CompassData Corporate Team
Margaret J. Howard, Co-Founder, Chair of the Board
Margaret J. Howard co-founded CompassData with W. Brant Howard, when they split the original company, CompassCom, founded in 1994, into three companies in 2003. She maintains client/vendor relationships, and manages general financial and business operations for CompassData. As Chair and Majority Owner, Margaret Howard provides corporate oversight and directions for the Board and management.
W. Brant Howard, Co-Founder, CEO
W. Brant Howard co-founded CompassCom as a self-funded startup in 1994 and has grown it into three successful businesses based on GIS, GPS and wireless technology, including CompassData. He developed the innovative idea of owning and licensing Ground Control Points, and created the Archive.
Prior to being an entrepreneur, Howard was a hydrogeologist with the United States Geological Survey, Water Resources Division. He supervised well drilling and completion, pump tests and field inventory efforts.
Howard holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Geology with a specialty in hydrology from Indiana University, Bloomington. Howard has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver, teaching in the GIS certificate and Masters program.
Howard makes numerous presentations for seminars and conferences around the world and has authored articles for technical journals on Geology, GIS and fleet management topics. Memberships include GITA, ASPRS, CSIA, APWA, APCO and MAPPS. A former board member of MAPPS national, he has been instrumental in founding the new Colorado MAPPS chapter.
Hayden Howard, Vice President
In the past decade Hayden Howard has served as lead surveyor and survey manager on several CompassData projects, with experience in collecting data, training and managing field crews and managing the collection methodology, QA/QC, planning and managing international data collection and deliverables at every stage. Hayden has personally collected data in multiple countries around the world and has managed the collection, post-processing, and final deliverables of large projects both domestically and internationally. He is certified by Trimble in GPS data collection and post-processing. Hayden holds a bachelor's of science degree in Land Use Management with a GIS/Aviation Meteorology concentration from Metropolitan State College in Denver.
Kate Schlatter, COO
As Chief Operating Officer, Kate Schlatter's principal responsibilities include project oversight, business and financial management for the Compass family of companies, including CompassCom, CompassData and CompassTools.
Schlatter holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Organizational Management from Colorado State University.
Justin Kusterer, Director of Sales
Justin Kusterer has an extensive background in the Geospatial industry. Prior to joining CompassData in 2009, Justin worked as a reseller and commercial sales manager for the satellite imagery providers GeoEye and DigitalGlobe. Born and raised in Baltimore, Justin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from Towson University, MD. Justin enjoys working with clients; becoming a trusted consultant and team member by helping them determine the best solution for their particular project.
Philipp Hummel, Professional Land Surveyor and Geodesist
Hummel manages CompassData's Remotely Sensed Ground Control Point partnership with Infoterra GmbH. His career started in his native Germany; after achieving a Masters degree at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, Philipp worked for two years in Europe and one year in Africa before returning to the University to assist in scientific research and teaching. In 2005 a land surveyor position brought Philipp to Denver, Colorado. In 2009 he earned a Professional Land Surveyor license for the state. He is a member of the Professional Surveyors of Colorado (PLSC) and the national German surveying association - Deutscher Verein für Vermessungswesen (DVW).
Aaron Pollock, GIS Analyst II
Aaron has contributed to the shipment of more than 4 million square kilometers of post-processed GCPs for clients for their use in the orthorectification of imagery, using Pathfinder Office and Trimble Business Center software. Aaron creates and manages Esri® ArcGIS Shapefiles for project organization and processing. He has a BA in Geography with focus on Urban Planning and Development from the University of Colorado at Denver.
