Episode #53 - Empathy & Authenticity Steer Bumble Bee Seafood Through CHAOS

Jan Tharp is President and CEO of The Bumble Bee Seafood Company, a 120-year leader in the seafood industry. Jan is known as a transformational leader within the industry, among her peers and with Bumble Bee employees and is dedicated to continuing to redefine what sustainability means for the seafood industry. Under Jan’s leadership, Bumble Bee was named one of the “Top Places to Work” in both 2019 and 2020 by the San Diego Union Tribune. In addition, Jan was announced as the San Diego Business Journal 2020 “CEO of the Year” (large company category).

Jan was at the forefront of Bumble Bee’s joint venture with Gathered Foods Corporation, makers of Good Catch plant-based seafood products. The partnership makes Bumble Bee the first and only major seafood company to partner with a plant-based seafood brand and honors the company’s long-term commitment to ocean health and sustainability. She also championed Bumble Bee’s 2020 announcement of a bold set of sustainability commitments, including allocation of a $40 million Accelerator Fund dedicated to closing the gap on some of the biggest industry challenges in the sustainability space.  

Jan is a board member of the National Fisheries Institute and International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, Good Catch Foods, and is also actively engaged with Bumble Bee’s work with organizations including World Wildlife Fund, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative. 

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Stephanie Neil has been reporting on business and technology for over 20 years and was named Editor in Chief of OEM in 2018. She joined PMMI Media Group's Automation World in 2015, where she contributes as Senior Editor. Earlier in her career, she was Senior Editor at Thomas Publishing's Managing Automation and a community manager for Manufacturing-Executive.com. Stephanie has a wealth of knowledge in CPG, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and covers engineering, trends, workforce development and more.