Brian Hammons

President/CEO, Hammons Products Co.

Brian Hammons is the Chairman/CEO of Hammons Products Company in Stockton, Missouri. The company is the nation’s primary commercial processor of American black walnuts, which is part of the Ozarks’ heritage and Missouri’s state tree nut. Brian is the third-generation leader of the family company. Hammons Products buys wild black walnuts in the Midwestern U.S., shells them, and sells the nutmeats as food ingredients for ice cream, baked goods, and candies. Consumers find them in grocery stores under the “Hammons Black Walnuts” brand and also other national or regional brands. The ground nutshell is sold for abrasives, filtration, and oil drilling.

Brian is a 1980 graduate of the MSU College of Business with a degree in Marketing, with honors including the Joseph Daniel Delp Award. He also earned a JD degree from the Southern Methodist University Law School in Dallas, TX in 1985 and practiced law briefly in Kansas City.

In addition to being active in the ownership/management of the black walnut business, Brian has served in leadership roles on a variety of local and state boards, foundations, and as a conference lay leader in the Methodist Church. He recently served as Chairman of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce in 2024.

He served as a member of the MSU Board of Governors from 2006 through 2011, including one year as Chair. He was recognized as one of the “50 Missourians You Need to Know” by Ingram’s in Kansas City in 2011, one of the “Men of the Year” by Springfield Business Journal in 2013, and received the “Leadership Missouri Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2015.

Brian and his wife, Kim, have three grown children (two of them MSU graduates), and five grandchildren. One of his hobbies is running, having completed 43 marathons including 13 in Boston.