Source: Marel hf.

Marel: Changes in the Executive Team and organizational structure

Today, Marel is announcing changes in the Executive Team and organizational structure, effective immediately. Marel’s Executive Team is consolidated to nine members, from twelve members previously, and two new EVPs are appointed. The objective of these changes is to support a more agile, diverse and customer-centric organization.

Two new members to join the Executive team
Two internal promotions to strengthen the Executive team in terms of experience, diversity and leadership talent.

  • Gudbjorg Heida Gudmundsdottir appointed Executive Vice President Marel Fish, replacing Sigurdur Olason, who is leaving Marel.  Gudbjörg Heida joined Marel in 2011 and has in recent years been manager for the Icelandic operations. Previously, she led the innovation clusters in Iceland and the UK and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills in leading strategic projects such as the Flexicut, an innovation that is revolutionizing the global fish industry.
     
  • Anna Kristin Palsdottir appointed Executive Vice President Innovation, replacing Vidar Erlingsson, who will be taking on a new role within Marel. Anna Kristin joined Marel in 2015 and has been on a fast track in various managerial roles within Innovation. She has demonstrated excellent development in leading cross-functional innovation teams enabling Marel to deliver strategic solutions to the market.

       
Changes to organizational structure and consolidation of units to simplify and clarify accountability

  • Ulrika Lindberg, EVP Global Markets and Service will lead the combined function of Global Markets and Service. Einar Einarsson, previously EVP Global Markets, steps down from the Executive Team and returns to the role of Regional Director North America after successfully implementing a new regional structure and leadership in Latin America and China that will now be rolled out globally. The way forward is to sharpen the customer focus with a stronger key account management to serve our customers’ needs throughout the lifecycle of solutions. The aim is to step up investments in the customer-facing sales and service platform, while simultaneously streamline and synergize the back-end.
     
  • Arni Sigurdsson, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and EVP Strategic Business Units. Strategic Business Units focus on software, secondary processing and prepared foods. Marel is investing in these areas to support and drive further growth across the three industries of poultry, meat and fish. Jesper Hjortshoj, previously EVP of Further Processing, steps down from the Executive Team and becomes Vice President of Prepared foods (previously named further processing). Prepared Foods will explore further growth opportunities in alternative proteins, fresh consumer products and other potential market segments.
     
  • Linda Jonsdottir, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will take over the responsibility of human resources in addition to Finance and IT. David Freyr Oddsson, previously EVP of HR, steps down from the Executive Team but remains responsible for human resources as Vice President of People and Culture, reporting to Linda Jonsdottir.

       

Arni Oddur Thordarson, Chief Executive Officer of Marel:
“We live in a dynamic world. Market conditions for food processing are constantly changing and the need for affordable, safe, quality food that is produced sustainably has never been as high. To stay at the forefront of the industry and reach our 2017-2026 growth targets, we must constantly evaluate our organization and evolve. A leaner management team and clearer accountability is the first step towards a more simplified and agile organization. The aim of the change is to sharpen the market focus and shorten time to market at the same time reducing the cost base.

I would like to sincerely thank the outgoing Executive Team members for their valuable contribution to Marel over the years and wish them every success in their future endeavors. We welcome Gudbjorg Heida Gudmundsdottir and Anna Kristin Palsdottir to the Executive Team. They have both shown outstanding leadership in their respective fields within Marel. The diverse and experienced Executive  Team is well composed to lead Marel’s vision of transforming the way food is processed.”

Further information will be provided at Marel´s Annual General Meeting that will be held at the company´s headquarters in Iceland on Wednesday 18 March 2020 at 16:00 GMT/17:00 CET

Additional background on the members of the Executive team can be found at marel.com/ir

Investor Relations

For further information, please contact Marel Investor Relations via email IR@marel.com and tel. +354 563 8001.

Media Relations

For further information, please contact Audbjorg Olafsdottir via email Audbjorg.olafsdottir@marel.com and tel. +354 853 8626.

About Marel

Marel (NASDAQ: MAREL; AEX: MAREL) is a leading global provider of advanced food processing equipment, systems, software and services to the poultry, meat and fish industries. Our united team of more than 6,000 employees in over 30 countries delivered around EUR 1.3 billion in revenues in 2019. Annually, Marel invests around 6% of revenues in innovation. By continuously transforming food processing, we enable our customers to increase yield and throughput, ensure food safety and improve sustainability in food production. Marel was listed on NASDAQ Iceland in 1992 and dual-listed on Euronext Amsterdam in June 2019.


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