Samherji’s CEO steps down

Samherji’s Board of Directors has appointed Baldvin Thorsteinsson as CEO. Thorsteinsson is one of the company’s largest shareholders and has been its Chairman since 2023.

In his letter, Baldvinsson said: “The seafood industry has been my life’s work, and it has been a true privilege to build this company alongside you over the past four decades.”

The current incarnation of Samherji began with Baldvinsson and his first cousins, the brothers Kristján and Thorsteinn Vilhelmsson, acquiring the fishing company Samherji in Grindavík in ‘83. The company’s main asset them was the trawler Gudsteinn GK 140, built in Poland nine years earlier. The vessel was transferred to its new home port in Akureyri, where it underwent significant modifications, including the conversion into a freezer trawler, and was subsequently renamed Akureyrin EA 10. 

The trawler went on its first fishing trip in December 1983, which marked the beginning of Samherji’s modern operations, Baldvinsson said.

“Since then, Samherji has grown and prospered into one of Iceland’s largest fisheries companies. Samherji is a vertically-integrated seafood enterprise that engages in fishing and processing, sales, and land-based aquaculture. The company has made significant investments in fish processing in recent years and operates one of the world’s most technologically advanced land-based processing plants for demersal fish in Dalvík. Samherji’s headquarters have always remained in Akureyri, with most of its operations located in the Eyjafjördur area.”

From the outset, Samherji has focused on reinvesting its profits into the business through building new vessels, constructing new processing plants, and introducing new technology and equipment, noted Baldvinsson, adding that the significant investments in operations are reflected in the company’s high equity ratio.

Many innovative technologies used in Samherji’s operations were developed in close collaboration with Icelandic high-tech companies, which later successfully marketed these solutions internationally, he said. 

In 1994, Samherji began investing in foreign fisheries companies and was, for many years, heavily involved in catching and processing abroad. It owned fishing companies throughout Europe and North America before the group was restructured in 2018. Four years later, at the end of 2022, the foreign operations were sold and have since been under the ownership of Alda Seafood in the Netherlands.

Baldvinsson’s letter continued: “Throughout my time as CEO, close collaboration with my fellow founders and shareholders has been crucial. I would especially like to mention Kristján Vilhelmsson, Managing Director of Samherji’s vessel operations, Kolbrún Ingólfsdóttir, Helga Steinunn Gudmundsdóttir and their families. My close working relationship with my cousin Kristján, built on deep mutual trust, has been the cornerstone of the operations.

“I decided a long time ago that I would step down as CEO on my own terms before I got old and grumpy. After more than four decades in this demanding role, it is natural to feel like stepping down, and the timing is right. When my cousins and I started the business, the office was in the kitchen at home, but today, Samherji employs over 800 people on the group level. I am immensely proud of this team.”

He also noted that the fishing and processing industry in Iceland has undergone significant changes in recent decades, not least due to rapid technological advancement. 

“I have been fortunate to experience them and contribute as a direct participant.

“At this milestone, I am most grateful for the collaboration with all the dedicated and talented employees that we were fortunate enough to recruit to Samherji. You are the heart of this company. Without your efforts, our achievements would not have been possible. With you, I am convinced that the future of the company is bright, provided that the government ensures a stable operating environment for the industry.”

Baldvinsson also confirmed he has not retired entirely and will continue to serve on the boards of companies Samherji fiskeldi ehf. (Samherji Fish Farming) and Síldarvinnslan hf. in Neskaupstaður, where he has been Chairman of the Board since 2003.