Reporting to Magnus Bjarnason, President and CEO of Icelandic Group, Simon will be leading the £270m Icelandic Seachill business in the UK.
Simon joined the Icelandic Group in 2009 as Sales and Marketing Director after 15 years at leading businesses including GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, General Mills, Haagen Dazs and Northern Foods’, Fox’s Biscuits.
Whilst at Icelandic Group he has played a key role in developing the Icelandic Seachill business and taking 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 Simon 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.”
His achievements include developing the UK customer and consumer strategy taking the business from a manufacturing and trading focus into one that puts consumer and category at the heart of its strategy. In addition to bringing category expertise to the company’s core customer partnerships, Simon also launched The Saucy Fish Co in January 2010 which has quickly established itself as the number one chilled wet fish brand in the UK. Under Simon’s leadership the brand continues to grow and has made its debut in USA, Australia and Hong Kong in the last 12 months.
Commenting on the appointment, Magnus Bjarnason President and CEO of Icelandic Group said: “I have had the opportunity to get to know our UK business and many of our people better in recent months. It has also helped me to understand what type of leadership we need to take our business to the next level and I’m convinced that Simon is the right choice. This appointment not only reflects the positive impact that Simon has had on the UK business in recent years, but also underpins the future business strategy of Icelandic Group which is to inspire consumers to consume more fish, from a sustainable source.”
Simon will be based at the Grimsby Headquarters where the company has a workforce of over 1260. Once in post, he will structure a senior leadership team to work alongside him to develop and lead the business.
Icelandic Seachill is a key supplier and partner to many of the largest retail chains in the UK providing chilled and coated fish and seafood. The Company holds approximately 15% market share in the retail seafood sales in the UK with strong shares in its key sectors.
