Daniela Klimsova is the director of business development at Icicle Seafoods, focusing on the company’s strategic programs.

She started her career managing QC labs in sugar and confectionery manufacturing and then took a detour to consulting and telecommunication.

Prior to joining Icicle, she worked at Tunaycha, a vertically integrated Russian seafood company. Her roles there spanned global corporate strategy, procurement, business development and operations in the Far Eastern and Barents Sea fisheries.

Klimsova holds a degree in food technology from SPSPT in Prague as well as a BA and MBA from University of Washington Foster. She is a big advocate of community development and dedicates a portion of her time to volunteering and board involvement at local non-profits.

IntraFish: How did you begin working in the seafood industry?

Daniela Klimsova: Somewhat by accident. I was on a sabbatical after the dotcom crash in early 2000s and was asked to help a friend whose family had a salmon centered joint venture with what used to be Wards Cove Packing. A year later I was working for the family full time.

IF: What attracted you about the seafood industry?

DK: For me it wasn't an instant attraction; I found the transition into seafood challenging. But once I met the fishermen and the operations personnel and saw the incredible effort they make every fishing season, I was hooked.

I have worked in a number of processing facilities in my teens, but never in an industry where the harvesters had to deal with so many unpredictable inputs. And while that is sometimes difficult to take, it also makes for a business environment that is never the same and always exciting. It also helped that I was fortunate to meet many high caliber people early on in my seafood career.

IF: What obstacles have you faced in your career a man might not have encountered?

DK: There has been so much written about this...  When I started working in the seafood industry, women often had to make many concessions to double standards and behaviors that were offensive simply because it wasn't practical to call out every instance.

Having said that, attitudes are definitely changing. For me the key in dealing with these obstacles is to work for people I respect, who I know will support me in difficult situations and will not treat me differently because of my gender -- hence my tenure at Icicle, and also at my previous employer, where you find women engaged in all functions within the company – from the executive to plant level.

IF: Would you encourage other women to seek a career in this industry? Why? 

DK: Absolutely. The consumer driven changes in the marketplace are creating a need for talent beyond what we have deployed today. Women can fill that need and also get a chance to shape the future of the industry.

Plus there is something utterly satisfying in working in an industry where you see the results of your efforts and where you can make a direct positive social impact.  

IF: What advice would you give aspiring female seafood executives?

DK: Decide what it is you want to achieve in your career and what your timing is. Focus on growing the skill set necessary to achieve your goal – continuing education is the key. Be an active participant in your career development: design a plan for yourself within the formal framework that your employer has in place. Communicate this plan to your manager and ask for direct participation in the development process (Chris Ruettgers, our CEO, works directly with me on my development plan). 

Build a network of people, male and female, in our industry as well as outside of it, who will be your advocates. Be an advocate for them. And finally, if you are not in a place that values you, find one that does. There is an organization out there with a culture that will be a good fit for you. I highly value loyalty, but if you are not in a good situation and don’t have a clear career path where you are, start looking for new opportunities.

IF: What are the biggest challenges facing female seafood executives in the industry?

DK: Lack of a strong network of advocates: It’s not enough to have a network of present and former co-workers and managers. Those networks are too small and make women largely invisible to the rest of the industry. Given the percentage of male executives, women need to build networks that include majority of men.

At the same time it is more complicated for women to build personal relationships with male colleagues and it is the personal relationship that makes most people comfortable with recommending someone for an executive promotion.

Limited network of advocates then creates lack of opportunities for women. I personally am very cognizant of the fact that my progress in the industry was not only due to my skillset but also to being in the right place at the right time and meeting people willing to help me along the way.  

IF: How can the industry recruit more women into the sector?

DK: I haven’t seen any recruiting programs specifically targeting women, so that would be a start. I believe that industry wide mentoring programs would make a big difference.

Offering flexible working schedules and benefits that are best in class would also be helpful. The industry doesn't exist in isolation and we can’t expect to hire talent, female or male, if we do not match what other employers offer. 

IF: Why are there so few women in executive roles in seafood?

DK: It comes back to women not having enough people advocating for them. It’s not that there is a complete shortage of female candidates for executive positions out there, but they are not as visible or don’t have as much access to the decision makers like men do. This makes it hard for men to get familiar with the female talent pool and focus on developing it.

The entrepreneurial spirit of the industry can also be hindrance as most people are not naturally good managers and need significant training to be able to effectively hire, retain and promote a diverse workforce.

IF: If there were one thing you could change about the industry to make it a better place for women workers, what would it be?

DK: Those in the power base have to actively focus on equality and this means the men have to get involved. Their involvement will bring tangible benefits to their organizations as diverse workforce means innovation and innovation leads to bottom line improvements. 

So let’s focus on recruiting more women, developing career paths for them and let’s give women more exposure to the executive circles and to the boards. Let’s assign targets, budgets and man-hours to this and make it a continuous effort.

I was not initially a fan of board and management quotas, but I now think that it will take specific targets to get women a more equal voice in the workforce.

IF: What was the dumbest advice a man in the seafood industry has ever given you?

DK: I honestly can’t think of any, but this is not something I’d choose to remember. I’d rather focus on the men in the industry that have helped me when I started out and that continue to be supportive.