BEN NICHOLS
Overland Park,KS
Summary
A motivated learner, my leadership is consistently tied to direct experience and the perspective of those around me. With 20+ years of purposeful diversification in roles across Commercial and Supply Chain, I have been able to create value through cross-functional understanding, strategy, execution and team development.
Knowledgeable Executive Leader with solid background in driving commercial strategies and fostering business growth. Successfully led initiatives that resulted in enhanced market presence and customer acquisition. Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning and team leadership.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Commercial Officer
Compass Minerals
04.2024 - Current
- Member of Corporate Senior Leadership Team
- Direct leadership and accountability of Sales, Supply Chain, Marketing, Product Management
- 100+ direct team
- Pricing, Customer, Value Chain & Product Strategy delivering $1B+ Annual Gross Revenue
- Multi-Business Unit Leadership: Highway & Chemical Salt / Consumer & Industrial Salt / Plant Nutrition
- Financial Forecasting and Accountability of results
- Board of Directors and Investment Community interface
- Collaboration and influence across Operational platform through S&OP processes and shared P&L objectives
Chief Sales Officer
Compass Minerals
01.2024 - 03.2025
Vice President; Commercial B2B
Compass Minerals
05.2021 - 01.2024
Vice President; Plant Nutrition
Compass Minerals
01.2020 - 05.2021
Vice President; Consumer & Industrial Salt
Compass Minerals
03.2018 - 01.2020
Director Level Roles; Sales & Supply Chain
Compass Minerals
08.2013 - 03.2018
Education
MBA -
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg, KS2005
Bachelors Science - Business Management
Baker University
Baldwin City, KS2003
Skills
- Organizational Influence
- P&L Ownership
- Commercial & Supply Chain Strategy
- Fiscal Discipline
- Board of Directors & External Shareholder Management
- Multi Channel Sales & Marketing: Retail / Industrial / Government / Agriculture / Grocery / Chemical
- Project Management
- Technology Enablement
- Portfolio Management
Accomplishments
- Delivered strategic growth and reset through multi-year organizational restructure and divestiture of ~$60M in non-strategic businesses
- 40% rationalization and optimization of 500+ SKU portfolio while growing unit profitability with limited customer churn
- Development and implementation of of corporate ERP system, focusing on ROI via Value Chain planning and Order-to-Cash cycle
- Recognized as Top People Influencer across corporation via anonymous employee McKinsey & Co - Organizational Health Assessment
Timeline
Chief Commercial Officer
Compass Minerals
04.2024 - Current
Chief Sales Officer
Compass Minerals
01.2024 - 03.2025
Vice President; Commercial B2B
Compass Minerals
05.2021 - 01.2024
Vice President; Plant Nutrition
Compass Minerals
01.2020 - 05.2021
Vice President; Consumer & Industrial Salt
Compass Minerals
03.2018 - 01.2020
Director Level Roles; Sales & Supply Chain
Compass Minerals
08.2013 - 03.2018
MBA -
Pittsburg State University
Bachelors Science - Business Management
Baker University