Arturo Clement
Arturo Clément Diaz has been involved in the Chilean salmon industry since 1988—the very early days of salmon farming—and has been one of the pioneers who helped lead the industry in becoming one of the world’s largest producers of salmon. He started his career working for foods corporations as Bresler and Unifrutti and for the Goverment Agency, Odeplan, joining the company known then as Salmones Multiexport , which became MultiexportFoods in 1989.
In his role as CEO, Mr. Clément directed the vertical integration of the company, implementing a development plan that made MultiexportFoods one of the most efficiently run organizations in the world. He set up the company’s commercial office in Miami, Florida (USA), which served as the distribution and sales office for North America and the same office in Tokyo, Japan. In 2007, Mr. Clément took the company public, giving Multiexport Foods the distinction of being the second Chilean salmon company to be listed on the Chilean Stock Exchange—the Bolsa de Comercio –in Santiago.
He left Multiexport in 2010 focus on developing new business in the salmon industry, SalmonEx is one of them. Mr. Clément studied Civil Engineering at the Universidad de Chile, and he also participated in a Management Training Program in Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in year 2000 and a Diploma in Management Abilities in the Department of Industrial Engineering in Universidad de Chile in year 2005.
Mr. Gerard Chia
Gerard heads the fund's business development efforts and is part of the deal sourcing and investment team of VisVires New Protein (VVNP), a Singapore-based Venture Fund focused on innovative solutions to the acute inefficiencies of the food and feed industry. They look for disruptive technologies to improve the interaction between food and health, solutions to tackle food waste, food safety & traceability, and to address the unsustainability of the protein production system.
Most recently, Gerard was the right-hand to the former Chairman of the holding co. of the Firmenich Group, where he was Head of Special Projects investing across multiple asset classes. Previously, he was an Investment Analyst with Saratoga Capital, an Indonesia-focused private equity fund.
Lara Barazi-Yeroulanos
Other Activities:
General Fisheries Committee for the Mediteranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
Member of the Expert Group for the Selection of Indicators for the Sustainable Development of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean
General Fisheries Committee for the Mediteranean (GFCM)of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
International Marketing Expert for the project Marketing of Aquaculture Products: Development of a Strategy for Marketing and Promotion of Mediterranean Aquaculture
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN):
Member of Expert Group and Contributor for the Guide for the Sustainable Development of Mediterranean Aquaculture : Site Selection and Site Management
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN):
Member of Expert Group and Contributor for the Guide for the Sustainable Development of Mediterranean Aquaculture : Responsible Aquaculture practices and Certification
Cameron MacLean
MacLean has experience working in several global regions including Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and has studied aquaculture, manufacturing, and engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science (fisheries technology) from the University of Tasmania, Australia, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.
Malcolm Pye
Malcolm has over 30 years’ experience in international agribusiness through his roles within the Hillsdown Holdings / HMTF group, operating in animal breeding, poultry, feed milling and veterinary services. During this time, Malcolm gained extensive experience in breeding and genetics, sales and strategic M&A, and held board positions within the Group. In 2000, Malcolm founded Benchmark, along with Roland Bonney and Ruth Layton, and has since led the Company’s growth and diversification. Malcolm has a degree in Zoology / Applied Zoology from the University of Wales (Bangor)
Gorjan Nikolik
Since joining Rabobank in 2005, Gorjan Nikolik has been a Senior Analyst focusing on the global seafood sector including aquaculture, wild-catch, seafood trade and processing.
In his primary role, he works as a sector expert to Rabobank departments such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Leveraged Finance, Venture Capital, Credit Risk Management and the Corporate Finance Bankers. He is a regular speaker on global seafood and aquaculture conferences and has published research reports covering the seafood industry. He also has experience as a commodity analyst having covered the sugar industry.
Gorjan holds a masters degree in Finance and Business Administration from the University of Maastricht and an MBA from Maastricht School of Management.
Prof. Ross Houston
Dr Houston’s research is primarily aimed at producing salmon offspring which will be less likely to catch diseases or infection. This is done by looking at the genes of salmon which have contracted these deficiencies and identifying the difference between them and the genes of those which did not. From this genetic data, you can now see which salmon will be resistant, and which will not.
Fish with resistant genes can be chosen and bred with one another, hopefully removing the likelihood of their offspring contracting diseases. These fish are then hatched into a fresh water hatchery, and moved to a salt water farming location after one year. These fish should be less likely to contract diseases, infections or sea lice, a trait they should pass on to their offspring.
There is no genetic manipulation in this process; it is a selective breeding process which uses genetic research to produce salmon which are more likely to survive in fish farms, and can result in higher quality fillets for consumers.
Dr Houston’s research has had a positive impact in many areas.
Geir Bjarne Myre
