Young’s Seafood ceo steps down

Pete Ward, who has worked at Young’s for the past 38 years, leaves his role as ceo of Young’s Seafood following the completion of a strategic review of the company.

Ward left the company to pursue opportunities outside of Young’s and promote the UK seafood industry as a whole.

Bill Showalter, currently ceo of the parent company Young’s Seafood International Holdings, has been appointed as Ward’s replacement.

Ward said: “Young’s has been a huge part of my life for the past 38 years. My commitment to the seafood industry, and the local communities in which we are located, continues to be important to me and I will now be able to dedicate more of my time to these priorities.” ​

‘Build a strong business’​

Showalter thanked ward for his contributions to the company. He said: “Under ​[Ward’s] leadership, we have been able to build a strong business, develop a great leadership team, establish Young’s virtual integration strategy and complete the company’s strategic review. ​

“The company is the number one UK seafood processor, and Pete’s vision and drive have been invaluable in achieving this success. ​

“​Our focus continues to be on inspiring people to love fish now and for generations to come, and on providing great service to our customers and consumers.” ​

Turnover of £600M​

Young’s Seafood has a turnover of £600M and has 12 manufacturing sites across the UK.

The company has more than 3,000 employees and created more than 300M seafood dishes a year.

Meanwhile, chocolate giant Nestlé has appointed former German healthcare company Fresenius boss Ulf Mark Schneider as its new ceo.

Schneider will replace current ceo Paul Bulcke, who will resign from his role on December 31 2016 in preparation for his new position as non-­executive chairman of the company.