BLACKS HARBOUR, NB – May 5, 2021 – Cooke Aquaculture Inc. has been recognized as a 2021 winner of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation. The family owned and operated company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick is proud to be acknowledged for the 16th consecutive year.
“This year has been challenging for many and at Cooke we were certainly no exception to this,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture Inc. “I’m extremely grateful for the continued determination and commitment I’ve witnessed from our teams during these difficult times. Because of this determination, we were able to supply consumers with a reliable and nutritious food source of fresh Atlantic salmon.”
Cooke Aquaculture is among hundreds of entrepreneurial companies that compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices. This year, Best Managed companies share commonalities that include enabling a remote workforce, making employee health a top priority, acting with an increased sense of purpose and social responsibility, and a significantly heightened focus on cash flow.
“This year’s Best Managed winners demonstrate the organizational grit required to thrive in these increasingly uncertain times,” Kari Lockhart, Partner, Deloitte Private and Co-Leader, Canada’s Best Managed Companies program. “By putting their people first, and showing the courage to experiment and take risks, they were able to overcome some of today’s most pressing challenges. This year’s winners were able to succeed because they weren’t afraid to fail.”
The 2021 Best Managed program award winners are amongst the best-in-class of Canadian owned and managed companies with revenues over $25 million demonstrating leadership in the areas of strategy, capabilities and innovation, culture and commitment, and financials to achieve sustainable growth. Participating in the Best Managed Companies program each year is just one of the ways Cooke Aquaculture ensures that the company is meeting best practices across their divisions.
“The health of our people, our families and our community members remain a top priority as we work through this pandemic together. We continue to operate under the guidelines of our health authorities to ensure our local food source is available.” says Glenn Cooke “We are proud to participate in third-party certification programs because they challenge us all to exceed regulatory requirements and holds us accountable across all divisions.”
Now in its 28th year, Canada’s Best Managed Companies remains one of the country’s leading business awards programs recognizing Canadian-owned and managed companies for innovative, world class business practices.
“CIBC is proud to be a sponsor of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, which celebrates the tremendous achievements of our country’s leading organizations across a wide array of industries”, said Dino Medves, Senior Vice President and Head, CIBC Commercial Banking. “And in light of this past year, these winners were not only able to weather the immediate challenges of the pandemic, but in this new disruptive environment were able to set a course for future growth and investment.”
The 2021 winners of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies award will be honoured at a virtual gala. The Best Managed virtual symposium will address leading-edge business issues that are key to the success of today’s business leaders.
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About Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is a vertically integrated family company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, with salmon farming operations in Atlantic Canada, the United States, Chile and Scotland as well as seabass and seabream farming operations in Spain. The Cooke family of companies includes global aquaculture divisions including its wholly-owned subsidiary Cooke Aquaculture Inc. and Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd, as well as seafood and wild fishery divisions under Cooke Seafood USA, Inc., Icicle Seafoods, Inc., Wanchese Fish Company, Inc., Omega Protein Corporation, Cooke Uruguay S.A. and Seajoy Seafood Corporation, one of the largest premium shrimp farms in Latin America. Cooke ships fresh, sustainable True North Seafood branded products to over 67 countries.
Cooke is committed to continuous improvement of quality and environmental performance. Certifications for the company’s farm-raised or wild-caught products include; Best Aquaculture Practices (4-Star: sea sites, processing plants, feed mills, and freshwater hatcheries), Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management, Label Rouge, Soil Association Organic, Ocean Wise Seafood, Friend of the Sea, Global G.A.P., and British Retail Consortium among others.
About Canada’s Best Managed Companies
Canada’s Best Managed Companies continues to be the mark of excellence for Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues over $25 million. Every year since the launch of the program in 1993, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates their management skills and practices. The awards are granted on four levels: 1) Canada’s Best Managed Companies new winner (one of the new winners selected each year); 2) Canada’s Best Managed Companies winner (award recipients that have re-applied and successfully retained their Best Managed designation for two additional years, subject to annual operational and financial review); 3) Gold Standard winner (after three consecutive years of maintaining their Best Managed status, these winners have demonstrated their commitment to the program and successfully retained their award for 4-6 consecutive years); 4) Platinum Club member (winners that have maintained their Best Managed status for seven years or more). Program sponsors are Deloitte Private, CIBC, Canadian Business, Smith School of Business, and TMX Group. For more information, visit www.bestmanagedcompanies.ca
Contact:
Joel Richardson
Vice President, Public Relations
Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
40 Wellington Row, Saint John, NB, Canada E2L 3H3
+1-506-721-1093 mobile/ +1-506-694-4939 office
joel.richardson@cookeaqua.com