Mississippi Phosphates Corp. has announced that James Perkins has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing. Perkins previously served as vice president and general manager of the Pascagoula, Miss., production facility. “During a career spanning more than 30 years, Jim Perkins has gained significant experience in all aspects of the fertilizer business,” said Robert Jones, Mississippi Phosphates CEO. “We are confident that he will do an outstanding job as head of our sales and marketing functions.”
Perkins replaces Stephen Wehmann, who has elected to transition towards retirement. “Steve Wehmann has done an excellent job as head of sales and we will certainly miss the benefits of his many talents. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Jones.
Thomas McKiernon, a long-time Mississippi Phosphates employee, will assume the role of general manager of the Pascagoula plant. John Sparks, currently production manager at the facility, has been promoted to assistant general manager. The transition process, which the company expects to be complete by June, has begun.
Matt Carstens with United Suppliers fertilizer division has announced the addition of Monty Summa as business development manager. Summa will be working with the division’s management team in various aspects of their business. United Suppliers Inc. is headquartered in Eldora, Iowa. Summa retired from CF Industries Holdings Inc. as vice president, sales, on Jan. 1, 2009. He has also worked in senior posts for Terra Industries Inc.
Yara International ASA’s board of directors proposes Bernt Reitan as a new board member, replacing Ole Jørgen Haslestad, who resigned from the board October 31, 2008, when he was appointed the new president and CEO of Yara. Reitan is a member of Alcoa’s executive council and has the management responsibility for Alcoa’s global primary products group.
Michelle Hummel has joined the Agricultural Retailers Association as director of marketing and communications. Hummel will lead efforts to raise awareness of the organization and its accomplishments among influential groups within the agriculture industry, and will also work to ensure that legislative and regulatory issues of importance to ARA members are reported to key audiences in a timely manner. Hummel has more than 10 years of marketing and communications experience in the agriculture industry, having previously served on the account service and public relations teams at Osborn & Barr Communications in St. Louis, Mo. In that role, Hummel managed a variety of campaigns and projects for several companies and organizations, including Monsanto Company, the United Soybean Board, the Propane Education and Research Council, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Hummel has also received awards for her work from the National Agri-Marketing Association and the Business Marketing Association. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and holds a B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing.
BASF Turf & Ornamentals has added four new employees to its team. Effective immediately, Missi Koenig has been appointed product manager, David Schell and Brian McCaffrey as sales specialists, and David Maubach as senior sales specialist. Koenig will be based in St. Louis and joins BASF from the former Whitmire Micro-Gen organization, which BASF recently acquired. McCaffrey and Schell also come to BASF from Whitmire Micro-Gen, where McCaffrey served as horticulture national sales manager, Schell as horticulture regional technical specialist for the mid-south and west coast, and Koenig as product manger covering specialty markets. In his new position at BASF, McCaffrey will be covering south Florida, and Schell’s territory will include Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. Maubach is transitioning from the BASF Pest Control business, where he was a Midwest sales specialist. He also spent more than 20 years with the crop protection business at BASF. His new territory for BASF Turf & Ornamentals includes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, and North and South Dakota.
The ServiceMaster Co. recently announced Stephen Donly has joined the company as president and chief operating officer of TruGreen LawnCare. Prior to joining TruGreen, Donly was president and CEO of Enterprise Media Networks Inc., a San Diego-based technology company. He also spent six years as president of Aramark Uniform Services Inc. (AUS), a division of the Fortune 100 company Aramark. In addition, Donly spent 27 years with Ryder System Inc. in a variety of management positions, including senior vice president of sales and marketing and senior vice president of operations for the largest business unit within Ryder.
Eastman Chemical Co. has announced that Richard Johnson has been appointed an executive officer of the company, effective May 7. In addition, responsibilities of executives Ronald Lindsay and Mark Costa will be expanded.
As a senior vice president, Johnson, 59, will continue to be responsible for the company’s fibers segment. He will also be responsible for the supply chain function, acetyl stream operations, and management of regions outside the U.S.
Lindsay, 50, will become an executive vice president effective May 7, with continuing responsibility for the company’s industrial gasification strategy and the Beaumont, Texas, gasification project. In addition, he will be responsible for the performance chemicals and intermediates segment and for the performance polymers segment. He will also oversee the management of olefins stream operations, and will be responsible for engineering and construction.
Costa, 43, will continue as an executive vice president and retain responsibility for the company’s specialty plastics segment, polyester stream operations, and corporate marketing. New responsibilities for Costa will include the coatings, adhesives, specialty polymers and inks (CASPI) segment, sales, pricing, marketing development and innovation, and sustainability functions.
James Rogers, 58, was recently named CEO-designate at the company. Already president of the company and head of the chemicals and fibers group, he will become Eastman’s president and CEO following the annual meeting of stockholders on May 7. J. Brian Ferguson continues to serve as chairman and CEO through the annual meeting, after which he will serve as executive chairman of the board.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has announced that Alan Barry has been named to its board of directors effective April 8, 2009. His appointment fills one of the two current vacancies on the board. Barry was with Masco Corp. until January 31, 2008, serving as president and chief operating officer until December 31, 2007. During his more than 30-year tenure at Masco, his leadership was key in developing strong relationships with the wholesale, homebuilder, and retail channels. Barry lives in Michigan and Arizona and is a graduate of the University of Toledo. He will serve on the audit and compensation and organization committees of the board with a term that expires in 2012.