Royal Greenland to replace its CEO, seeking "different profile"

Seafood giant Royal Greenland has announced it is seeking a replacement for CEO Susanne Arfelt Rajamand, following "challenges in several areas" faced by the company over the past two years.

Royal Greenland announced the appointment of Arfelt Rajamand as CEO in 2022, and she took up the post in February 2023, having previously worked in Management Director positions in Asia for dairy giant Fonterra and consumer goods company Unilever.

However, since 2023 the Greenland state-owned company has faced mounting difficulties, making a significant loss in 2023, which amounted to DKK -133 million.

In 2024 Arfelt Rajamand oversaw Royal Greenland's "Back to Black" strategy in an effort turn around the seafood group's fortunes, aiming to achieve revenue and cost improvements of at least DKK 100 million by 2025. This included staff layoffs, centralisation of sales support, and cost-saving measures for procurement, production and logistics.

The company reported "unsatisfactory" results for the first half of 2024, showing a half-year loss of DKK -59 million, despite what it described as "signs of stabilization".

Announcing the planned change of leadership in a press statement this week, the Royal Greenland board indicated the company is now looking for a CEO with a different skillset.

"Over the past two years, Royal Greenland has faced challenges in several areas. At this time, the Board has unanimously concluded that the company requires a CEO with a different profile, and we are therefore initiating a recruitment process," the statement read, thanking Arfelt Rajamand "for her cooperation and contributions".

In the meantime, board member Preben Sunke will serve as the interim CEO, the company said.

The move continues the Greenland seafood company's reshuffle of its senior management team. In October, it announced former Chief Financial Officer Nils Duus Kinnerup would be leaving the company after 17 years in the post.

Kinnerup's decision to resign, the company said, is in line with Royal Greenland's objective to consolidate more members of its management team in Greenland, "a move that unfortunately has not been compatible with Nils' personal circumstances."

Replacing him will be Jan H. Lynge-Pedersen, who will start his role as the new CFO at Royal Greenland based at the company's headquarters in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 1, 2025.

Described as having "deep expertise in financial management, risk management, and strategic planning", Lynge-Pedersen was previousy Deputy Chairman of Royal Greenland's Board, and was also formerly CFO at KNI, Greenland's largest trade and service business, and former Permanent Secretary within Greenland’s Ministry of Finance.