Thai Union’s UK subsidiary John West Foods has appointed Paul Stephenson as its new managing director.

Until 2018 Stephenson was global vice president, innovation, for the chocolate portfolio of Mars Incorporated, where he was responsible for accelerating and strengthening brand innovation and anticipating future consumer needs to identify new avenues for business growth.

More recently he has acted as a consultant to strategy firms, private equity and corporate clients.

Stephenson will be responsible for the strategic development and business growth of John West across the United kingdom and Europe.

He will oversee the John West crew in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands, reporting to Paul Reenan, president of Thai Union Europe.

"Paul brings a wealth of highly relevant experience in the consumer sector, and I’m looking forward to working with him to support John West’s continued business growth," said Reenan.

John West is part of Thai Union Group, which is the parent of several prominent European seafood brands, including John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier and Mareblu. Thai Union also owns King Oscar in Norway and holds a majority share of Rügen Fisch AG in Germany.