Huon Aquaculture CEO Henry Batista is stepping down after more than two years in the role.
Batista, whose family founded the multinational meat processing company JBS that owns Huon, made the decision to leave in December.
The company said the announcement was made to staff in January.
Batista will transition to a new executive position with Pilgrim’s Europe, a major chicken producer majority-owned by JBS.
He updated his LinkedIn profile with the new job last week, stating he was “happy to share” he was off to the United Kingdom to be the “brands and snacking director” of Pilgrim’s.
Charles von der Heyde, formerly the president of Pilgrim’s Mexico, has been appointed as Huon’s new CEO.
The leadership change comes at a challenging time for Huon, which is currently battling an outbreak of Piscirickettsia salmonis.
The disease is affecting all three of Tasmania’s salmon companies and resulted in the disposal of over one million fish last month.
Von der Heyde will also inherit a company facing additional scrutiny after footage emerged showing employees sealing live salmon in containers with dead fish during the mass mortality event.
Huon has announced a full investigation into the incident, which is also being examined by RPSCA Australia.
