SalmoNor chief flagged up as next NTS chairman

SalmoNor chief Vibecke Bondø looks poised to become the new chairman of the NTS aquaculture group.

She resigned her position as chief executive of SalmoNor, the family-owned salmon farming business her parents created, after her name was proposed to the nomination committee yesterday by several shareholders. She is also one of the largest shareholders in NTS.

Describing the proposal as a turning point, Bondø (pictured) said she was happy for her name to go forward.

A decision will be taken at its annual meeting on 29 April, the day SalMar hopes to seal its acquisition of the entire NTS group.

It is hoped her appointment will help heal the widening rift between Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) and its parent.

NRS is threatening to sue NTS for breach of contract after it voted down a large share issue plan last week.

The Bondø, family is one of the largest shareholders in NTS and she paid tribute to the current chairman Nils Martin Williksen saying: “Nils has done a formidable job as chairman of the board in recent months, and has managed the company with a steady hand in a complicated situation with takeover bids and ownership disputes.”

Williksen, who will step down, said Bondø had delivered impressive results over a long period of time.

Bondø is reported to have a forthright management style which has which has not gone down well with some members of the SalmoNor workforce.

The business became part of NTS last June after it reportedly outbid Mowi and SalMar.

The plan then was to merge it with the NTS salmon farming business Midt-Norsk Havbruk, but since then some shareholders want to see it join up with NRS, a plan which is essentially at the core of the current dispute.

Nils Martin Williksen