Optimar was recently bought by the investment company Kaldbakur, owned by the Icelandic seafood company Samherji. A family-owned company founded in 1983, operating a fleet of fishing vessels, fish processing plants, and land-based aquaculture facilities. Sigurdur’s career started in Samherji already many years ago.

”Before starting university, I worked as a fisherman on one of Samherji’s vessels for two years”, says Òlason. Since then, the dedicated Icelandic has gained valuable experience in the industry.

A unique background
The seafood industry is to be considered a home ground for the new Chief Executive Officer.

”After graduating, I worked as a developer at Marel and was involved in installations all over the world. I then completed an MBA, before the road led me back to Samherji”, says Sigurdur.

He is a qualified engineer in Industrial Mechanics and Computer Science. In addition, he has an MBA (Master of Business Administration) in Finance and Entrepreneurship. After six new years in Samherji, Òlason was Managing Director of Marel’s fisheries division for six years. For the last three years, he has worked in an innovative startup focusing on the energy transition in the fishing and cargo fleet in Iceland.

”I find innovation, technology, and artificial intelligence extremely interesting. The way I see it, it is crucial for the future of today’s companies”, explains Òlason.

Happy to be back in the seafood industry
Now he is the new CEO of Optimar - a company he describes as one of the big names in the industry.

”It is very exciting to be back in the seafood industry. I know Optimar from previous roles and am looking forward to working closely with Optimar’s innovative team. We are facing a period of exciting opportunities and together we will lead the development in the market”, says Òlason.