High Liner Foods Announces New CEO

LUNENBURG, NS, April 4, 2018 /CNW/ - High Liner Foods Incorporated (TSX: HLF) ("High Liner Foods", "High Liner" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Rod Hepponstall as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, effective May 1, 2018.  Mr. Hepponstall will assume this position from Henry Demone, Chairman and CEO of High Liner Foods, who will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors of High Liner Foods.  Mr. Hepponstall will also serve on the Company's Board of Directors.

Mr. Hepponstall has 25 years of experience working in the food industry in the United States and Canada, in both retail and foodservice.  He has held positions of increasing responsibility at several publically traded food companies, including Lamb-Weston, Inc., ConAgra Foods, Inc. and Maple Leaf Foods.  He most recently held the position of Senior Vice President, General Manager Retail & Foodservice Business Units at Lamb-Weston Inc. 

"On behalf of the Board, I want to welcome Rod to High Liner Foods.  We are confident that with Rod's proven leadership skills and extensive experience with the food industry in North America, he is well positioned to successfully lead High Liner Foods," stated Henry Demone, Chairman and CEO of High Liner Foods.

"I am extremely pleased to be joining High Liner Foods, a company known for being a long-standing leader in the North American frozen seafood industry.  I look forward to working with the High Liner team to improve the business, create innovative products that help drive seafood consumption and deliver on a strategy that will create long-term value for our shareholders," shared Rod Hepponstall.

About High Liner Foods Incorporated

High Liner Foods Incorporated is the leading North American processor and marketer of value-added frozen seafood.  High Liner Foods' retail branded products are sold throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico under the High Liner, Fisher Boy, Mirabel, Sea Cuisine and C. Wirthy & Co. labels, and are available in most grocery and club stores.  The Company also sells branded products to restaurants and institutions under the High Liner, Icelandic Seafood and FPI labels and is the major supplier of private label value-added seafood products to North American food retailers and foodservice distributors.  High Liner Foods is a publicly traded Canadian company, trading under the symbol HLF on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning under Canadian securities laws.  By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. High Liner assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE High Liner Foods Incorporated

Heather Keeler-Hurshman, CPA, CA, CPIR, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Performance, High Liner Foods Incorporated, Tel: [phone], [email protected]