Terry O'Brien, who has been chief executive of one of Australia's biggest food groups for 16 years, is preparing to exit in late 2017 and says he has his "eyes wide open" ahead of a new post next year as chairman of an ASX-listed aquaculture company in a highly volatile sector.

O'Brien runs Simplot Australia, a big supplier to supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths, which produces a host of food products including Birds Eye, Edgell, Leggo's and Lean Cuisine along with canned fish brands John West and I&J frozen seafood products. It also makes the Chiko Roll, a staple in fish and chip shops and something of a cultural icon that hit its peak as a fast-food snack in the 1970s.