Sep 14, 2017

Compass Minerals hires ag industry veterans

Compass Minerals recently announced hires of three agriculture industry veterans to its Plant Nutrition team.

Sean Knapp has been hired as vice president of North America, while Ron Restum has been hired as strategic account director and Cole Hansen has been hired as marketing and product strategy director.

Knapp, Restum and Hansen will support the company’s high-quality specialty plant nutrition products, which includes a line of micronutrients (WolfTrax and Protassium+ sulfate of potash) that coat onto dry fertilizer.

This fall, the company will roll-out a portfolio of water-soluble plant nutrition products in the United States, according to a news release from the company.

“Sean, Ron and Cole add tremendous talent to our team,” said Brad Griffith, Compass senior vice president of plant nutrition. “They bring more than 70 years of combined agricultural experience to our growing specialty plant nutrition business. We’re excited for the energy, insights and leadership they provide and the impact they will have on our business.”

In his new role as vice president of North America, Knapp will oversee the continent’s business strategy in sales, marketing, product management and channel distribution. He joins Compass Minerals following a nearly 20-year career at Syngenta, a global agricultural product company, where he held leadership roles in their vegetable seeds, crop protection and customer programs divisions. Prior to Syngenta, Knapp worked in agricultural retail sales, serving growers in southwestern Illinois. Knapp grew up on his family’s Illinois cattle and grain farm and earned his bachelor of science in agribusiness economics from Southern Illinois University.

Restum will manage and build key customer accounts as the strategic account director. He has an extensive background in agriculture having spent time at Koch Agronomic Services and at Agrium. Restum earned a bachelor of business administration in management and marketing from Western Michigan University.

As the director of marketing and product strategy, Hansen will be responsible for the commercialization of the plant nutrition portfolio. Prior to joining Compass Minerals, Hansen worked for Dow AgroSciences – primarily in the seed division. Raised on a Nebraska farm, he holds a bachelor of agricultural business from the University of Nebraska.

Photo Above: From the left are Sean Knapp, Compass Minerals vice president of North America; Ron Restum, strategic account director; and Cole Hansen, marketing and product strategy director. Photos: Compass Minerals