial Officer since May 2012 and was Head of Supply & Trade from 2011 to 2012, having joined Norsk Hydro in 1991. Mr. Kvidal holds a Master's degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH).
New Chairman for MSC Developing World Working Group
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he Marine Stewardship Council’s Developing World Working Group has appointed Professor Eyiwunmi Augustine Falaye as its new chairperson.Professor Falaye will oversee a group of stakeholders representing 11 countries from across the developing world. The Developing World Working Group provides advice and guidance to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) on the challenges and solutions to overfishing in the developing world. It was established by the MSC in 2007 in order to help increase accessibility of the MSC program for sustainable fishing. Fisheries in developing world countries face a unique set of funding, environmental, social and political challenges. The MSC is developing tools and mechanisms to support these fisheries to achieve the high standards required for MSC certification. This could open up new markets for MSC certified seafood from the developing world. Professor Falaye has a long academic and professional career researching and advising in fisheries management, aquaculture and sustainable environmental development. Former Head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Management at University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Falaye has published over 100 academic and professional papers on fisheries development. His qualifications include a Ph.D. in fisheries management from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and a post-doctoral fellowship in Fisheries from Bangor in Wales. He has a B.Sc. in fisheries science from Plymouth University and a M.Sc. in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management from the University of Stirling in Scotland. Professor Falaye has worked with the MSC since 2000 and is an active member of the MSC’s Stakeholder Council, Developing World Fisheries Group and Steering Committee
Aidan Connolly appointed as Chief Innovation Officer at Alltech
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lobal animal health and nutrition leader Alltech has appointed vice president Aidan Connolly as Chief Innovation Officer, connected to the company’s global research department. Working closely with Dr Karl Dawson, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Connolly will be involved with Alltech’s innovation pipeline and lead the commercialization of the company’s research programs. In his new role, Connolly will put together a team within the company’s research department that will primarily focus on developing innovative, nutrition-based technologies. Their new product development will capitalize on the insights gained through the company’s considerable investment in nutrigenomics, the science of how diet affects gene expression. “Giving a rapid and effective response, backed up by cutting-edge scientific research, to the market’s changing needs, has always been one of Alltech’s biggest strengths. It is all about how these technologies are implemented to the market,” said Connolly. Connolly brings a strong commercial background to Alltech’s research team. He graduated from University College Dublin with a master’s degree in international marketing. He has been with Alltech for nearly 25 years, initially in Ireland, and then in France, Brazil and the United States. From 2002 until 2008, Connolly held the position of vice president of Europe and was most recently based in Washington, D.C., as Vice President of corporate accounts. Today, Connolly is an adjunct professor of marketing at University College Dublin and a professor of agribusiness at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. He is also an executive board member of the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF), the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), the National Chicken Council, the National Turkey Federation, and a former board member of the European Union Association of Specialty Feed Ingredients and their Mixtures (FEFANA). “As Alltech is moving forward to become a $4 billion company in the next 4-5 years, it is crucial that the company’s research and technical teams work hand-in-hand with sales and marketing. With Aidan joining our group, we will be even more strongly placed to support the industry with science-based nutritional solutions,” said Dr. Karl Dawson, vice president, Chief Scientific Officer at Alltech. Based at Alltech’s Center for Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition at Alltech’s corporate headquarters near Lexington, Kentucky, Connolly will also maintain his current responsibilities as vice president, corporate accounts at Alltech. Connolly is well-known as the architect of Alltech’s annual global feed survey, which assesses global feed tonnage in more than 130 countries.
54 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | November-December 2014