New general manager for Fish Farming Expert

The Scotland-based magazine and website are part of a portfolio of titles Guerrero, 41, now has responsibility for after moving to the parent company’s home city of Bergen in Norway.

These comprise the long-established aquaculture magazine Norsk Fiskeoppdrett (Norwegian Fish Farming), which has been published for 44 years ago, and shipping magazine Skipsrevyen (49 years), along with salmon farming website Kyst.no and the Skipsrevyen website, and the Scottish titles.

Norwegian, English and Spanish

Guerrero comes from the position of general manager of the sister company Salmonexpert in Chile. The current general manager, Gustav Erik Blaalid, will develop the role of editor-in-chief.

Guerrero, who speaks both Norwegian and English in addition to his mother tongue Spanish, is not unfamiliar with either Norsk Fiskeoppdrett or Norway. In 2012, he held the position of sales manager in Norsk Fiskeoppdrett. Now he’s back as general manager.

“I am happy for the opportunity and see many exciting challenges ahead,” he said. 

A great responsibility

“Norsk Fiskeoppdrett and Skipsrevyen have published publications for 44 and 49 years respectively and it is both a great responsibility and an exciting challenge to lead our business in a phase where we take care of the position we have, while we also takes new steps aimed at growth and development,” he added.

The Covid-19 pandemic delayed relocation plans for Guerrero and his wife and four children, but when the opening came in July, everything moved quickly. A few months late, Guerrero was finally able to start in his new position earlier this month.

Challenges

Guerrero has a long career in the aquaculture industry. He is educated in administration and marketing. In Chile, he has worked for Storvik, Alvestad Marine and Atlantium before joining Norsk Fiskeoppdrett (NF) in 2012 as sales manager at the office in Bergen. Since 2013, he has worked as general manager of Salmonexpert, which is based in Puerto Montt, Chile. 

“Ever since I joined the NF team, I have had a strong feeling of working for a company and for a team that stands for the same core values ​​as me. Honesty, integrity and a strong professional focus on what we do are important to me,” said Guerrero.

What do you see as the biggest challenges in the new job?

“I think that we will drive digital development further with a focus on how we will communicate. Our role as a communicator of subject matter demands that we must simplify difficult issues and present the material in a way that impacts the readers.”

What experiences do you bring with you from Salmonexpert?

“In Chile, we have had a fascinating development and by sticking consistently to a high professional level and journalistic ethics, we have won the preference of both readers and advertising customers. There is no doubt that honesty lasts the longest, even in a business context. On this basis, we have built good relationships and I look forward to continuing this work with our customers and contacts in Norway and abroad.”

Stronger focus on development

Managing editor and general manager Gustav Erik Blaalid will cultivate the role of editor-in-chief and work with the development of the company. Blaalid owns Norsk Fiskeoppdrett, Skipsrevyen, Salmonexpert and Fish Farming Expert, and also has an ownership position in exhibitions company AqKva AS.

“Today we are the only professional media company in the aquaculture sector that has media in Norwegian, Spanish and English,” said Blaalid. 

“In less than 10 years, we have become the leading professional media company in Chile with nine employees at the office in Puerto Montt. In Norway, we are the only professional medium for the aquaculture industry that goes in depth and conducts research dissemination, and we are also a leader in daily news through Kyst.no.”

Blaalid, who has been involved in the business since 1990, said he was surrounded by a staff of competent and skilled employees.

“Leadership is important, but the team effort is crucial,” he concluded.