Daniel Brännström, CTO and Lena Backström, PR & IR.
Big Akwa.
Swedish food-tech company Big Akwa, which is developing a land-based aquaculture project in mid-Sweden, is growing its team, with the appointment of its new Chief Technology Officer, Daniel Brännström, in addition to its new head of public and investor relations, Lena Backström.
The appointments follow Big Akwa's decision to become a publicly-traded company, a process that was formalised in June 2024.
Welcoming the new team members in a LinkedIn post, the company highlighted the expertise and experience the new hires bring to their respective roles.
Big Akwa's new CTO Daniel Brännström is the founder and co-owner of fellow Swedish agritech business Agtira, which specialises in aquaponics, and brings plenty of experience in both food technology and the start-up ecosystem in Sweden.
"Daniel has over two decades of experience in driving innovation and building companies. With a strong focus on sustainable solutions in food production, he has demonstrated his skills in strategic development, project management and sales," Big Akwa stated in its LinkedIn announcement.
"Through his work in industries such as FoodTech, telecommunications and logistics, Daniel has co-founded and scaled Nasdaq-listed companies, coached startups and successfully led projects from idea to implementation," the post continued.
Another key appointment for Big Akwa, especially as the start-up commences its journey as a publicly-listed company, is its new head of public and investor relations, Lena Backström, described as "a versatile economist with 30 years of experience in business development, training and quality assurance", with a background in business development and management systems, in addition to journalism and communication.
Overview of the Alby Industrial Park where Big Akwa's rainbow trout aquaculture facility will be located.
Photo: Big Akwa.
The Swedish start-up, which is using an "industrial symbiosis" sustainability model to develop its 6,000-ton rainbow trout farm in Alby industrial park, Sweden, took the step of becoming a publicly-traded company in June this year.
Announcing the news, Big Akwa said the transformation aimed to enable the company to attract new investors and strengthen its financial position for future expansion, as well as increasing the company's visibility, thus creating more opportunities for collaborations and business ventures.
"This step is a natural progression for us and will help us to continue our development forward. We look forward to welcoming new investors," said Elena Petukhovskaya, Big Akwa co-founder and CEO.
"Becoming a public company reflects the growing interest of investors in sustainability," added Chairman of the Board, Mats Lundqvist. "We are proud to offer our solutions to a broader market and continue to grow with the support of our shareholders."
Big Akwa is a Swedish company founded in 2020, specializing in the development of innovative concepts for resource-efficient food production. The company aims to establish large-scale land-based fish farming, operating in collaboration with nearby process industries through industrial symbiosis. This approach allows the use of industrial by-products while contributing to the sustainable and competitive production of fish.
