NEW GENERAL MANAGER AT THAI UNION INDIAN OCEAN TUNA

New General Manager at Thai Union Indian Ocean Tuna. Jamikara Techasaratoole has been appointed General Manager of Thai Union Group’s Indian Ocean Tuna (IOT) in the Seychelles, the third-largest factory in the Group’s global operations. Jamikara takes over from Ricardo Luzio, who had overall responsibility for the factory since 2020 and who has been appointed Thai Union’s Fish Procurement Director for Europe based in Paris.

Techasaratoole, who officially assumed full responsibility for IOT on October 1, joined IOT in 2019 and progressed to Assistant General Manager within three years, working closely with Luzio. “IOT is a key manufacturing plant within Thai Union, supplying our European customers with competitive and high-quality tuna products. Operating from the island nation Seychelles, our challenges are many, but together with my leadership team and our talented and experienced employees, we will continue to create a positive social impact for our employees and their families here in Seychelles. We want to continue to lead on social responsibility and sustainability,” she said. Given her experience at IOT, Techasaratoole was the natural choice to succeed Luzio in this role. She restructured the supply chain, planning and sales and marketing departments in the past years, preparing her for the General Manager role.

Home-grown talents, numerous challenges

Techasaratoole is a Thai citizen and joined Thai Union’s Management Associate programme in 2015, which saw her take on international assignments in France in supply chain roles before joining IOT.

Luzio has been with Thai Union for 31 years and was Plant Manager at the Group’s European Seafood Investments Portugal (ESIP) plant before taking over the role of General Manager at IOT in 2020. Thanks to his financial background and robust experience, he successfully improved IOT’s operation towards continuous efficiency and productivity.”

“Jamikara and I worked hand in hand to keep the production costs in check and offer 1,800 stable incomes for our employees in Seychelles. IOT is challenged more than ever by uncertain conditions, high inflation, and low consumer demand in Europe. Working together with IOT’s key partners will be key to secure a sustainable and effective operation. Jamikara is the right person at the right time to lead IOT into the future,” Luzio said. His deep insights into the fish supply needs of plants, coupled with his previous finance roles, now see him return to Thai Union Europe’s headquarters in Paris to take on his new role as Fish Procurement Director for Europe.

IOT a key facility to deliver on Thai Union’s SeaChange^® sustainability strategy

Thai Union’s third-largest factory will play a vital role in the Group’s recently launched SeaChange^® 2030 strategy and its commitments. The factory will become a closed-loop factory by implementing zero water discharge, zero waste to landfill and zero food loss by 2030. IOT will also contribute to Thai Union’s emissions reduction target of -42% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by covering 30 percent of the IOT plant with solar panels, which will provide 8 percent of its total energy consumption needs. The Group also committed to appointing 50 percent female leaders for their management positions, to which IOT contributes to with their first female General Manager and a 50/50 gender split in their leadership team.

Photo: IOT’s leadership team with Jamikara Techasaratoole and Ricardo Luzio in the middle.

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