New CEO Joins Bumble Bee Seafoods
Seafood industry veteran Andrew Choe has joined Bumble Bee Seafoods as the San Diego-based company’s chief executive officer.
His appointment, effective April 1, was announced by Bumble Bee Board of Directors Chair Jerry Chou. In his statement, Chou said that Choe “has priceless knowledge and expertise in our complex industry and is a people-focused leader with a history of helping talented teams succeed.”
For eight years, Choe was CEO of StarKist Co., highly engaged in all aspects of the business, including supply chain management, manufacturing, customer and broker relations, innovation and brand building.
Most recently Choe served as CEO for SENSEE World, a company that provides products to help the visually impaired.
Choe holds degrees in psychology and economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA with concentrations in finance and operations management from Yale. He currently resides in Pittsburgh, but is expected to relocate to San Diego to join Bumble Bee.
The 125-year-old Bumble Bee fishing company’s full line of seafood and specialty protein products are marketed in the U.S., Canada and over 50 markets globally under leading brands including Bumble Bee, Anova, Brunswick, Clover Leal, Snow’s and Beach Cliff.
Tribal Council Member Appointed to Salmon Recovery Board
Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians council member and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commissioner Kadi Bizyayeva has been appointed to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, the state Recreation and Conservation Office announced April 23. Her term runs through July 15, 2027.
In a prepared statement, governor called Bizyayeva a strong advocate for protecting and restoring salmon and their habitat throughout the Salish Sea. Serving on the board allows her to continue this work while also bringing a tribal perspective and traditional ecological knowledge into the board’s decision-making, Inslee said.
Bizyayeva is the fisheries director for the tribe’s natural resources department, where she has worked since 2013. She co-manages treaty resources with state, federal and tribal governments, working with them to recover species of concern in the Stillaguamish River Watershed, which includes two of Puget Sound’s 22 threatened populations of Chinook salmon.
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board provides grants to protect or restore salmon habitat and assist in related activities. It awards over $206 million biennially in grants to cities, counties, tribes, nonprofits, private landowners and regional salmon enhancement groups for on-the-ground projects to restore salmon habitat.
Northwest Fisheries Association Names Three New Board Members
The Northwest Fisheries Association (NWFA) in Seattle on April 16 announced the appointment of Jana Singleton, Matt Wilbur and David Miller to its board, saying the trio bring a wealth of expertise and a shared commitment to advancing the association’s mission.
Singleton is a senior vice president at Bank of America in Seattle. As a food broker for the past 18 years with Wells Fargo in Seattle and Rabobank in San Francisco, she focused on a wide spectrum of seafood, food and forestry clients. She also covered the global seafood space across Rabobank’s networks in Europe and Asia.
Wilbur is a national sales representative from Sea Port Products. His background is in food and science technology.
Miller is the general manager for Leader Creek Fisheries, owned by Canfisco USA, and has worked in the Bristol Bay fishing industry for over 30 years.
“Their diverse backgrounds, in addition to our current officers and trustees and unwavering commitment to the fishing industry, will greatly enhance our ability to provide relevant content to our members,” said NWFA President Lilani Dunn, who announced the appointments.
Dunn, an industry veteran, is also the executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.
The NWFA represents more than 180 member companies, primary and secondary seafood processors, seafood brokers and distributors and direct-support industry members.
These businesses, primarily from Washington, Alaska and Canada, produce a wide variety of fish and shellfish products, and distribute them worldwide.