Peter Pan Seafood CEO Bixler Steps Down

On Jan. 22 Peter Pan Seafood announced that after less than two months on the job, seafood industry veteran Kevin Bixler is leaving the company, but plans to remain CEO until a replacement is found.

The company expressed its appreciation for his time and leadership and wished him well in his future endeavors, which were not identified in the announcement.

Rodger May, the president and chief growth officer of Peter Pan meanwhile is expected to continue leading the company along with several other managers, the announcement stated.

Bixler began his tenure with Peter Pan in November 2022, leaving his post as the global director of group fish procurement at Thailand-based producer of seafood products producer Thai Union.

At the time of his appointment at Peter Pan, May said that Bixler’s experience in the seafood industry made him a natural fit for the company.

Bixler, the son of a commercial fisherman, had been with Thai Union from 2006 until joining Peter Pan in 2022. He was the youngest person in Thai Union’s history to be promoted to the level of vice president.

McKinley Capital Management in Anchorage purchased Peter Pan’s asset from Maruha Nichiro in January 2021. The vertically integrated processing firm specializes in frozen, canned and fresh salmon, halibut, Pacific cod and Alaska pollock, plus king crab, tanner crab and Dungeness crab.

Economic turmoil in the global seafood industry has prompted several major processors of Alaska seafood to make a number of strategic changes in its management, staffing and plans for 2024 fisheries.

On Jan. 12, Peter Pan announced that it has cancelled operations at its King Cove, Alaska facility for the 2024 ‘A’ season, but said that it remains committed to the industry and would be open for processing in the ‘B’ season.

Source: https://fishermensnews.com/peter-pan-seafood-ceo-bixler-steps-down/