Glenn Cooke
RETHINK LEADERSHIP
How to lead in unique and challenging times? A big challenge for leaders is how to make economic adjustments, pivot, and to rethink existing practices. Is there a “new normal” or is it a matter of starting over again? Glenn Cooke started small and now leads a large organization. He will discuss his faith and entrepreneurial journey and offer insights on rethinking leadership in the midst of an ongoing COVID-9 pandemic.
Glenn Cooke is the CEO of the Cooke Aquaculture Inc. and the Cooke Inc. family of companies. From humble beginnings in rural, coastal New Brunswick, Glenn and his family and employees have built Cooke Inc. into the world’s largest private, family-owned salmon producer and seafood company. The company was started in 1985 by Glenn, his brother Michael and their father Gifford and now employs over 10,000 people globally in 10 countries, ships over one billion pounds of fresh, sustainable True North Seafood Company branded products a year to over 67 countries and generated $2.35 billion CAD in sales last year.
The Cooke Inc. family of companies includes global aquaculture divisions including its wholly-owned subsidiary Cooke Aquaculture Inc. and Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., as well as seafood and wild fishery divisions under Cooke Seafood USA, Inc., Icicle Seafoods, Inc., Wanchese Fish Company, Inc. and Omega Protein Corporation. Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is a vertically-integrated family company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada, with salmon farming operations in Atlantic Canada, the United States, Chile and Scotland as well as seabass and seabream farming operations in Spain and shrimp farming in Honduras and Nicaragua. In 2020, Cooke Aquaculture Inc. was awarded as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies by CIBC and Deloitte for the 15th consecutive year and Cooke was recently selected by SeafoodSource.com as one of the Top 25 Seafood Suppliers in North America for Sustainability & Conservation.
Glenn and his family strongly believe that the secret to global success is always thinking local. Cooke’s global growth has benefited Charlotte County, New Brunswick and all Atlantic Canada by providing year-round jobs to many families and newcomers. Glenn, his family, and Cooke employees across the globe annually support hundreds of charitable campaigns, churches, community organizations, and special events of all sizes, including Cancer and Diabetes causes, addictions treatment, schools, children’s hospitals, after-school programs, services for women, Hospice, school wellness programs, kids camp bereavement programs, volunteer fire departments, animal shelters, food banks, homeless shelters, young farmers and much, much more. Glenn’s company is helping enhance the lives of his people, their families and the communities where the company operates all around the world.