December 18, 2025 — Leads & Copy — Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) has appointed four new directors to its board as part of a board refreshment initiative, the company announced today.
Joe Reece, non-executive chair of the board, said the new directors bring specific domain expertise to support the company’s focus on its core Salt and Plant Nutrition businesses and its back-to-basics strategy. He expressed confidence that the additions would complement the board and leadership team and help accelerate the progress being made to improve the performance and profitability of the business.
To accommodate the appointments, Compass Minerals has expanded the size of its board from eight to 12 directors. The company also established a Capital Allocation and Technical (CAT) Committee to further support the focus on core business operations.
The newly appointed directors were identified and selected through a search process conducted by the Nominating/Corporate Governance (NCG) Committee, assisted by a third-party search firm.
The new directors are:
Russell Ball: A retired mining executive, Ball currently provides consulting and advisory services across the extractive industries. He previously served as president and CEO of Calibre Mining Corporation (now Equinox Gold) and executive vice president and CFO of both Newmont Mining Corporation and Goldcorp Inc. He will serve on the Audit Committee, becoming its chair after the 2026 annual meeting, and on the CAT Committee.
Denise Merle: Merle is currently senior vice president, chief administration officer and chief human resources officer for Weyerhaeuser Company. She has held leadership positions overseeing human resources, finance and audit, and corporate governance and sustainability. She will serve on the Audit, NCG and Compensation Committees.
Mark Roberts: Roberts is currently serving as operating advisor at White Mountain Partners, Inc. He has nearly 30 years of experience leading global salt and potash businesses, including serving as CEO at Morton Salt and chief operating officer at K+S AG. Roberts will serve on the Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHS&S) Committee, becoming its chair after the 2026 annual meeting, and on the NCG and CAT Committees.
David Safran: Safran is currently president and CEO of Innovative Surface Solutions LP. He has 25 years of experience in corporate finance and business strategy roles, including serving as CEO of Kissner Group. Safran will serve on the EHS&S and CAT Committees.
Vance Holtzman and Shane Wagnon, current directors representing Koch Minerals & Trading, LLC, will complete their current term and do not intend to stand for reelection at the company’s 2026 annual meeting. They stated that Koch is supportive of Compass Minerals’ back-to-basics strategy and will continue to evaluate opportunities to assist and support the company.
The company expects to reduce the size of the board to nine directors, effective at the 2026 annual meeting.
Lori Walker, the current Audit Committee chair and a board member since 2015, will not stand for reelection at the company’s 2026 annual meeting. Joe Reece will stand for reelection at the company’s 2026 annual meeting and is then expected to transition from the role at some point during the fiscal year, at which point it is expected that he would step off the board and that the company would reduce the size of the board to eight directors.
Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) is a global provider of essential minerals, including salt for roadway safety and plant nutrition products for agriculture. The company operates 12 production and packaging facilities with more than 1,800 employees throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
Source: Compass Minerals
