CEO Today USA Awards

CEO Today USA Awards 2019 www.ceotodaymagazine.com - W A S H I N G T O N - 116 JOE BUNDRANT CEO of Trident Seafoods ABOUT TRIDENT SEAFOODS The story of Trident Seafoods starts back in 1961, when a 19-year-old kid with nothing but a dream drove an old Ford from Tennessee to Seattle, in search of a great adventure at sea. That 19-year-old kid was Chuck Bundrant. And that little “adventure” stretched into a 12-year journey across Alaska, aboard any ship he could find, discovering everything there is to know about fishing and crabbing along the way. Chuck met two other likeminded crab fishermen in the early 1970s, Kaare Ness and Mike Jacobson. All three pooled their money together and built the Billikin—a 135-foot boat that not only changed the course of their partnership, but also changed the course of the entire seafood industry. The ingenious Billikin was the first vessel of its kind to feature crab cookers and freezing equipment onboard, so their fresh catch could be processed as soon as it was pulled out of the water instead of coming all the way back to shore. In the winter of 1961, Chuck Bundrant drove his old ’53 Ford from Tennessee to Seattle. But not before snapping a quick shot with his father. Soon after, the pioneering partnership expanded once more when the three fishermen joined with Edd Perry and his Bellingham-based company San Juan Seafoods. Now they had all the resources they needed to match their ambitions. That partnership over 40 years ago marked the beginning of Trident Seafoods. And that 19-year- old kid from Tennessee would become its founder and CEO. Chuck Bundrant could never have imagined how far that little “adventure” back in ‘61 was going to take him. Today, that dream is still alive and stronger than ever. Trident Seafoods has become the largest vertically-integrated seafood company in North America since its founding, yet we still hold true to the same beliefs we held four decades ago. Now more than ever, we believe that fish is our future, because it’s the healthiest protein we can put in our bodies. And we believe that this gift from the oceans is one we can never take for granted. We treat the sea with the respect it deserves, working toward sustaining a thriving and abundant ocean for generations to come. Because we are fishermen at our core, and we have a bond with the ocean—when it prospers, we prosper too. ABOUT JOE BUNDRANT Joe Bundrant, son of Trident Seafoods’ founder, officially took the helm of the company as chief executive officer on Nov. 4, according to an internal communication. Effective Nov. 4, 2013 “Joe Bundrant will assume the role of CEO and will report directly to me and the rest of the board of directors”, reads the internal email, from Chuck Bundrant, chairman and founder of the vertically-integrated, Seattle-based company, one of the largest in seafood in the US. Joe Bundrant said he is “honored and humbled to take the helm of a such a remarkable company”, which was founded by his father 40 years ago. Bundrant is “blessed to be surrounded by somany incredible people who have literally built this company from the ground up and are the very best at what they do”, he said. The email makes reference to the tough climate in the sector, particularly in pollock. www.tridentseafoods.com