Phillips Foods is proud to announce the appointment of Paul Opitz as chief operating officer effective January 1, 2013. Previously president of Phillips Asia, Opitz has been tasked with leveraging his 50+ years of seafood production experience to enhance operational efficiencies for the global seafood processor.

“Paul is the perfect leader to guide our company’s efforts to increase global sales and distribution,” notes Steve Phillips, president and CEO of Phillips Foods, Inc. “We are poised to become an even larger player in the global seafood industry and with Paul’s international perspective plus excellent leadership skills, I am confident we will exceed expectations for decades to come.”

Opitz has worked for Phillips Foods for more than 20 years initially opening their flagship Baltimore restaurant in the mid 1970s. In 1994, he was appointed Quality Specialist for Phillips Asian operations. Today, Opitz oversees over 17 Phillips owned and operated processing plants worldwide.

Opitz says, “Our global resources and sourcing expertise provide us unique competitive advantages that we will continue to leverage as we increase sales and marketing efforts for our vast domestic and international customer base.”