Casella Waste Systems Announces Senior Leadership Succession Plan

RUTLAND, Vt., April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (“Casella”) (Nasdaq: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced that the Company’s President & 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 & Chief Financial Officer effective July 1, 2022.

Also, on July 1, 2022, the Company 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.

About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services in the northeastern United States. For further information, investors should contact Jason Mead, SVP finance & treasurer at (802) 772-2293, and media should contact Joseph Fusco, vice president at (802) 772-2247, or visit the company’s website at http://www.casella.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Certain matters discussed in this press release, including, but not limited to, the statements regarding our management transitions, are “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such by the context of the statements, including words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “may,” “would,” “intend,” “estimate,” "will," “guidance” and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or affirmative. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations regarding the management transitions, and estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which the Company operates and management’s beliefs and assumptions. The Company cannot guarantee that it actually will achieve the financial results, plans, intentions, expectations or guidance disclosed in the forward-looking statements made. Such forward-looking statements, and all phases of the Company's operations, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, any one or more of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in its forward-looking statements.   Such risks and uncertainties include or relate to, among other things, that the management transitions noted may not meet the Company’s expectations.

There are a number of other important risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These additional risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those detailed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company's most recently filed Form 10-K and in other filings that the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.