SALINA, KAN. — Vortex Global has made several changes to its executive management, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

The role of Travis Young, current chief executive officer, has been augmented to include the presidential position, in which he will lead the company’s overall strategy and direction. Young is the fourth president and chief executive officer of Vortex, founded in 1977. Young has spent the past 16 years at Vortex, previously serving in marketing and international business development roles.

Young succeeds Jeff Thompson, previous president and chief operating officer for the past 13 years. Thompson will retain a position as chief financial officer of Vortex. He will also become a senior advisor to the new leadership team.

“Jeff (Thompson) has done an outstanding job in his tenure as CEO and president here at Vortex,” Young commented. “Under his leadership we were able to define our core values as an organization and experience the greatest period of growth in Vortex’s history. His mentorship as a senior advisor will be vital and much appreciated by all of our executive team members.”

Thompson has worked with Vortex for 18 years. He will continue to oversee IT, human resources, and accounting departments in his new role.

“We recognize that Vortex is a more dynamic and a much larger company than when I initially accepted the roles of president and CEO in 2007,” Thompson said. “There is a clear business need to have executive roles in place that are more focused on the key facets of the business, especially as we move into a new decade.”

Brian Burmaster has been promoted to chief sales and marketing officer, where he will be tasked with client retention, customer service, operational engineering, and overall revenue growth strategies for the company. Burmaster previously served as vice president of sales, and has held various customer-focused positions with Vortex over the past 14 years.

Cory Downing has also been promoted to chief operating officer, where he will be responsible for managing production, facilities, operations, product development and organizational development. He has spent 15 years with Vortex and brings company experience in engineering, manufacturing and product development to his new role.

Additionally, Kevin Peterson announced his plans to retire from Vortex Global after 25 years of service, effective Jan. 29, 2021.

Throughout his tenure at Vortex, Peterson held various leadership positions including director of marketing, special projects director, regional sales manager, and director of business development. He traveled North America to meet with companies about dry bulk material processing, handling and transportation.

Peterson was a member of the International Association of Operative Millers, the International Milling Education Foundation, the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, and the Industrial Minerals Association of North America.

He served as an emeritus member of the International Association of Operative Millers, as well as a past advisory board member of the Powder & Bulk Solids Expo. Peterson also served on the board of the Industrial Minerals Association of North America. He received an award for Outstanding Service from Kansas State University’s Department of Grain Science and Industry, and contributed to the Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing, which was published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

According to Vortex, Peterson wrote hundreds of case studies and articles for industry publications about the company’s products, capabilities and expertise in dry bulk material handling.

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.