After three years with tilapia farming enterprise Regal Springs Group, Achim Eichenlaub, the company’s CEO based in Singapore, plans to depart the business by the end of the year, according to a 17 July announcement.
Regal Springs is currently “enjoying double digit sales growth” thanks to refocused strategies and its global management team helmed by Eichenlaub, the company said. When he departs his post by the end of 2019, Eichenlaub will return to Germany, his home country.
“After 18 years living abroad, I have decided to return to Germany,” Eichenlaub said of his decision in Regal Springs’ latest press release. “I have had three very good years at Regal Springs where I was able to leverage my experience to lead and grow the business. I am personally very pleased with what we have achieved as a team and set the path for an exciting future for Regal Springs. Together with the newly formed global management team, we have transformed Regal Springs from an operations driven company to one which is now more balanced and customer, consumer oriented. I want to wish Regal Springs, our employees and the owners, all the best and success in the future.”
“We want to thank Mr. Achim Eichenlaub for leading and transforming Regal Springs since we bought it and for building up a global management team,” added Markus Haefeli, the managing director of Golden Springs Group, an Asian holding company that owns a 100-percent stake in Regal Springs as of 2016. “He has delivered major transformation during the ownership-transition phase in challenging market conditions and set up the group for high growth in the coming years. We sincerely regret the resignation of Achim and are thankful for his support during the leadership transition. On behalf of the owners and the board of directors, we wish him and his family the very best for the future.”
Singapore-based executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles has been hired “to find a strong candidate for the exciting opportunity to lead Regal Springs Group’s next phase of growth,” the company confirmed. The announcement of Eichenlaub’s successor will be made in due course, Regal Springs said.
“Coupled with a strong product pipeline and a best in class sustainability program, the group is ideally positioned for strong and continued growth and will benefit from an increasing global consumption of responsibly farmed fish,” the company said of its overall outlook heading through 2019 and into 2020.
The Regal Springs Group raises premium tilapia in lakes in Indonesia, Honduras, and Mexico. Its fish are weaned without the use of chemicals, growth hormones or antibiotics, and are certified under BRC, the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program, and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. The company is owned by the Golden Springs Group, which is also the parent company of Singapore-based feed company Gold Coin Group.
