Richard J. Clothier, chairman of AquaBounty's Board, is retiring and is therefore stepping down from the Board of Directors and will not stand for re-election, the land-based aquaculture company has announced. Clothier, who has extensive experience as an executive in the food industry and as a director of public and private companies, has held the position since April 2006.
The outgoing Chairman has extensive operational, strategic and political experience in the agribusiness and biotechnology sectors, which he has brought to the company over the years, as Sylvia Wulf, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty, pointed out. "Richard's contributions to our Board over the last 17 years have been remarkable. His steady guidance through years of challenges has helped to build AquaBounty into the aquaculture leader that it is today", she said. Moreover, the CEO thanked Clothier for his impact and service to the company and wished him and his family "a wonderful retirement".
"I am honored to have served as Chairman of AquaBounty, an industry pioneer and innovator that successfully developed and brought to market the first-ever FDA-approved genetically engineered animal for human consumption", Richard J. Clothier stated for his part. "AquaBounty is in an exciting phase with the construction of its new farm in Pioneer, Ohio well underway. I retire with full confidence in the management and the Board to continue the Company's progression with its high standard of operational expertise", he added.
Clothier, who in addition to being Chairman of the Board of Directors of AquaBounty, was Chairman of Robinson Plc from 2004 to 2018, and Chairman of Spearhead International Ltd from 2005 to 2015, also retired as Group Chief Executive Officer of PGI Group Plc, an international producer of agricultural products, after 20 years at Dalgety Plc. AquaBounty's Annual Shareholders' Meeting to decide on his replacement will be held on May 25, 2023.
AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. is a land-based aquaculture company providing fresh Atlantic salmon to nearby markets. Leveraging decades of technology expertise "to deliver disruptive solutions that address food insecurity and climate change issues", it is committed to feeding the world "efficiently, sustainably and profitably". The company's land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) farms are located in Indiana, United States, and Prince Edward Island, Canada, and there is one more on the way, its first large-scale farm, being built in Pioneer, Ohio, U.S.
