Specialty Sales LLC (d.b.a. Hoofstrong), the leading provider of hoof health solutions to the U.S. dairy industry, has announced the appointment of Matthew Nelson as chief executive officer. Nelson is a veteran executive with over 20 years of animal health and dairy management experience. Most recently, he served as commercial head of Animal Health and Nutrition at Balchem Corporation, where he meaningfully grew the business through distribution expansion and acquisitions. Don Alsup, co-founder and former CEO, has been named chairman of the board.

 Specialty Sales is a portfolio company of Kainos Capital, a consumer-focused private equity firm that invests in strategically relevant growth companies in the food, pet, animal health, specialty distribution and services industries.

“We are pleased to welcome Matt to Specialty Sales,” said Alsup. “Matt has an impressive track record of success across some of the most respected companies in the dairy industry. He understands the strategic role of technology and the importance of providing worry-free solutions to dairy farmers that improve the profitability of their operations. He is the right leader to take Specialty Sales to the next level through product innovation, geographic expansion, and acquisitions.”

Jeff Moredock, principal at Kainos Capital, commented: “Specialty Sales is on a remarkable growth trajectory thanks to Don’s leadership and the culture his team has built over the past 24 years. Matt is uniquely qualified to lead Specialty Sales given his professional background that spans animal health and nutrition across bovine, poultry, swine, equine and companion animals. He understands what dairymen need. We are excited that Don will continue to serve Specialty Sales as chairman and help us evaluate new opportunities.”

Nelson said: “Specialty Sales reliably provides a valuable service to nearly three million cows on a daily basis, and I have a firsthand appreciation for its product and service offering given my background in large animal production and health. I look forward to serving our customers and introducing new technology-enabled services and products to them in the future.”

Prior to joining Balchem, Nelson led the U.S. Poultry Unit of Boehringer-Ingelheim, was senior director of U.S. Ruminant & Equine Marketing at Merial, and was a director of sales and marketing operations at Zoetis. He began his career in high school with his own dairy cows that eventually led him to Aardema Dairy Group in Idaho.