Aker BioMarine is adding to its Animal Health and Nutrition Business Unit organizational chart after successfully recruiting two new leaders. Sales executive, Bjørn Wallentin, will join the company as senior vice president QRILL Aqua Sales and Aker BioMarine’s current director of sustainability, Ragnhild Dragøy, will take on a new role as vice president product management, a newly created department within Animal Health and Nutrition.
Bjørn Wallentin comes to Aker BioMarine from the position of regional vice president for the Americas region at Jotun, a company where he has spent 27 years of his career in a number of different roles. In his new role as a part of the QRILL Aqua team, he will work to support and build the team's sales and value creation within the QRILL Aqua existing and future product lines.
“The benefits of QRILL Aqua as a functional ingredient go across species, and we continue to uncover the health benefits of this tiny Antarctic crustacean. Our course is set for growth, and with that, we aim to strengthen our leadership team and expand into new areas,” said Sigve Nordrum, EVP Animal Health & Nutrition, Aker BioMarine. “With Bjørn’s strong sales background and Ragnhild’s understanding of sustainable product development for human and animal nutrition, we are well-positioned for our next chapter.”
“This is a great opportunity to be part of a sustainable and critical industry, both in terms of our food future as well as health across species. Aker BioMarine has exciting opportunities in its sights, as we look towards new markets, new retail channels and new ways of reaching customers. To have the opportunity to work with such a professional team played an important role for me moving to Aker BioMarine,” said Wallentin.
Ragnhild Dragøy is a long-time marine biotechnology executive, who joined Aker BioMarine in 2021 as director of sustainability. She previously served as research director, Marine Biotechnology, for Nofima Norway. In her new role, she will help build up the company’s new unit, which will focus on the product lifecycle within Aker BioMarine’s Animal Health and Nutrition business.
“My role will be to manage and develop a very competent team that is equipped to meet our new unit’s goals. We must also work to secure solid collaboration across the company, to optimally position our QRILL products in every segment. And, it’s especially important to integrate the important sustainability work into our QRILL product and messaging,” said Dragøy.
