Benchmark appointed Trond Williksen as chief executive officer. Trond will officially join Benchmark on June 1, 2020. Williksen is highly experienced in the international aquaculture and seafood industries, having held senior executive positions in the sector for over 20 years. Most recently, he was CEO of SalMar ASA, the Norwegian fish farm company and one of the world’s largest producers of farmed salmon. Prior to this, he was CEO of AKVA group ASA, the leading global aquaculture technology and service provider for six years. He previously held a number of senior roles in Aker ASA’s Seafoods, Ocean Harvest and BioMarine divisions.

Trond has also held a number of advisory and non-executive director roles in the industry including as chairman of the board of The Research Council of Norway, Oceans Portfolio; chairman of Mørenot Group, which provides solutions to fishery and aquaculture customers; chairman of the board of Calanus AS, a biomarine company; and board member of SinkabergHansen AS, a Norwegian integrated aquaculture company.

Peter George, Benchmark's chairman, said that “I am delighted to welcome Trond to Benchmark. He brings deep, relevant aquaculture expertise and has proven operational, strategic, M&A and managerial experience spanning both producers and technology providers in the industry. I am confident that under his leadership and with his industry expertise, Benchmark will emerge from the current more difficult environment to realize its potential to become a profitable leading provider of sustainable solutions to the global aquaculture industry.”

Trond Williksen, incoming chief executive officer said “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to join Benchmark, a leading provider of sustainable solutions to the global aquaculture industry. Benchmark is strategically well-positioned within a sustainable industry that holds vast opportunities and potentials for the future. I am looking forward to entering a very competent team, positioning and executing on a strategy for profitability and growth in the future.”