Casella Waste Systems, Inc. announced that the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Edwin D. Johnson, plans to retire on June 30, 2022. The Company also announced that its Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Edmond “Ned” R. Coletta, will assume the role of President and Chief Financial Officer effective July 1, 2022. On that date, the Company also plans to promote Sean M. Steves, its current Senior Vice President of Operations, to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Solid Waste Operations; and promote Jason M. Mead from his current role of Vice President of Finance to Senior Vice President of Finance & Treasurer.
“These exciting leadership changes follow a multi-year succession planning process,” said John W. Casella, Chairman and CEO of Casella. “The Board of Directors and management have worked hard to identify and build the next generation of leaders throughout the organization to ensure continuity, and more importantly to maintain and build upon our culture and core values.”
“I would like to thank Ed for his service to the company and his solid contributions to our success,” Casella said. “Ed has been a steadying force throughout his tenure with Casella, and his leadership style and embodiment of our values has helped to shape our winning culture. We have great confidence in the team that he has built over the last 12-years, and we believe that our key operating programs will continue his legacy.”
“My time at Casella has been very rewarding and I would like to thank John and our team for 12 amazing years to cap my career in the solid waste industry,” said Ed Johnson, President & Chief Operating Officer of Casella. “We have accomplished many goals as a team over this time, but I am especially proud of my contribution towards shaping a positive culture centered around our shared core values. Over the last several years I have focused my time developing the next generation of leadership and I feel comfortable that I am leaving the operations in great hands.”
“I am excited for Ned to take on the President’s role as part of our long-term leadership succession plan,” Casella said. “Ned has been a driving force in our success as a company over the last 10-years, as he helped to reset the strategic direction of the company, build financial and capital discipline, establish accountability throughout the organization, and improve risk management programs. He is widely respected by our team for his hard work, integrity, and straight-forward style. With his continued leadership, I am confident that Casella is well positioned to further build shareholder value and profitably grow our business.”
Ned Coletta has served as our Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since December 2012. Mr. Coletta joined the Company in December 2004 and previously served as our Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations from January 2011 to December 2012. From 2002 until he joined the Company, Mr. Coletta served as the Chief Financial Officer and was a member of the Board of Directors of Avedro, Inc. an early-stage medical device company that he co-founded. From 1997 to 2001, he served as a research and development engineer for Lockheed Martin Michoud Space Systems. Mr. Coletta holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University in Materials Science Engineering.
Sean Steves has served as our Senior Vice President of Operations since 2019. Mr. Steves joined the Company in April 2018 as our Vice President of Operational Initiatives. Mr. Steves has helped to improve our operating performance through his leadership and implementation of key programs such as service excellence, fleet automation, dynamic route optimization and on-board computing. From 2016 until he joined the Company in 2018, he was the Director of Operations Support for Republic Services, Inc. Mr. Steves has 25 years of Operations experience in the waste industry starting as a transfer station scale operator. He has held roles of increasing responsibility ever since, including Operations Supervisor, Operations Manager, and General Manager. Mr. Steves holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University with a concentration in Sustainable Management.
Jason Mead has served as our Vice President of Finance since February 2021. Mr. Mead joined the Company in June 2010 and has served in finance roles of increasing responsibility during this period. Mr. Mead has been instrumental in improving our budgeting and forecasting process, implementing pricing strategy and improving execution, and helping to create and implement risk management programs. From 2007 until he joined the Company, Mr. Mead held various finance roles at Fidelity Investments Inc. Mr. Mead holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Vermont. Mr. Johnson plans to stay on in an advisory capacity for the remainder of 2022 to ensure a seamless transition.