The Icelandic Group announced on September 8 that Simon Smith has been appointed to the position of managing director of its Grimsby, England-based Icelandic Seachill unit. He will report directly to Magnus Bjarnason, president and ceo of the Reykjavik, Iceland-headquartered company.
Smith joined the Icelandic Group in 2009 as sales and marketing director after serving 15 years at leading businesses including GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, General Mills, Haagen-Dazs and Northern Foods’ Fox’s Biscuits. In recent years he has played a key role in developing the Icelandic Seachill business, which rings up some £270 million in business per annum, and taken the lead role in launching The Saucy Fish Co. brand. He has also brought together and integrated the commercial functions of the three UK businesses – Seachill, Coldwater and Icelandic UK.
Speaking about his appointment, Smith said: “I know and understand the business well, having been part of the senior team for five years. I am also very aware of the strengths and opportunities that being part of Icelandic Group can provide, so I’m ready to build on the integration we’ve undertaken and lead the next phase of development for Icelandic Seachill.”
Smith’s achievements include developing the UK customer and consumer strategy, having taken the business from a manufacturing and trading focus to one that places consumer and category front and center. In addition to bringing category expertise to the company’s core customer partnerships, he launched The Saucy Fish Co in January 2010, which has since become the number one chilled fish brand in the UK. The label continues to grow and has made its debut in USA, Australia and Hong Kong during the last 12 months. In those markets the product is shipped in frozen form.
Icelandic Seachill is a key supplier and partner of chilled and coated fish and seafood products to many of the largest retail chains in the UK. With a workforce over 1,260 persons, the company claims a 15% market share in Britain’s retail seafood sales.
