Owen selected as chief commercial officer at Ritchie
Ritchie Industries, Conrad, Iowa, a leader in automatic livestock watering systems, has appointed John Paul Owen as chief commercial officer.
Owen brings more than a decade of experience in agriculture, sales strategy and distribution network growth to the team. He most recently was North American sales manager at Lely North America.
Owen’s journey to Ritchie reflects both professional ambition and personal connection. “I was a Ritchie customer myself,” he said. “We installed units on our ranch in central Texas, and I literally never touched them again. When you’ve got fences breaking, tractors acting up or calves needing sorted, you don’t want to worry about whether your waterers will work. Ritchie products just did.”
Owen’s resume includes managing a cow-calf operation, building a dealer network across North America and leading sales teams in highly competitive and shrinking agricultural markets. At Lely, he oversaw a major transformation of commercial operations as he introduced digital sales pipelines, marketing automation and CRM infrastructure.
Owen plans to leverage Ritchie’s reputation. “The hard part is done. Brand awareness is already there. Customers and dealers alike recognize Ritchie as the name in livestock waterers. That kind of legacy is incredibly rare. Now it’s about optimizing our strategy and operations to prepare for smart growth and innovation.”
He will oversee Ritchie’s sales, marketing, customer service and business development efforts. This position will focus on deepening relationships with distributors, enhancing customer engagement and expanding reach across key markets. This position will also help guide product strategy and innovation to ensure Ritchie remains at the forefront of meeting livestock owners’ evolving needs.
“Adding the CCO role is a truly exciting milestone for Ritchie Industries,” said CEO Robert Amundson. “It underscores our focus on driving sustainable growth by aligning our commercial strategy with customer needs and market opportunities. This new role will be key in turning the company’s vision into actions across sales, marketing and product development. This ensures the company continues to provide exceptional value and remains competitive in today’s environment.”
