We are a dedicated and hands-on team who act with integrity, practicality, and a genuine passion for raising this exceptional fish in Iceland’s beautiful and sometimes brutal environment.
We are customer-centric, structured entirely around quality, transparency, and reliability. We harvest-to-order, ensuring our Arctic char always arrive fresh, with the time from harvest to loading for shipping taking as little as 4 hours. Every fish can be traced, from egg throughout the vertically integrated production cycle to our customers.
We welcome our customers to personally visit our production sites, as we believe that a first-hand experience of our aquaculture operations enables them to share the remarkable story of our fish with their own customers. Additionally, our ability to scale our operations allows us to meet the requirements of our customers and the growing market.
We are proud to be compliant with multiple leading global certifications spanning environmental sustainability, best labour practices, aquaculture and animal welfare.
What’s in a name?
“MAT” MEANS FOOD + “ORKA” MEANS ENERGY = FOOD ENERGY
Food is indeed energy. But we take it a step further.
MEET OUR TEAM
Christo du Plessis joined Matorka, as CEO in April 2022. He has held senior management and C-suite roles in land-based aquaculture ventures in both South Africa and Europe since 2003.
Christo completed his B.Compt (Honours) degree in Finance and Accounting in South Africa in 1994 and qualified as Chartered Accountant (SA) in 1997.
Árni joined Matorka in 2013. He is passionate about sustainable aquaculture and has over 20 years of experience managing international seafood and aquaculture companies in both Japan and Iceland.
With an MA in Economics and a BA in International Affairs, he has an extensive understanding and in-depth knowledge of international sales and the marketing of aquaculture products.
Cees-Jan joined Matorka in 2023 from the Kingfish Company where he was the first employee to be appointed in 2016 and after playing a key role in closing the breeding cycle of the kingfish, transitioned into the role of Quality Manager and most recently Head of Quality and Sustainability.
He holds an MSc Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management degree from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Maryke is a highly experienced biologist with a specialization in Aquaculture, Ichthyology, and Fisheries Sciences, and over 27 years of experience in aquatic science. Her expertise includes 17 years of direct involvement in land-based aquaculture. She has gained recognition for managing vertically integrated aquaculture businesses and for playing a significant role in establishing sustainability ratings for aquaculture and ocean impact projects. Maryke’s qualifications extend to being a Master Carbon Analyst, a Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategist, and she is currently pursuing an MBA.
MEET OUR BOARD MEMBERS
After holding senior positions in IT, banking and fund management in Reykjavik, Boston and London, Bjarni took on a CEO position with a startup fiber optic company Hibernia Networks in 2004 which, then with operations in 9 countries and headquartered in Dublin and Summit NJ, was successfully sold to a NYSE listed company in 2017.
He also serves on the board of directors of Coripharma, Blue Vacations and Siminn.
Bjarni completed his M.Sc. degree in Finance from LBS, London in 1998, an MBA from ISG, Paris in 1993 and M.Sc. in Engineering from UW, Madison in 1990
Bjarni joined Matorka’s board in 2016.
Margit started her career in the capital markets division of Barclays in London in the early 90‘s and then spent 10 years with the corporate finance team of Credit Suisse in Paris.
After moving back to Iceland early 2005, Margit built up the debt finance team of Straumur investment bank before partnering up to create Audur Capital, an independent asset management firm, which later merged into Virding and then Kvika banki. Today Margit heads up the private equity team at Kvika asset management. She currently also sits on the board of Islandshotel and Securitas.
Margit joined Matorka’s board in April 2021.
Frank heads the Investment team at Aqua-Spark. He joined the fund in early 2015, just as the first investments were being made, and spent three years as a lead investment Manager. Prior to Aqua-Spark, Frank was an associate at Stichting de Verre Bergen, a Rotterdam-based Venture Philanthropy Fund. Frank received a Master in Business Administration and a Masters in International Economics & Business from the University of Groningen.
He has for over 30 years been actively involved in sustainability and circular economy leadership globally. He is currently co-founder and CEO of Longevity Village, a company connecting longevity with preventive care, and owns and operates a leading rehabilitation and wellness center in Canary Island.
Previously, he was CEO of Firmament AS, a Norwegian private investment company, from 1999 to 2011. He has also held executive positions in several multinational corporations such as Suez, Norsk Hydro and BASF. He has an MBA from IMD, Switzerland, and a Science degree from Cornell University, USA.
Olav Ketilsson is co-founder and board member of Matorka. He held the chairman position from 2012 to 2020.
Arnbjorn manages Eldhrimnir ehf., a family investment company with a record of successful venture capital and private equity investments. In addition to that, he has held various investment management positions during the last twenty years, including the launch of a long/short equity hedge fund in 2005.
Arnbjorn joined Matorka’s board in 2016 and also serves as chairman of the board of directors of Mink Campers. He completed a M.Sc. degree in Finance from Boston College in 2004 and is a CFA charterholder since 2005.
Anbjorn joined Matorka’s board in August 2016.
