The Compana Way

John Howe is the Chief Executive Officer at Compana Pet Brands. John joined the company as Senior VP of Sales and Marketing in 2001 and has been CEO since 2008, directing the company’s transformation to a modern, diverse pet care company guided by the mission of enriching the lives of pets and their families. All told, John has almost 35 years of executive experience in consumer packaged goods, with the vast majority spent in the pet category.

John is a lifelong pet parent and deeply understands the tremendous bond that exists between pet parents and their furry or feathered family members. John’s other passions include traveling, reading, spending lots of time with family, hiking, and biking.

Dominic Strada is the Chief Sales Officer at Compana Pet Brands. Dominic joined our organization in June, 2021 after an extensive career at Nestle in their Nutrition and Purina Divisions. He brings over thirty years of pet category expertise to our organization. 

Dominic loves to spend time with his family, dog, Mishka, and his friends. He is passionate about sports of almost any kind, enjoys an active, fit lifestyle along with a good glass of wine!

Steve Townshend is Chief Supply Chain Office at Compana Pet Brands.  Steve joined our organization in July 2022 with 34 years of helping consumer packaging goods and ecommerce companies create value.  He oversees our manufacturing, logistics, purchasing, quality, and customer service to ensure that pet parents have access to our great products and confidence in their high and consistent quality to nurture their pets’ lives.

Steve enjoys outdoor activities with family, friends, and their pets.  Walks in the woods, a drive in his classic convertible or just hanging out in the woods with a warm campfire are all opportunities to enjoy life’s moments and create special memories.  

Deb Buhro is General Manager, Oxbow at Compana Pet Brands. Deb joined the Company when Oxbow Animal Health was acquired in 2021 after serving as Oxbow’s CEO for nearly 15 years.  She continues to oversee operations in the Omaha, Nebraska facility and its successful integration with the broader organization.

Deb enjoys traveling with her husband, especially when visiting their children, grandson, and four grandpups. She loves exploring wineries, visiting new restaurants, listening to great music, and attending sporting events with family and friends. 

Lora Van Velsor is the Chief Marketing Officer at Compana Pet Brands. Lora came to our organization in 2018 with a passion for building brands that spans 30 years in consumer packaged goods.  At Compana, Lora owns ensuring that the needs and desires of pets and pet parents are at the center of everything we do, and that our portfolio of brands and products deliver on our collective commitment to help them live happier, healthier, longer lives together.   

Outside of work, Lora is passionate about theatre arts and travel, and spending time with friends she’s made between the two.

Doug is VP of Business Development and focuses on acquiring new brands and businesses to add to Compana’s strong portfolio.  Acquisitions allow Compana to expand the breadth of offerings to enrich the lives of pets and their owners through increasing reach and meeting new occasions while acquiring new talent to facilitate growth.  With nearly 25 years working in finance and CPG, Doug loves the mission and core values of Compana that prioritize purposeful behavior that drives urgency to meet objectives and enhance value, all within a framework of creating a positive culture.  

Outside of work, Doug enjoys working with his wife to shuttle kids to and from academic and athletic endeavors, spending time with family and friends, walking and playing fetch with Buckley, and trying to hit the occasional fairway off the tee.

Lauren Appelbaum joined Compana Pet Brands in December 2018 as head of Human Resources. She brought with her over 15 years progressive HR leadership spanning manufacturing, retail, and corporate scopes. Lauren’s role is to shape Compana’s culture of nurturing employees’ lives at work, and at home, by developing best-in-class talent solutions aligned to key business objectives. 

In her free time, Lauren is an avid runner and enjoys spending time taking family walks, hikes and the periodic pickleball battle with her husband.