Owners of Icicle Seafoods are hailing the appointment of Amy
Humphreys as president and chief executive officer of the diversified seafood firm,
saying she is the right person to lead the company into its next phase of
growth and development.
Humphries, most recently the president of Delta Western
Inc., a petroleum marketing and distribution firm in Alaska, “is a proven and
results-oriented leader with extensive experience in Alaska,” said Mitchell
Presser, a founding partner of Paine & Partners LLC.
Icicle, one of the largest and most diversified seafood
companies in North American, is based in Seattle and owned by investment funds
managed by Paine & Partners, a New York, Chicago and San Francisco based
private equity fund.
Humphries succeeds Dennis Guhlke, who resigned from Icicle
and also submitted his resignation to the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing
Association in mid-February. ASMI spokesman Tyson Fick said that Gov. Sean
Parnell was expected to name a representative from a large seafood processing
company to fill out Guhlke’s term on the board, which ends in June.
With Humphreys in charge, “we are confident that Icicle will
continue to build upon its position as a leading producer, harvester and
processor of a diverse portfolio of seafood products,” Presser said.
"Under Guhlke’s leadership, Icicle made considerable
strategic advancements, including diversifying into aquaculture with the
acquisition of American Gold Seafoods, and a number of substantial investments
and acquisition in our core Alaska operation, including the recent acquisition
of Snopac,” he said. Guhlke successfully led Icicle through a critical growth
phase, and the entire company is grateful for his leadership, he said.
Prior to her work at Delta Western, Humphreys was the chief
financial officer of Northstar Utilities Group, the parent company of five fuel
distribution operating companies and a subsidiary of Saltchuk Resources. She
also held various executive roles at American Seafoods Group, including vice
president of corporate development and treasurer.
Icicle’s core business is primary seafood processing of wild
salmon, pollock, Pacific cod, halibut, sablefish and herring, with onshore and
floating processing facilities around Alaska. Icicle is also the owner of the
largest United States owned and operated salmon farming company in the Pacific
Northwest, and a joint venture in Chile, producing farm raised salmon and
trout.
Icicles products are sold worldwide through industrial, food
service, retail and wholesale channels.