Former Microsoft executive Mike Quinn, a member of Trident Seafoods’ board of directors, has been appointed as the company’s new chief operating officer, effective Oct. 1, the company announced Sept. 5.
Trident also announced the appointments of Jeff Welbourn as president of Trident USA, and Kenji Nasu as president of Trident Alaska.
The addition of Quinn as COO and the appointment of Welbourn and Nasu to new leadership roles within the company are the next steps in Trident’s long-term vision to modernize operations and refocus its global commercial strategy, according to Trident CEO Joe Bundrant.
“These are the right leaders and the right changes that will position Trident for future growth, enabling us to continue our mission of responsibly sharing wild Alaska Seafood with the world,” Bundrant said.
Quinn has served on Trident Seafoods’ board of directors for the past five years. Before being named the company’s new COO, he worked at Microsoft Corp. for 25 years, where his leadership roles stretched from sales, global manufacturing and supply chain operations to strategic planning and finance.
Most recently, Quinn served as Microsoft’s vice president of sales-global account management.
Quinn’s wealth of experience leading complex, global businesses makes him the perfect leader for Trident’s new COO role, Bundrant said.
“Creating this new position and adding a proven leader like Mike is the next step in Trident’s evolution to a customer-centric, business unit-led strategy that will return value to all stakeholders. More importantly, as Mike has shown from his work on Trident’s board of directors, he is deeply committed to this company, our people, and the Alaska seafood industry.”
Before Microsoft, Quinn held multiple financial and leadership positions at various biotechnology and healthcare companies in Washington, California and Texas. His international experience includes assignments in Dublin, Ireland and Shenzhen, China.
Welbourn has been with Trident for over 17 years, most recently as senior vice president of Alaska operations. His commercial and operations experience includes establishing and maturing the company’s China business channels, leading global species management, and leading the company’s Alaska operations.
Nasu has been with the company for over 20 years, most recently as senior vice president of global species. Nasu joined Trident in 2004, when the company acquired Norquest Seafoods; Nasu had led its global species efforts. Prior to his years with Norquest, Nasu managed two Alaska-based salmon processing facilities for a Japanese seafood firm,
Omar Sadeque, who joined Trident in April 2023, is expected to continue to lead the company’s international business unit.