WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 11, 2022- The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) is pleased to announce that Mr. Gregory V. Brown has been appointed as the GDST’s inaugural Executive Director. Mr. Brown will leave his current position at the Global Seafood Alliance to take up his new post effective February 1.
Mr. Brown joins the GDST at a critical time in the expansion of the GDST’s activities and the growing impact of the GDST traceability standards across the seafood industry. Since the GDST standards were published in March 2020, many leading industry groups have endorsed them as vital, and more than 100 companies—including many of the largest and most influential in the seafood sector—have pledged to implement them. Now, under the guidance of its industry Steering Committee, the GDST is further solidifying its institutional base and expanding its services to maintain and support the GDST standards for years to come.
Mr. Brown comes to the GDST with a wealth of leadership experience spanning more than three decades in the food & beverage, seafood, and seafood certification sectors. Since 2017, Mr. Brown has occupied several senior roles within GSA, leading its business and strategic development and managing the certification and CSR functions associated with the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). Prior to joining GSA, Mr. Brown was stationed in Shanghai, where he managed both global seafood operations and all certification activities in China for NSF International, a leader in the development and implementation of public health standards and certification programs. Mr. Brown has also worked extensively in the food & beverage industry, including in senior product sourcing and category management roles for Caesars Entertainment, Flying Food Group, U.S. Foodservice/Monarch Foods, and Darden Restaurants.
“We are delighted that Greg Brown has stepped up to take the reins as the GDST enters an exciting period of growth and institutional solidification,” said Michael McNicholas, CEO of Culinary Collaborations LLC, who led the hiring process on behalf of the GDST’s industry-based steering committee. “He has the combination of strategic vision and operational know-how that the GDST needs going into its next phase.”
David Schorr, who co-chairs the GDST Steering Committee on behalf of the global conservation organization WWF, added: “Greg Brown brings both deep business experience and a strong commitment to the GDST’s mission. We look forward to his leadership as he works with industry and a broad range of stakeholders to help transform how seafood traceability supports sustainable seafood.”
Mr. Brown added: “The GDST is already making great contributions to the future of seafood, and it is poised to do a lot more. I am honored and fully energized to be taking on this role.”
For press inquiries, please reach out to the GDST Secretariat at info@traceability-dialogue.org
About the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST)
The GDST was organized in 2017 by WWF and the Institute of Food Technologists as an international, business-to-business platform to advance a unified framework for interoperable and verifiable seafood traceability. The GDST brings together companies from around the globe and across different parts of the seafood supply chain. In March 2020, after a multi-year industry-led drafting process, the GDST released the first-ever global standard (GDST 1.0) governing information content and data formats specifically for seafood traceability systems. Learn more at www.traceability-dialogue.org or contact the GDST by email at info@traceability-dialogue.org