The Seafood Task Force (STF) was established in 2014 to restore global industry confidence, following concerns about social and environmental abuse in global tuna and shrimp supply chains. It is made up of over 40 commercial members across the seafood supply chain, including retailers, brands, food service companies and their partners.
Following a decade of service, Ken Kimble will step down from his role as STF Chairperson, with Sean Reber, Walmart senior director, and Supavadee Chotikajan, global human rights lead at Mars Petcare, taking over the role together.
Reber, a 10-year Walmart associate, has played a key role in STF’s Responsible Recruitment subcommittee, helping to shape worker protection policies and ethical recruitment standards across seafood supply chains.
"I am honored to be appointed as co-Chair of the STF Board, where I hope my passion for transforming and improving global supply chains can be realised for the STF. The work that Ken undertook over the past 10 years is testament to where the STF is today, and I look forward to working alongside [Supavadee] to implement strategy, continuous improvement and impact on the ground and on the water," said Reber, in a press release.
Chotikajan steps into her new role with nearly two decades of experience in corporate and governmental roles, with expertise in responsible sourcing and labour rights in the seafood sector. Commenting on her appointment, she said: " I am excited to work with the STF to drive meaningful, industry-wide change. I know Sean well and I am looking forward to collaborating with him to deliver meaningful STF initiatives that can better improve transparency, human rights and environmental impacts within our industry."
"First and foremost, I would like to thank Ken for a decade of incredible support. Ken was a founding member of STF and he has been instrumental in shaping the organisation that we are today," said Martin Thurley, STF executive director.
"The appointment of two new Co-Chairs signals an exciting new chapter for the STF and its vision of fully traceable, socially conscious and environmentally sustainable seafood supply chains. Both Pink and Sean are excellent leaders and problem solvers. They will help us to drive continuous improvement and support us to deliver impact on the ground and on the water," he concluded.
