Ross Butler has assumed a new role as chief executive officer of the newly formed Cooke Seafood USA Inc. and of Wanchese Fish Co.

The purchase of the Wanchese Fish Co. by the Cooke family and the creation of Cooke Seafood USA was announced June 5.

Butler has served as senior vice president for another Cooke family company, Cooke Aquaculture, since 2010. In this role, he was responsible for the company’s processing and harvesting operations, and he also played a senior role in the Cooke family’s growth and acquisitions activities.

A graduate of both the Marine Institute and Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, Butler has more than 30 years of experience in the seafood industry.

As well as his leadership experience in the aquaculture sector, he enjoyed a progressive career in the wild fishery with Fishery Products International, where he exited in 2002 as vice president of Atlantic operations. He also worked with Ocean Choice International as vice president of groundfish operations.

Butler and his family will move to Suffolk, where he will assume leadership for the strategic direction of Cooke Seafood USA Inc. and manage the daily operations of Wanchese Fish Co.

Butler is chairman of the board of directors for Culmarex, the Cooke family’s Spanish sea bass and sea bream farming company. He also represents Cooke on the board of New Found Resources, a northern offshore shrimp company based in St John’s, Newfoundland.

He holds current board appointments with the Canadian Center for Fisheries Innovation, where he chairs the aquaculture committee and sits on the Marine Institute’s Industry Advisory Board in Newfoundland.