Mike Thurow
President, CEO & Founder

Vision is my sixth sense. With a broad knowledge of the agricultural & horticulture markets worldwide, Spectrum has been blessed with success in developing new products for our markets. The challenge is getting growers to change and measure things they never measured before. We know that producers and researchers need more data in order to make better, objective decisions. The scarcity of water worldwide and the need to protect the environment will drive our future strategy.  Spectrum is fortunate to have passionate employees who are focused on delivering exceptional customer satisfaction.

Education/Associations:
B.S. Ag Engineering-Mechanization; Western Illinois University, M.B.A.; Keller Graduate School of Management

Denton Schwiesow
Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Denton joins Spectrum after spending 15 years with Raven Industries, where he served several roles of increasing leadership including, Technical Support Rep, Precision Ag Specialist, Territory Sales Rep, Inside Sales Manager, Precision Ag Specialist Manager, and N. American Sales Manager.  He grew up north of Madison, SD where he has helped on the family farm his entire life.  He thoroughly enjoys partnering with and leading teams to grow the business while helping farmers feed the world!   

Education/Associations:

MBA, Carlson School of Management at U of Minnesota

Bridget Bozarth
Fruit/Nut/Vegetable Consultant - East

Educational consulting with small to large growers across the US & Canada to help farmers get the tools they need to measure & optimize their production.

Education/Associations:
Ivy Tech State College; 15 years in Sales/Account Management; 2 years in Business Administration

Loyd Bowman
National Account Manager - Turf

Supporting key relationships, distributors and customers throughout the United States and Canada with a focus on a consultative approach to connecting turf and landscape professionals with technology resources that will help them be more successful. I’m determined to leverage more than 15 years of field, management and sales experience in the green industry to prove myself as a valuable resource and partner you can trust.

Education/Associations:
Sports & Commercial Turfgrass Management, Michigan State University

Elizabeth Baskerville
Sales Consultant

Bringing together a passion for people, sustainability and development to work with customers of all backgrounds across the United States and Canada and ensure that their needs are met to the best of our ability.

Education/Associations:
B.S. Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois

David Lau
Director – Asia and Business Development

Country Territory: Asia and Indian subcontinent

Grow and support international markets across various market segments; collaborate with distribution partners; facilitate educational and product application seminars; conduct training sessions to support distributors and customers; and partner with global accounts, agrochemical, crop protection, and seed companies, and government agencies to support their research and production initiatives through the application of measurement technologies.

Education/Associations:
B.A. Economics and German, Stanford University; M.B.A. Marketing and Finance, Duke University, Fuqua School of Business

Martin Roeder
International Sales Manager

Country Territory: South America, Africa, Middle East, Northern Asia, and Australia

Work with distribution networks to understand customer needs and provide training and product expertise to help better meet those needs and improve production.

Education/Associations:
B.S. Agriculture, La Molina University, Peru; M.B.A., University of Piura, Peru

Ralph George
Director Of Sales Europe, Middle East, and Africa

My passion is bringing new technologies to farming communities in the EMEA region. As the global population dynamic increases, agriculture strives for new technologies to ensure we can feed the world based on a forecast of 9 Billion people in 2050. Growers are faced with perpetual resource constraints such as water scarcity, plant protection solutions and the lack of additional land to increase production. Having 30 years’ experience in irrigation and integrated crop agronomics, it is apparent growers require more measurement tools and methods to ‘Measure to Know’ plant and soil requirements to optimize crop production.

Education/Associations:
Agriculture Diploma, Cedara Agricultural College, South Africa
AVCASA certification for crop protection advisor, South Africa

Franca Perez-Alcazar
International Sales Coordinator

Embracing the core values of innovation, growth and sustainability to meet and exceed customer satisfaction developing and maintaining long-term business relationships in global markets.

Education/Associations:
B.S. International Business and German; North Central College
M.B.A. Management; North Central College
Languages: English, Spanish, German

Beth Randall
Manager of Customer Expectations

Managing the Technical Support Staff, Warehouse, Return & Repair Processing, and Vendor Returns.
Our goal is to be an organization whose very purpose is exceptional service to its customers.
Please let me know how I can provide that.

Education/Associations:
B.S. Computer Technology, Purdue University

Doug Kieffer
Product Training Specialist

I have been with Spectrum since 2000 and have worked with the sales, marketing, and product development teams. I am currently with the Customer Satisfaction team where I assist with customer technical questions and perform service on products sent in for repair. Additionally, I am responsible for internal training for new employees and for new product releases.

Education/Associations:
B.S., Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, University of Illinois
M.S., Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, NC State University
M.S., Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois

Maricela Gamboa
Technical Services Representative

Education/Associations:
Major in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Minor in Business Management from Southern Illinois University

Jancko Arias
Technical Services Representative

Technical Assistance to the consumer is what I’m best at; being able to listen and make sure that the customer gets my full attention.
I am an accomplished IT Support Professional with proven abilities to provide remote and on-site support for a Global Environment. Possessing exceptional Customer Service and Follow-up skills in combination with solid technical background. Provided Full Resolution Phone/E-mail support overseas, bilingual speaker (Spanish). I have been servicing the customer for over 20 years.

Education/Associations:
Wright College Chicago, IL 2 year degree in business
College of Dupage – Certificates Desktop Database Proficiency, Spreadsheet Proficiency, C Application and Technical Support Specialist.
U.S. Navy Veteran – served for 8 years

Octavio Valle
Technical Services Representative

Provide outstanding technical support to our customers on all our products and software via phone, email, and Skype.

Education/Associations:
Associates Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology, ITT Technical Institute