Date: April 20, 2009
Source: Veolia Environmental Services North America
Veolia Environmental Services Announces Richard Burke as New North America CEO
Appointment Follows Retirement of Michel Gourvennec
Monday April 20, 2009, 7:00 am EDT
Veolia Environmental Services North America (VESNA) announces the appointment of Richard Burke to the position of CEO of the organization. He replaces former CEO Michel Gourvennec, who recently announced his retirement. Burke has served as president of Veolia ES Solid Waste since 2007.
Commenting on the appointment, Denis Gasquet, CEO of Veolia Environmental Services worldwide, stated, "We are fortunate to have within our organization a strong and vibrant leader in Richard Burke. As the solid waste market has transformed over the past few years, Richard has delivered the strategic insights and initiatives to build the division and produce strong results for the company. We are confident that Richard will build upon the many successes achieved by Michel to create a more prosperous organization."
As President and CEO of VESNA, Burke is responsible for the overall operations of the largest, fully-integrated environmental services company in North America. He joined Veolia Environmental Services in 1999 as Area Manager for Southeast Wisconsin and was soon promoted to Regional Vice President for the Eastern and Southern markets. He was promoted to the president and CEO position in 2007. Prior to joining Veolia, he spent 12 years with Waste Management in a number of management positions. Burke will also continue to manage Veolia ES Solid Waste, Inc. until a new President and CEO is appointed.
"We will miss Michel's tremendous dedication to our company and to the business of environmental sustainability," said Gasquet. "He is a true icon within our company as well as our industry. We wish him the best of luck as he moves onto this new and exciting chapter of his life."
During his long 25 year career with Veolia Environnement, VESNA's ultimate parent company, Gourvennec held several leading positions. In addition to his role as president and CEO of VESNA, Gourvennec served as deputy CEO of Veolia Environmental Services with direct leadership over North American and some European subsidiaries. He was also president and CEO of Veolia Environnement North America Operations, Inc. (VENAO), the holding company for all Veolia assets in North America. He served as CEO of Montenay Turbo, CEO of Proxima/Domotherm, head of Montenay International (Miami) and CEO of Onyx Northern Europe (London) – all Veolia Environnement companies. Prior to joining Veolia Environnement, Gourvennec spent 17 years with Rhone Poulenc, now Aventis.
Denis Gasquet will assume the direct leadership for Veolia Environnement North America Operations, Inc., continuing a strong focus on growing the North American business operations that encompass water, waste, energy and transportation services.
About Veolia Environmental Services in North America
Veolia Environmental Services North America Corp., headquartered in Chicago, IL, offers fully integrated environmental solutions to virtually all industrial, commercial, municipal and residential sectors. It is part of the Veolia Environmental Services (VES) group, the only global manager of liquid, solid, non-hazardous and hazardous waste; on-site waste processing, industrial cleaning and process maintenance; and recycling, recovery and disposal for both the public and private sectors. VES is the largest waste services company in the world. It has over 100,000 employees in 42 countries and posted revenues of $14.1 billion in 2008. Veolia Environnement (NYSE:VE - News), the parent of VES, with operations in water, waste, energy and transportation management, has more than 336,000 employees in 72 countries and recorded revenues of $50.4 billion in 2008. For more information, please visit www.VeoliaES.com.
For more information, contact:
Veolia Environmental Services North America
Denisse Ike, 312-552-2800
Denisse.ike@veoliaes.com.
or
On Ideas
Denise Graham, 904 354 2600
Denisegraham@onideas.com.
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