Waste Connections names Mittelstaedt president, CEO

Waste Connections Inc. has named Executive Chairman Ronald J. Mittelstaedt as its newest president and CEO, effective April 23. 

Mittelstaedt, Waste Connection's founder, served as CEO from 1997 to 2019. He succeeds Worthing F. Jackman as CEO. Jackman also stepped down as a member of the Canada-based company’s board of directors and withdrew as a nominee for election as a director at the company’s 2023 annual shareholders meeting.

During an April 23 call to discuss the change, Mittelstaedt said the board of directors’ decision is a “proactive” one, considered over time with Jackman.

“Nothing is floundering, particularly with regard to culture,” he said. “This is a proactive decision that the board made to make sure that we don’t develop cracks in the foundation of the culture and the operating structure of the company because once you do, they’re hard to fix.”

Part of the board’s rationale for the change, which Mittelstaedt says is not abrupt but may appear so from outside the company, is the need to provide greater focus on people and operations, which he said is a major part of his background.

“The people that we think of in all the critical roles on a go-forward basis are the same people that are in place today, but, you know, I think the board did feel that I might be a little more suited at this point in time to develop those people for the next generation,” he said during the call.

After serving as CEO for 18 years, Mittelstaedt transitioned in 2019 to the position of executive chairman of the board of directors.‎ While serving again as CEO, Mittelstaedt will remain on the board of directors but will no longer serve as executive chairman. Concurrent with this change, Waste Connections’ lead independent director, Michael W. Harlan, became chairman of the board of directors in a nonexecutive capacity.

“We thank Worthing for his work and dedication on behalf of Waste Connections for the last 19 years, including the last four as CEO,” Mittelstaedt says. “These last four years, with the pandemic and hyperinflation, have been challenging for leadership in all industries, and Worthing has done a yeoman’s job in leading us through this period.  We are grateful for all that Worthing has done for the company, its stakeholders and the communities that we serve. His extensive efforts have helped shape the company we are today, and we all wish him well in his future endeavors.”

In conjunction with this announcement, Mittelstaedt says Waste Connections is reaffirming its 2023 full-year financial outlook as stated in February. More details regarding the firm’s financials will be provided during first-quarter earnings call April 26.

Mittelstaedt says he is “excited to return to this role to serve our 23,000 employees and focus our efforts on servant leadership, our decentralized operating structure and delivering exceptional results in all areas.”

Because he has remained with the company as its executive chairman since 2019, Mittelstaedt says transition period is not needed.

“The necessity for a long transition is less than [with] someone who had been with the company since its inception—in a different role, granted, but very up to speed on many things that were going on at all times through our team and through Worthing.”

Waste Connections has grown in recent years to serve more than 8 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in 43 states and six Canadian provinces. It provides nonhazardous waste collection, transfer and disposal services, along with resource recovery primarily through recycling and renewable fuels generation.