
a growing community
Our Team

Brian Kura
VP Propagation, Retail, International
Brian Kura is a proven senior executive with experience leading both multi-billion-dollar corporations and smaller regional entrepreneurial companies. Prior to joining Quick Plug, Brian was an equity partner at Ohio Mulch. Here he led efforts to accelerate sales growth, updating the company’s operating system and transitioning to a new point-of-sale system for retail locations.

Alfred de Vreeze
Lead Sales Manager (The Netherlands)
After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Management, Alfred held various senior management positions at agriculture retailers and production companies. He now lives in the Netherlands and is Quick Plug Global’s Lead-Sales Manager, responsible for all commercial and sales activities in the EMEA and APAC region.

Bill Maartense
Director of Business Development (Canada)
Bill Maartense has worked with the Quick Plug North America team since 2006 (then called Omni Growing Solutions) as the Director of Business Development in Canada. Residing in Ontario, Canada, Bill Maartense has more than 30+ years of industry experience and leverages this to lead the Canadian business development department.

James Chittum
Director of Business Development (United States)
Having worked with Quick Plug North America since 2006, James Chittum serves as the company’s Director of Business Development. Jamie holds a landscape architecture degree from the University of Rhode Island and currently resides in Maine.

Robert Apeldoorn
Account Manager (The Netherlands)
Robert has a rich background in sales and development across industries. He has worked with Quick Plug Global in the Netherlands since 2020, specializing in retail sales, product development, orchids, hemp, and more. With a wide variety of product experience, Robert provides valuable input on projects across departments.

Sjoerd Ypma
Sales Manager (The Netherlands)
Residing in the Netherlands, Sjoerd joined Quick Plug Global in 2022 and currently serves as the Sales Manager for controlled environment agriculture in Europe. Sjoerd holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from The Hague University of Applied Sciences, utilizing that expertise to drive results on the business development side.

James Li
Sales Manager (China)
Residing in Shanghai, China, James Li has been working with Quick Plug Global since 2020 and serves as the team’s Sales Manager in the APAC region. James holds a bachelor’s degree in economics with a focus on finance and marketing from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Paul Cooper
Senior Sales Strategy Manager (North America)
Paul Cooper comes to Quick Plug North America with over 23 years of industry experience, 18 of which have been at a Senior Management capacity. Paul was previously a National Sales Manager at the Henry F. Michell Company, and now serves as Quick Plug’s Senior Strategy Manager. Paul holds a degree in Business Management from San Diego State University.

Eric Waterman
Business Development, CEA (Global)
Eric has over 25 years of industry experience focused on the global growth of controlled environment agriculture. He has been with Quick Plug since 2012 initially as a regional Sales Manager, and now serving as the Business Development Manager for Controlled Environment Agriculture. Eric holds a BS degree in Landscape Horticulture from University of Maine in Orono.

James Atkins
Sales Manager (United States)
Residing in South Carolina, James Atkins has worked with Quick Plug since 2021 and is a Sales Manager. James holds a BS degree in Agronomy from North Carolina State University, and another degree in Environmental Horticulture from Clemson University. Prior to joining QuickPlug, James was a technical representative for ornamental plant and hemp production.

Jason Barrett
Sales Manager (United States)
Jason has worked with the Quick Plug team since 2021, and serves as our Sales Manager across multiple regions. Residing in Chicago, Illinois, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape horticulture from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Jason is an accredited LEED® AP professional with a career spanning over 20 years in the horticulture industry.

Jim Grob
Technical Support Manager (United States)
Jim has been with Quick Plug since 2019, first acting as a technical sales advisor specializing in tissue culture and forestry applications, and later in 2022 extending to internal technical and R&D support. Jim has a BS degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Residing in Washington state, he now serves as Technical Support Manager.