ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Brody Pierson and Gayle Janzow have joined the Peter Pan Seafood Company, LLC team. Pierson is leading domestic and international sales for shelf-stable products. Janzow is the plant manager for the Valdez plant.
Pierson brings extensive domestic canned sales and logistics experience to the team, having most recently served as domestic canned sales manager at Icicle Seafoods and OBI Seafoods. Additionally, Pierson has prior export and trading experience.
“There are very few of us left in the industry focused on canned sales,” Pierson said. “I’m happy to have found a home at Peter Pan because Peter Pan is moving forward; we’re not going to be doing the same old thing that’s been done forever. For a long time, the canned businesses as a whole has been tall can or half can. We’re looking at doing more value-added products, more shelf-stable items, while at the same time supporting a well-established canned business because it is a product that people continue to be interested in.”
“Brody is one of a kind,” said Rodger May, president and chief growth officer. “There aren’t many people doing what Brody does, specializing in sales for shelf-stable seafood products and we’re so glad to have his expertise on the team.”
Janzow has more than 20 years of experience in seafood operations. She has spent time in production and processing, including value-added at Orca Bay Foods and in production technology at Marel. During college, she began working summers at Peter Pan on the can lines and now years later when she had the opportunity to return to Peter Pan, she said yes.
“I love the hustle. The people and the community that comes with working in the seafood industry; there’s an entire community of people pulling in the same direction, and it’s exciting to be a part of that,” said Janzow.
“Gayle is dynamic and energetic, extremely talented and a great fit for Peter Pan,” said Jon Hickman, Peter Pan vice president of operations. “After 20 years in the business she has a deep understanding of how things work, and where she can make them work better. She’s one of the best in the industry and we’re glad to have her on the team.”
Peter Pan came under new ownership in January 2021, bringing the company back under U.S. and Alaska ownership and becoming a vertically integrated seafood company with a focus on value-added sales channels combined with the legacy of a storied seafood processor in Alaska. This announcement follows the hiring of Jon Hickman to lead Peter Pan’s Alaska operations; Mark Foster as chief financial officer; Steve Minor as business development manager; Jonathan Thorpe in sourcing, partnerships and investments; and Kevin Larsen as vice president of international sales and business development. All these team members bring a high caliber of talent to the Peter Pan team.
About Peter Pan Seafood Company, LLC
Peter Pan Seafood Company, LLC is a vertically integrated seafood company dedicated to a strong future of prosperity and sustainability composed of Peter Pan Seafood’s assets and the value-added sales channels of Northwest Fish Co., LLC (“Northwest Fish”). The ownership group is Rodger May of Northwest Fish, the Na’-Nuk Investment Fund, LP (managed by McKinley Alaska Private Investment, LLC and McKinley Capital Management, LLC), and the RRG Global Partners Fund (managed by RRG Capital Management, LLC).
