Ways to describe Christine Ngo: President of H&N Group, Board Member of SIRF and industry powerhouse. Her journey with seafood began with her family. She was born in Vietnam and her family came to America in 1979. Her father went on to start H&N Group’s company back in 1981 as a local distribution company in San Francisco.
Ngo’s focus remained on her education as she grew; after graduating from college, her mother asked her to join the company. Her mother felt that with her education and experience with the English language she could help to fill any gaps in the company. However, Ngo said that her father didn’t really need her help. “Really he was a self-starter that actually built his company successfully and obtained good employees that helped him along the way as well,” Ngo said.
Ngo officially joined the company in 1997, and the rest was history.
Ngo is grateful for the opportunities in the seafood world she has been privy to, which led her to her current position on the SIRF Board of Directors. She was asked to join SIRF in 2019 by John Connelly and Bill Dresser, whom she’d known for years.
Ngo believes the best part of her work with SIRF is getting to be a part of the research projects, getting to see the projects being presented that are highlighting the technical advances being made in the seafood world. “I think [with] those projects, you just start to see a different dynamic of what it can become,” Ngo said.
Being on the SIRF Board, Ngo has realized that even though there might be a disagreement over a proposal, it is put on the backburner and all focus is put into the expected result. “And so, when the result comes out to achieve the intended purpose, we all agree. It’s not hard, because we all want to do it for the right reasons,” Ngo said.
Ngo leads with heart and through adversity. She comes from a humble family that immigrated and feels very fortunate for the success they’ve had. She can focus on the good nature she witnessed from her parents’ hearts and employ in the leadership positions she holds.
Christine leads through adversity because of the challenges she and her family faced. Being a part of the industry, she has gotten to go out to fish farms and has seen how hard the people work. “It humbles you in a way that you need to respect all people in the value chain, not just product, but certainly people overall,” Ngo said.
When discussing the world of seafood sustainability and research, Ngo believes that food safety is the number one priority. She believes that sustainability used to take priority, but with social media’s quick turnaround, achieving sustainability is an endless goal. The greatest focus now needs to be on food safety and ensuring more research and correct information is being put into the stream of media.
Outside of seafood, Christine has three boys and a family that is very close. Her hands are full, but her heart is filled with love. Her second love is food and travel. “I will travel for food. I prefer to go to a restaurant more than I would like to go to a monument,” she said.
She believes there’s no better way to understand a culture than to physically digest it. With her family’s background in seafood, Ngo has been able to travel the world from a young age. Being able to enjoy seafood cuisine from all over the world, Ngo said she thinks “what we all love about the seafood world is that we also get to eat it.”