Patrick Merrin and Peter Fjellman Named to Senior Leadership Team
Compass Minerals today announced the appointment of Patrick Merrin, a seasoned operating executive in the mining industry, as the company’s new chief operations officer (COO) and Peter Fjellman, who has decades of experience in senior finance roles, as its new chief financial officer (CFO).
Merrin’s appointment is effective March 3 and fills the COO position which has been open since June 2024. Fjellman, whose appointment is effective immediately, succeeds Jeff Cathey who has decided to depart Compass Minerals due to personal reasons. Cathey has agreed to serve the company in a consulting capacity for three months to help ensure a smooth transition.
“Pat and Peter bring more than six decades of collective leadership experience with multi-national, private and publicly traded companies across the mining and industrial manufacturing industries, respectively,” said Edward C. Dowling Jr., president and CEO. “Operating safely and efficiently, while aggressively managing our balance sheet to maximize the value of our advantaged assets, are foundational in how we strive to run our company. I look forward to the additive contributions that Pat and Peter will bring to Compass Minerals as we continue our focused efforts on consistent performance and continuous improvement across our business.”
As COO, Merrin will be responsible for the primary operational management of the company’s 12 production and packaging facilities across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Bringing over three decades of experience to Compass Minerals, Merrin joins the company from Lundin Mining Corporation, a diversified Canadian base metals miner, where he served as executive vice president of technical services.
Fjellman has spent more than 30 years leading finance teams across diverse industrial, manufacturing and logistics sectors, most recently serving as senior vice president of finance, Americas and Asia Pacific, for GXO Logistics, a spinoff of XPO Logistics. As CFO of Compass Minerals, Fjellman will be responsible for all aspects of financial management for the company, including accounting, reporting, tax, internal audit, treasury, financial planning and analysis, and investor relations.
“I also want to thank Jeff for his many contributions first as chief accounting officer and ultimately as CFO of Compass Minerals. I’m deeply grateful for his expertise and leadership through recent changes to our business and strategy,” added Dowling.
Read the full press release here.