In 2002, Mark Ryan was appointed Receiver for Tassal Limited, which at the time was producing 3,500 tonnes of Atlantic Salmon. He opted to continue the business as a going concern, with a bold strategy to not only restructure and turnaround Tassal, but the entire Tasmanian salmon industry. His goal was to deliver global cost/best practice from both a cost of growing and processing perspective, together with achieving premium returns from his sales and marketing initiatives. In 2003, Mark acquired Atlantic Salmon competitor, Nortas – the first time in corporate Australia that a Receiver and Manager had purchased a business while the company was in receivership. Two years later, Tassal acquired another competitor, Aquatas, and completed its restructure. Mark developed a strategic plan to produce 30,000 tonnes by FY2015. To date, the company has maintained the plan’s growth profile and overachieved on its milestones. In February 2008, Tassal undertook a capital raising at $3.85 per share, from a listing share price of $0.50. The raising was two times oversubscribed and completed in 1.5 hours. By developing fish husbandry practices and risk mitigation measures, Mark has proved that Salmon can be farmed in Tasmania’s higher than usual water temperatures. Moreover, when Tassal tests its fish against wild Alaskan Salmon, the dioxins and residue tests prove the fish are better than the global benchmark. Today, Tassal is Australia’s largest aquaculture company, producing 18,000 tonnes of Atlantic Salmon. The company is operating close to or at global best practice for cost of growing and cost of processing. In addition, Tassal is a price leader, with clean green, fish health and quality underpinning its product offering. Mark’s vision for his transformed company is to lead the Australian salmon market by building a strong Tassal brand, continuing innovation and being responsive to consumer and customer needs. | 
