Suraj Deshmukh, Ph.D., has joined Compass Minerals as the company’s new vice president, innovation and product development.

Dr. Deshmukh will be leading the organization’s research and development (R&D) program at its North American Innovation Center.  

A proven technology and business leader, he joins Compass Minerals with more than 14 years of experience in driving new product development, developing strategy, managing teams and building an innovation pipeline. Dr. Deshmukh is charged with leading all phases of product development and innovation services in support of the company’s broader business objectives.

Most recently, Dr. Deshmukh was a senior R&D leader at Dow. He spent 14 years at Dow and Dow AgroSciences in various R&D positions of growing responsibility. Prior to his tenure at Dow, Dr. Deshmukh was a research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He has a Bachelor of Technology in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Powai, India, and both his graduate and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT. Dr. Deshmukh is the inventor and co-inventor of several products and has authored or co-authored numerous articles, patents and publications.