The innovative urchin ranching and restoration venture, Urchinomics, has today announced the appointment of Perry Bevin as the new CEO to drive the company's growth. This strategic move marks an important milestone in Urchinomics' trajectory, not only because the company enters its next phase of growth, but because with an experienced CEO handling day-to-day activities, Urchinomics founder Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda has been given "greater freedom to drive the mission and help restore our planet."
The shareholders of Urchinomics have approved a resolution allowing Takeda to continue representing and advising the company as founder while devoting 2 days a week to other opportunities he believes can contribute to the restoration of the planet. All that with full compensation. As Takeda himself has told WeAreAquaculture, this is "quite a unique circumstance" which, moreover, they have unanimously approved. "I think this decision by my investors should be celebrated, and hopefully emulated by others," he has also told us.
When earlier this year Cadman Capital Group took a strategic equity stake in Urchinomics, Giles Cadman – ecopreneur and founder of the alternative asset investment firm – said their involvement in the urchin ranching and restoration venture was a milestone moment for them. Then, he also noted that both companies shared a passion for developing nature-based solutions to address the fight against climate change and help heal the oceans.
Now, Giles Cadman is also Chair of Urchinomics, and he has shown his full support for the investors' decision. "Brian is one of those rare gems that can do so much more good for the planet if he had more time, so I argued to give him exactly that," he has said. "We need him to be out there, working his magic, coming up with even more impactful opportunities, and helping us restore our planet, fast!"
"This is literally an ecopreneur´s dream come true," Takeda said for his part. "I can continue to help Urchinomics grow in the best way I know, while exploring other impactful opportunities, all while knowing that my investors have my back, and I do not have to worry about bills anymore. This says a lot about Giles and his dedication to our shared mission, as well as our shareholders who unanimously agreed to his radical idea."
"We have recruited and transitioned in Perry Bevin, a 30 year veteran CPA and operator into the CEO role to turbocharge the growth of the business," Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda has told WeAreAquaculture by email about his successor in the position. Bevin joined Urchinomics as Chief Operating Officer in February.
As mentioned, the new CEO is in place to look after day-to-day activities. According to the company's announcement, Bevin brings over three decades of success, driving rapid and sustainable global growth for large-scale organizations and startups across the food, biotech, agriculture, and aquaculture sectors.
With this strategic move, Urchinomics is poised to accelerate its expansion plans and develop commercial operations in its main markets: Japan, North America and Europe. In addition, the company is continuing its research to support the restoration of kelp forests around the world, and establishing partnerships such as Kinanomics, a project in which it has joined EnviroStrat and Ngati Porou Seafoods Groups to create a high-value aquaculture industry from malnourished kinas, a type of sea urchin endemic to New Zealand.
While the new CEO leads Urchinomics, Takeda will continue to support it from its base in Ulsteinvik, Sweden. The company is one of four for-profit companies supported by the UN Decade of Oceans and has earned the world's first voluntary blue carbon credits for wild algae restoration.
Urchinomics is a pioneering aquaculture venture that aims to turn overgrazing sea urchins into high-valued seafood products that can be consistently supplied year-round. The Urchinomics™ process helps restore kelp forests, which in turn supports greater marine biomass, biodiversity, and capacity to sequester atmospheric CO2, all while creating meaningful, full-time employment in rural, coastal communities around the world.