Chris Lischewski has built a diverse career in finance, business development, and executive leadership in the seafood industry. Prior to his career, he earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Southern California. He later worked as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney in Los Angeles, focusing on business re-structuring, global sourcing, international market development, and mergers and acquisitions.
After five years with A.T. Kearney, Chris Lischewski joined StarKist Seafood, then a division of the H.J. Heinz Company, as vice president of procurement and business development. At the time, StarKist was performing poorly, and he played a key role in its restructuring. Over the course of seven years, Mr. Lischewski revamped the business strategy at StarKist by devising and executing an international procurement plan that allowed the company to significantly expand its profitability. He oversaw the creation of factories in Ecuador, Seychelles, and Ghana and vertically integrated the company’s fishing operations, creating the largest tuna fleet in the world.
Ultimately, Mr. Lischewski advanced to become managing director of Heinz European Seafood and relocated to Paris. There, he consolidated the company’s disparate European operations into a single unit. This work led to tremendous growth for Heinz, which became the leading brand of shelf-stable seafood in Europe.
In 1999, Chris Lischewski left Heinz to join Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC, after its acquisition by a private equity group. Over the course of nearly two decades, he turned the company around from bankruptcy. As president and CEO, Mr. Lischewski assembled a strong management team, improved the company’s product portfolio, and positioned Bumble Bee as the industry low-cost operator. During his tenure, the company saw its sales rise from $400 million to $1 billion.
Currently, Mr. Lischewski lives in San Diego, California, with his family. He supports several charities and nonprofit organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego, Catholic Charities, and Mama’s Kitchen. Beyond his work in the seafood industry, he also has business interests in an agri-tech company, a restaurant, a vineyard and several other investments.