AquaBounty announces new chief executive
US-based transgenic salmon producer AquaBounty Technologies has announced the appointment of experienced food industry executive Sylvia Wulf as chief executive officer and executive director from January 1, 2019.
She will replace current chief executive Dr Ron Stotish, who will remain with AquaBounty as executive director with responsibility for research and regulatory affairs.
AquaBounty said in a press release that Wulf’s appointment has been planned to coincide with the company’s developing emphasis on the commercialisation of its AquAdvantage salmon, as the majority of the required regulatory hurdles have been passed.
Senior positions
Wulf joins AquaBounty from US Foods, Inc., one of the country’s leading food distributors, where she is currently a senior vice president and has been president of the manufacturing division since 2011.
Prior to US Foods, Wulf has held senior positions at Tyson Foods Inc, Sara Lee Corporation, and Bunge Corp., among others. Additionally, she is currently on the board and the executive committee of the US National Fisheries Institute.
AquaBounty said Stotish will continue to work closely with the regulatory authorities involved in food and biotechnology in the United States, Canada, and other countries. He will also lead the continued technical development of new products and will work closely with Wulf in the planned expansion of the production organisation both within North America and abroad.
Wide and deep experience
The company’s chairman, Richard Clothier, said: “We are delighted to appoint Sylvia Wulf as the chief executive officer of AquaBounty. Her wide and deep experience in the food industry in North America and its fish sector will be a vital asset in the production and marketing of AquAdvantage salmon and in the development of additional products. This appointment greatly strengthens AquaBounty’s executive team at a crucial stage in the company’s development, and the board looks forward to a period of rapid growth under Sylvia’s leadership.
“The board would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Stotish for the tireless work and effort he has put into successfully navigating the company through the rigorous regulatory channels in the United States and Canada that culminated in approvals for AquAdvantage salmon by both the US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada.”
Necessary innovation
Wulf said: “AquAdvantage salmon is the type of innovation necessary to meet the rising consumer demand for a healthy source of protein, and salmon in particular, without placing further pressure on the sea and coastal environments. I look forward to working with Dr Stotish and the team to successfully commercialise it both in North America and abroad.”
AquAdvantage salmon is an Atlantic salmon that has been bioengineered to grow to market size in about half the time of a traditional farmed Atlantic salmon, improving the economics of producing salmon in land-based contained facilities.
Although AquaBounty has FDA approval for its salmon, it is unable to sell its product in the US yet because authorities haven’t decided how it should be labelled.
