Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) announced two additions to its senior management team a few hours ago. Steven Hart has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Market Development, and Mike Kocsis to Chief Strategy Officer.
Two new positions for two familiar faces within the organization who have excellent skills to bring to the table.
Steve Hart, the new senior vice president of market development, joined GSA in 2015 and has spent most of his career as vice president of market development. Particularly focusing on teams in Europe, the UK, and Asia.
Before his time at GSA, Hart was the executive director of Soy Aquaculture Alliance. An organization that develops new domestic markets for U.S. soybeans through the development of aquaculture production.
In his new role, Hart will oversee GSA's market development team, which interacts with retailers, food service operators, and suppliers to drive the growth of BAP and BSP certification programs.
"The global seafood industry is experiencing unique and challenging times right now," said Hart. "I look forward to working with all of GSA's stakeholders to face these challenges head-on and develop solutions that will allow us to continue providing assurances to marketplaces around the world that their seafood is being produced responsibly. We provide those assurances through the BAP and BSP certification programs and the Seafood Processing Standard as well as through our partnership with Responsible Fisheries Management."
Kocsis has over 20 years of supply chain and operations experience in the seafood industry. For instance, he has holding leadership positions at some of the top U.S. seafood brands, such as High Liner Foods, and Gorton's Seafood. He joined GSA in 2022 as director of systems, overseeing the information technology and certification operations departments.
In his new role as chief strategy officer, Kocsis will supervise information technology, certification operations and the marketing and communications team.
"I'm honored to engage more deeply with our members, stakeholders, and the entire GSA team to build trust in seafood… I look forward to supporting the continued growth," said Kocsis. "I'm excited to work more broadly across GSA to maximize our impact through technology, education, advocacy, and third-party assurances. We have an incredible team at GSA and I'm grateful to work alongside them in support of our mission."
The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) stands as an internationally recognized nonprofit trade association dedicated to advancing seafood practices. Thus, through comprehensive education, third-party validations, the organization has established itself as the foremost provider of globally acknowledged seafood assurances. In particular, its acclaimed certification programs, namely, the BAP and BSP, play a pivotal role in this endeavor. The organization's broad scope of concerns encompasses environmental stewardship, social accountability, and food safety, creating a holistic approach to responsibility. Therefore, founded in 1997 as the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the GSA's headquarters are in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA.
