Why Work with Us
Thai Union’s vision is to be the most trusted brand in seafood, delivering great tasting and nutritious products to consumers around the world. We are growing our global business through product diversity, geographic reach, and innovation. Sustainable growth is critical to our company, our industry, and our future.
Growing the careers of our employees is one of our core values. Helping you to grow means growing us, too. We are a global organization, and we are proud of our fast-paced entrepreneurial culture. Our agile mindset ensures that we get things done quickly, and we’re a company with a lot of opportunities waiting to be seized.
We’re also dedicated to growing our business through innovation. Our Global Innovation Centre (GIC) is a state-of-the-art facility designed to support the development of new areas of food research and technology. GIC’s game-changing solutions are creating new corporate revenue streams, while advancing our sustainability agenda through smarter utilization of fishery resources.
We pride ourselves on creating a respectful environment in which everyone’s opinions and wellbeing are valued. Our commitment to communities and the world we work in shares the top spot, from protecting our seas and workers in our supply chain to our ongoing corporate social responsibility activities.
We are building an organization with differentiated capabilities, delivered through solid leadership, a clear vision, and defined strategies. Our efforts have been recognized by the awards we’ve received over the year click here to see them!
If you have energy, drive, and compassion, then with Thai Union you can be assured of a dynamic career rooted in purpose. You’ll be given the opportunity to grow your ideas and yourself, and be respected and empowered from start to finish.
HERE'S WHAT OUR STAFF HAVE TO SAY
When Thai Union first approached me, I didn’t know the company. Then they asked: ‘Do you know John West Foods?’ Of course I did! It’s the leading canned tuna and salmon brand in the Netherlands and the UK. It’s a Thai Union brand.
Thai Union is changing fast, especially in my business line. Before, the focus was on edible fish parts, but we’ve realized that there is a lot of value in fish by-products. Now, we’re turning fish by-products into valuable ingredients. We extract fish oil and then send it to Germany, where we purify it with the latest technology. The ingredients are used in products like baby formula.
Joining Thai Union gave me the opportunity to build something from the ground up. Marine Ingredients is a key growth pillar for the future. I’m under pressure to make the Marine Ingredients business succeed; however, when I consider the respect Thai Union has for its people, I feel the pressure is internal. It’s a healthy pressure.
I feel this pressure because of how much Thai Union respects its people. Our CEO and Executive Chairman really go down deep into the organisation to understand people, and to act when something is wrong. I believe this respect factor is what really binds the company together. Saying it is one thing, but they mean what they say.
Something else that defines Thai Union is that we move very fast. Thai Union decided to invest in Marine Ingredients only two years before I joined. Today, we are producing crude fish oil in Bangkok, and we’re already working on getting a factory running in Germany. In other companies, such things can take a much longer time. It’s the perfect place to be if you want to move fast, build things, and grow.
Leon Coolen
Managing Director, Marine Ingredients
August 2018
I started my Thai Union career at Chicken of the Sea in the US. When I joined Thai Union, I worked in the Accounting department. When Chicken of the Sea merged with Empress, I moved to the Finance department. Today, I’m in sales and marketing. The transition wasn’t easy, and I even said no to the role at first, but my managers told me they really believed I could do it.
Thai Union encourages us to try new things. It’s a really dynamic place to be. If you think you have a good idea, you go for it. Another example is the automation initiative I’m working on. I’m not an engineer, but when I proposed a measure to increase automation in our factory, my manager was open to my ideas. Our CEO said, ‘if you think you can make it work, go for it.’
I’ve been here eight years, and I feel very comfortable with my colleagues. Our management team is close to people. My manager, who is very senior, remembers everyone’s name. We really are like family. We care about each other, and the culture of respect is deeply ingrained.
If there are problems, management has an open ear. They’ll listen to not only me, but to every person at every level. I remember one time when sales targets were being set. My manager, under pressure to get things moving, was rushing to crunch the numbers. I asked him if we could take a step back and really think through the numbers before committing to them. For a junior employee to speak up like this is not typical in Thai culture, but my manager agreed with me. That is the Thai Union way.
Pheinphak Aroonpairoj
Business and Strategy Development, Frozen and Related Business
June 2018
In my role as Sustainability Director at Thai Union North America, I have to ensure that our global sustainability programme, SeaChange, is implemented throughout North America. I work closely with Chicken of the Sea frozen foods to make sure that our sustainability commitments really raise the bar for the entire industry and push the global sustainability agenda forward.
Thai Union prides itself on being progressive, especially with sustainability. Even when I was at graduate school back in 2012, positions like mine didn’t really exist. Today, just five years later, Thai Union has one of the most robust sustainability programs I’ve seen. That’s what makes it an exciting place to be.
We don’t just pay lip service to sustainability, we truly care about it; and, more importantly, we invest in it. Companies often defer to an NGO partner for their sustainability agenda. At Thai Union, however, we are empowered to set the agenda. I’m part of executive groups for both Chicken of the Sea companies, which gives me freedom to implement changes in our procurement, supply chain, marketing, etc.
As a seafood industry leader, we have a responsibility to protect tuna stocks. We’re investing $90 million in initiatives to increase the supply of sustainable tuna. To grow the business, we’ve gotten creative. Take Chicken of the Sea’s Yellowfin Tuna Slices as an example. We’re showing people a new way to consume tuna, but we’re not using new tuna supplies to produce this.
Our sustainability initiatives extend to fishermen, the people who play such a critical part in the success of our company. We recently piloted a digital traceability project alongside a coalition of partners such as Mars Petcare, utilizing mobile applications and satellite connectivity on Thai fishing vessels. The results demonstrated true electronic end-to-end traceability and supply chain management. It also allowed workers on vessels to communicate with loved ones back on shore or raise the flag with authorities in the event of a problem—a win for human rights.
Roxanne Nanninga
Sustainability Director, Thai Union North America
July 2018
I graduated with a Masters in Food Science from France, and an MBA from the USA. My first job was at WhatsApp, back when it had about 20 employees. However, when I was offered a role in Thai Union’s Management Associate program, I knew I had to take it. Working in the food industry has always been my goal.
It is not an easy business. Fish supplies are unpredictable, and it makes up 60-80 percent of our raw material cost. Managing this can be challenging and requires a lot of creativity, but I’m excited to work here because we are all passionate about our jobs. This comes straight down from our CEO.
We’re very passionate about what we do, but we’re also very humble in our approach—and this is what makes Thai Union stand out. Being humble is one of Thai Union’s core values. Not many companies think this way.
What this means in practice is that our management and senior executives listen attentively to us, and they try to understand our problems. Every two weeks I speak to a senior manager who has taken the role of my sponsor. His advice has helped me overcome some very challenging projects. I also get the chance to speak to our CEO as much as I need. Few management trainee programs would allow for that.
Jamikara Techasaratoole
Thai Union Management Associate
Supply Chain Manager - France
September 2018