Benchmark Holdings plc has decided to bring together the commercial and marketing functions of Genetics and Health to form two teams working on sales and marketing for the group’s complete Atlantic salmon product portfolio.
Since the beginning of the year, the marketing function for Atlantic salmon has been operating as a cross-business area hub led by Birgitte Sørheim, appointed marketing director, Salmon. To further develop the group's customer-centric culture and species focus, the commercial functions within Health and Genetics will similarly be merged into one team led by Geir Olav Melingen, who will be appointed commercial director, Salmon. His responsibilities will cover the commercialization of Atlantic salmon solutions, including genetics, Ectosan Vet®, CleanTreat®, Salmosan® Vet and Purisan®. There is a clear benefit to the customers having now one point of contact in Benchmark to service their needs for genetics and strategic sea lice management for Atlantic salmon.
Trond Williksen, CEO of Benchmark Holdings plc, said that “the new organization of our commercial and marketing functions is an important step to strengthen our customer reach and interactions and our brand recognition within the Atlantic salmon sector. The two new teams are a part of our group’s strategy of ensuring a complete offering to our customers.”
Geir Olav Melingen comes from the position of commercial director for Benchmark Genetics and has extensive managerial experience from various leading roles in the aquaculture industry, including the Bergen Aquarium, MSD, Fishguard and SalmoBreed. Being an educated fish health biologist with a PhD from the University of Bergen, Geir Olav is well suited to lead the new hub commercializing regulated pharmaceutical products.
Birgitte Sørheim, former marketing director for Benchmark Genetics, has held leading roles in sales and marketing in the salmon industry since the early 90s. Se has held positions in companies including Lerøy Seafood Group, Marine Harvest (now Mowi), and Fish Pool. Birgitte holds a Bachelor in aquaculture engineering from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and an MBA in brand management from the Norwegian School of Economics.
