Trident said these moves in its management team underscore its commitment to "operational excellence amidst the changing dynamics of the global seafood industry."
Photo: Trident Seafoods.
Trident Seafoods announced the appointment of former Microsoft exec Mike Quinn to its executive leadership team, as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this newly created position, he will lead the company's strategy and operational execution, reporting directly to CEO Joe Bundrant.
Along with this designation, Trident also announced additional appointments, naming Jeff Welbourn as President of Trident USA, and Kenji Nasu as President of Trident Alaska. All three will begin in their new positions on October 1, 2024.
Welbourn and Nasu will form Quinn's operations leadership team along with Trident International's current Sr. Vice President, Omar Sadeque.
"The addition of Mike as Trident's new COO, and the appointment of Jeff and Kenji to new leadership roles within the company are the next steps in Trident's long-term vision to modernize operations and refocus our global commercial strategy," Bundrant said. "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."
In the statement announcing these moves in its management team, Trident said they underscore its commitment to "operational excellence amidst the changing dynamics of the global seafood industry." The appointments appear to be a further step in what, back in December 2023, the company called "a comprehensive restructuring initiative."
Actions taken at the time included layoffs at its headquarters, the retirement of historic assets in Alaska, the re-evaluation of its ship ownership strategy, and, most striking of all, the sale of four of its plants in Alaska.
Of these, three have already been sold. Silver Bay Seafoods has acquired two - Ketchikan and False Pass facilities - while E.C. Phillips & Son Inc. purchased the Petersburg plant. At the fourth - the Kodiak site, larger and more complex, with year-round operations for multiple species -, Trident Seafoods continued to operate during the 'B' season while confidential negotiations for its sale progressed.
Trident Seafoods' new Chief Operating Officer is no stranger to the company and the commercial seafood industry, having served on its Board of Directors for the past five years. In addition, as highlighted by CEO Joe Bundrant, "Mike [Quinn] has a wealth of experience leading complex, global businesses, which makes him the perfect leader for Trident's new COO role."
"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," Bundrant continued. "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."
Prior to being named Trident's new COO, Quinn spent 25 years at Microsoft Corporation, where he held leadership roles in various functions, including sales, global manufacturing and supply chain operations, strategic planning and finance. Most recently, he served as Microsoft's Vice President of Sales-Global Account Management, responsible for the development of a multi-year global sales, marketing and product roadmap strategy.
Prior to the U.S. multinational technology corporation, he held multiple financial and leadership positions in various biotechnology and healthcare companies in Washington, California, and Texas. His international experience includes expatriate assignments in Dublin, Ireland, and Shenzhen, China.
"I am excited to step into this new role at Trident Seafoods," said Quinn for his part commenting on his appointment. "Trident has been an industry leader for over 50 years, and despite the unprecedented challenges in the seafood sector, I see tremendous opportunities ahead."
To achieve his objectives and complete his operations leadership team, Trident's new COO will be accompanied by several profiles that already have a proven leadership career within the company itself. Omar Sadeque, who joined Trident in April 2023, will continue to head the company's international business unit as Trident International Sr. Vice President.
Also joining the team will be Jeff Welbourn who, after more than 17 years with Trident, most recently as Senior Vice President of Alaska Operations, has now been appointed President of Trident USA. With extensive commercial and operational experience - including establishing and maturing the company's business channels in China or global species management - under his leadership, Trident has unified its operations team and marketing strategy, while emphasizing efficiency and the health and safety of its Alaska workforce.
Quinn's operations leadership team will be completed by Kenji Nasu, appointed President of Trident Alaska. After more than 20 years with the company, most recently as Senior Vice President of Global Species, Nasu has a deep knowledge of Alaska and is widely considered an expert in the global seafood sector. He joined Trident when the company acquired Norquest Seafoods in 2004, where Nasu led its global species efforts. Before Norquest, he had managed two Alaska-based salmon processing plants for a Japanese seafood company.