SalMar Aker Ocean appoints new chief executive

Roy Reite, currently chief executive of dried cod company Fjordlaks, has a background in both aquaculture and marine construction.

SalMar Aker Ocean AS is the successor to SalMar Ocean, the offshore farming arm of SalMar, one of Norway’s biggest salmon farmers. It is two-thirds owned by SalMar, and one-third owned by offshore engineering giant Aker.

In-depth knowledge

“Roy Reite has valuable experience of international industrial entrepreneurship and the Norwegian finance sector, and he has in-depth knowledge of the coastal culture,” SalMar Aker Ocean’s board chair, Atle Eide, said in a press release.

“This provides the insight that is important and necessary to realise SalMar Aker Ocean’s ambitions. For decades, Reite has worked on major construction projects in the maritime and offshore sectors, and for the past three years he has led the seafood company Fjordlaks.”

For 20 years, Reite held key executive positions in Aker Yards and was CEO of what is now the shipbuilding group Vard. He has considerable experience of leading both listed and unlisted companies and has helped to build a business comprising more than 10,000 employees and generating annual revenues of NOK 12 billion (£1bn). In 2019, he took over as CEO of Fjordlaks.

Considerable growth potential

“In SalMar Aker Ocean, I see a business with a considerable growth potential, and that is a powerful motivator for me,” said Reite.

“The company has determined and knowledgeable owners with considerable financial resources behind them, as well as a highly skilled workforce and concrete plans to create a new Norwegian industrial success story with international ambitions. And underpinning it all is the belief in – and need for – sustainable production of healthy seafood.”

Reite will replace SalMar Aker Ocean chief executive Olav Andreas Ervik, who is stepping down from the position for family reasons, including the commute from his residence in Vestvågøy (Lofoten). He will continue as an advisor to the company.

Ocean Farm 1

SalMar Aker Ocean has already completed two successful production cycles at its pioneering Ocean Farm 1 facility, which is located in an exposed area of sea off the Trøndelag coast. The experience gained here is being incorporated into a new and bigger version, Ocean Farm 2, which is currently under development. The company has also applied to the authorities for permission to site the world’s first fully offshore fish farm, called the Smart Fish Farm, in the sea off Central Norway, approximately 50 nautical miles west of Frøya.

SalMar Aker Ocean has said its projects will lead to thousands of industrial and engineering jobs in Norway and will take the lead in ensuring sustainable growth on the salmon’s terms. The company will initially focus on establishing offshore fish farming in Norwegian waters, for which a new regulatory framework will be required. SalMar Aker Ocean said it will work together with the Norwegian authorities, the aquaculture industry and other interested parties to establish such a framework.

SalMar is joint co-owner of Scottish Sea Farms, which has ambitions to establish an offshore salmon farm in Scotland.