Personnel

Tomra Recycling Sorting has appointed Michelle Landon to the position of regional service director for the Americas.

She has 20 years of experience implementing and leading customer experience programs and driving service efforts for companies in the health care, intermodal, technology and construction industries, according to the company, which is a leading sensor-based sorting equipment and technology provider.

She led service and field support programs as a health care consultant and directed the technical support and field service teams that provided automated gate hardware and software solutions for retail, port and railyard facilities. Landon also devised digitalization initiatives focused on implementing automation and accelerating customer service, online portals and upskilling employees to be remote-ready.

In this newly created role for the Americas region at Tomra Recycling Sorting, which is headquartered in Germany, Landon will direct the teams responsible for the installation, optimization and commissioning of Tomra’s equipment and technology throughout North and South America. She also will oversee maintenance, spare parts, training and ongoing optimization programs and expand and enhance the company’s technology training.

Landon also is being tasked with growing the field service team for the Americas, not only in number but also by expanding team members’ training.

“We are leveraging the strength of the global Tomra service team to increase the depth of knowledge for our Americas field service team, and, in turn, our customers,” Landon says.

“The Americas region is experiencing tremendous growth in the demand for our optical sorter and artificial intelligence- (AI-) based solution, Gain,” Ty Rhoad, regional director Americas for Tomra Recycling Sorting, says. “We are also expanding our support, training and parts fulfillment programs, and this position will be critical in leading these efforts. Michelle’s vast experience in the service space for equipment, technology and security applications make[s] her the right choice for this position.”

“My desire is to contribute to something larger than myself, and that is why my time in the health care industry was so important to me,” Landon says. “Our aim is to advance the customer journey with Tomra technology solutions as a trusted advisor through continual process optimization to drive plant performance by bringing value to waste.”

She is based at the firm’s North American headquarters in North Carolina and can be reached at michelle.landon@tomra.com.

Dynamic Renewables, a Menasha, Wisconsin-based developer, owner and operator of waste management and renewable fuel projects, has appointed Aaron Johnson as CEO.

“I am thrilled to join Dynamic at a very exciting time, both for the company and the industry,” Johnson says. “I have been an admirer of the Dynamic team as it has established itself as a leading and differentiated developer and operator of RNG [renewable natural gas] projects.

“As the demand for RNG continues to grow, and increasingly exceeds supply, we believe Dynamic and its high-quality waste management solutions are well-positioned to capitalize on the market opportunity. I look forward to working alongside Ares and Dynamic’s strategic partners in supporting the transition to more sustainable energy sources and delivering value to our stakeholders.”

Johnson most recently served as president of RNG at Kinder Morgan Inc., Houston, where he led investment plans to scale the company’s biogas footprint. He oversaw the execution of acquisitions and organic growth, including the deployment of approximately $1 billion for the acquisition and construction of more than a dozen RNG facilities consisting of high Btu (British thermal units), medium Btu and landfill gas to electric plants.

Johnson previously served as president and CEO of Kinetrex Energy, which was acquired by Kinder Morgan in 2021.

“We are delighted to welcome an executive of Aaron’s caliber as our new CEO,” Dynamic co-founder Dan Nemke says. “We are confident he is the right person to guide the company in its next phase of growth and that he will bring significant value to all of our stakeholders ... and our strategic development partners.”

“Aaron brings an impressive track record in scaling RNG businesses and shares Dynamic and Ares’ commitment to advancing the transition to a lower-carbon economy,” says Andy Pike, Dynamic board member and co-head of Ares Infrastructure Opportunities. “We look forward to supporting Aaron and the Dynamic team in their long-term objectives for the company and the RNG market.”

Earlier this year, Dynamic commissioned the BC Organics Biogas Facility in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, which the company says is the largest dairy-based anaerobic digestion project in its portfolio.

Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. (BGL), a Cleveland-based independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, has added Brandon Dobell as a managing director within its Services vertical. Dobell, who has more than 20 years of experience in merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory and equity research, will lead BGL’s investment banking activities in real estate services and technology as part of the firm’s Professional Services coverage.

“Brandon’s experience in technology-enabled services, and more specifically, in real estate services and technology, is highly synergistic to our expanding Services investment banking team,” says Effram Kaplan, head of the firm’s Services and Infrastructure and Environment verticals. “We are very pleased to welcome him to the firm and excited to leverage his sector expertise and network for the benefit of BGL’s product bankers and clients.”

Before joining BGL, Dobell was a partner and managing director at William Blair & Co., Chicago, where he worked in M&A and capital markets for the firm’s real estate services, tech-enabled services and education services teams. Previously, he spent nearly 20 years in equity research, providing insights on public companies, industry trends and competitive dynamics to institutional investors across a variety of sectors. Dobell received his MBA from the University of Southern California and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego.

“It’s an exciting time for BGL, and I’m thrilled to join a team of this caliber. I look forward to bringing my expertise in real estate services and technology to the firm, as well as adding to BGL’s broader professional, business and commercial services ecosystems,” Dobell says.

Dobell is the most recent addition to BGL’s senior banker ranks in a year marked by significant growth, according to the company.