Olav-Andreas Ervik appointed as new CEO of Utror
Press release August 8, 2022
Utror AS has hired Olav-Andreas Ervik as new CEO, strengthening its focus on offshore aquaculture ("HTH") off Helgeland.
Olav-Andreas (46) comes from the position as CEO of SalMar Aker Ocean where he has been central to the development of SalMar and later SalMar and Aker's joint venture in HTH. Prior to this, Ervik was CEO of SalMar from 2018 until the establishment of the HTH venture as an independent company at the end of 2019. Ervik has over 25 years of experience from the aquaculture industry through management positions in SalMar, Lerøy Midnor, Scottish Seafarms and Lerøy Hydrotech. He started his career as a farmer in 1994 and has since then "worked his way up the ranks". This has given him significant operational experience from traditional aquaculture. Olav-Andreas will start his first day at Utror on October 3.
Over the past year, Utror and Lovundlaks have worked actively to realize HTH off the Helgeland coast. A triggering factor for accelerated investment in Utror was the Directorate of Fisheries' recommendation to include Trænabanken in the impact assessment of HTH. With the appointment of Ervik, in addition to strong regulatory progress, Utror is entering a new phase where the company's ambition to take a leading role in the development of HTH off Helgeland will now be realized.
In connection with the appointment of Olav-Andreas, Utror will establish a district office in Leknes in Lofoten. Upon Ervik's appointment, current CEO, Mathias Iversen, will move to the position of CFO, while current project manager, Lars Konrad Johnsen, will become executive chairman.
« A traditional company with a very strong and sharp operational focus »
- Through the hiring process, I feel that I have become well acquainted with Utror and Lovundlaks. The main owner, Lovundlaks, is a company steeped in tradition with a very strong and focused operational focus, which has given – and continues to give – good results. This focus is very important for success at sea, and is something I also place high on my agenda when developing new ways of operating. I feel that we have very similar goals, values – and not least ambitions for the aquaculture industry. With this as a starting point, I am very much looking forward to taking on new and exciting tasks during the autumn, and to developing an HTH initiative based in Nordland together with the rest of the team at Utror, says Olav-Andreas Ervik.
Utror's chairman, Lars Konrad Johnsen, is pleased with the appointment.
- Olav-Andreas is among the leading leaders we have in the Norwegian aquaculture industry. In addition to being a very competent and experienced leader, he has values and thoughts about the future that we at Utror and Lovundlaks recognize well. As we now strengthen our commitment and enter a new phase, we are naturally very pleased to have Olav-Andreas join the team.
- Lovundlaks has the ambition to be a guarantor of jobs on the Helgeland coast – also for future generations. If Utror is to succeed in realizing its ambition to take a leading role in the development of HTH outside Helgeland, it is critical to have the right expertise. With Olav-Andreas on the team, we will have a general manager with in-depth knowledge of both coastal farming and the establishment of ocean-based farming, and who also possesses the personal qualities that we need to succeed. We are very pleased to find this expertise and experience in Nordland, and we will now build a focused team around Olav-Andreas to facilitate accelerated investment in Utror, says Jacob Palmer Meland, general manager of Lovundlaks.