The APT Family
Innovating together to drive value.
Our Leadership team
Left to right: Doug Green, Bryan Crowther, Katrina Rutz, Peggy Jones, Brad Pieper, Jenn Collins
Our Leaders
Brad Pieper
Chief Executive Officer
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Brad Pieper serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Director for American Peat Technology, LLC (APT) and President of Headwater Technologies and Cuyuna Range Reclamation, wholly owned subsidiaries of APT. Prior to joining APT, Brad spent his professional career building and leading organizations and teams across a variety of industries. He has served as a President and Sales & Marketing Executive in the Biotech and Manufacturing industries, as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company for the Financial Services industry, and as an Officer in the United States Army where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Brad is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point where he played on the school’s Division I hockey team. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Brad lives in Brainerd, Minnesota with his wife, Abbey, and three busy boys. He is an active outdoorsman that enjoys chasing around his family via big-mountain skiing, waterskiing, ice hockey, golf, and single-track mountain biking.
BrYan Crowther
Director of Operations
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Bryan Crowther is the Director of Operations at American Peat Technology. Prior to joining APT, Bryan worked in the construction industry, developing many hands-on building, mechanical, electrical, procurement, and design skills. After being hired as a Plant Operator, Bryan was instrumental in planning and building the five plant additions that increased manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand over a 10-year period. Bryan was later promoted to Plant Manager, overseeing manufacturing and mining and hauling operations for APT. In his current role of Director of Operations, Bryan serves on the Senior Leadership Team and added maintenance to his scope in addition to production and field operations. Bryan also leads plant retrofit, continuous improvement, and shipping and logistics activities.
Bryan grew up in Aitkin and is a proud graduate of Aitkin High School (Go Gobblers!). He continues to live in his hometown of Aitkin with his three children. Bryan enjoys the outdoors hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and dirt biking. He is also an avid Minnesota Wild fan and attends games whenever he can.
Doug Green
Founder, Board Chair, and Senior Vice President
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Doug Green is the Founder, Senior Vice President, and Board Chair at American Peat Technology, LLC (APT). Doug served as APT’s CEO from 2011 to 2022 before moving into his current role. Prior to becoming CEO, Doug has served in a variety of roles at APT and its predecessor company, Peat Technologies. He is APT’s chief engineer and general contractor and has been instrumental to the building and expansion of APT and its many processes. He also developed the concept and optimized production of the APTsorb line of products, APT’s flagship water treatment media.
Prior to arriving at APT, Doug owned and operated a placer gold mining operation on the North Slope of Alaska. He mined in several locations near Fairbanks and in the Ruby district, which was only accessible by barge and air. Doug has an additional decade-long experience in the Alaskan construction industry including road construction, military shooting range construction, and aggregate supply.
Doug graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a B.S. in Geology and holds an M.S. in geology from Utah State University. Doug lives in Crosby, MN with his wife Marge where he spends time fishing with grandkids, tinkering in his workshop, and growing raspberries.
Jenn Collins
Controller
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Jenn Collins serves as the Controller for American Peat Technology (APT), where she oversees the company’s financial operations, including budgeting, forecasting, and compliance. With over a decade of experience in corporate accounting and finance, Jenn has played a key role in ensuring financial integrity and aligning accounting practices with organizational strategy. Before joining APT, Jenn built her career leading teams, streamlining financial reporting systems, optimizing cost accounting practices, driving operational efficiencies, and managing internal and external audits.
Jenn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and an MBA in Leadership and Change from The College of St. Scholastica, where she focused on corporate strategy, ethical decision-making, and leading organizational transformation.
Jenn lives in Moose Lake, Minnesota with her husband and four children. Outside of work, she enjoys being outside with her family mountain biking, fishing, running or cross-country skiing.
Peggy Jones
Vice President of Research and Development
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Peggy Jones is the Vice President of Research and Development at American Peat Technology (APT). She was instrumental in the development of the APTsorb III product, a high-end water remediation media. More recently, she was involved in the development of BioAPT Beads spherical peat, a disruptive technology in the agricultural inoculants market and the launch of PeatBuilt+, APT’s line of natural products for the turf grass market. In her role, Jones has conducted pilot treatments at two mining sites, each time proving the efficacy of granular peat to treat mine-impacted water. Jones also manages APT’s permits, ensuring compliance with multiple permits across several state agencies.
Prior to APT, Peggy worked at the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) in the Duluth area where she led research efforts on bog ecology and the use of the peat resource in commercial applications.
Jones received her M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana where she studied the ecology of boreal bogs. An avid fan of bog ecology, she is equally enthusiastic about the economic and environmental benefits of adding value to the unique and ubiquitous peat resource, which covers over one-third of Aitkin County, the site of APT Headquarters.
KatrinA Rutz
Human Resources Manager
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Katrina doesn’t do bios…