Name: Brad Helgeson
New title: Executive vice president and CFO of Casella Waste Systems
Previous title: Executive vice president and CFO of Covanta
Helgeson will join Casella on Nov. 6 as part of a planned leadership shift at the Vermont-based company. President and CFO Ned Coletta will retain his title as president.
“Ned has been instrumental to our success over the last 11 years in his role as chief financial officer, and since assuming the role of president on July 1, 2022, he has helped to accelerate our growth strategy and strengthen our foundational pillars,” said CEO John Casella in a statement. “As part of our succession planning, it is exciting to see Ned shift his complete focus to the president’s role. Under his continued leadership, I remain confident about the company’s ability to profitably grow and drive further shareholder value.”
John Casella has been CEO since 1993.
Helgeson served as vice president and treasurer at Covanta from 2007 to 2013, and he was promoted to EVP and CFO. He served in that role until departing in June 2022. This tenure included a role in Covanta’s sale to EQT Infrastructure in 2021. From 2004 to 2007, Helgeson was vice president of finance and treasurer at Waste Services, which was later acquired by IESI).
“Brad has been a well-respected finance executive in the solid waste industry for many years and we believe that his experience, values and leadership style will fit well with our team,” said John Casella. “His relevant experience will complement our team and will help us continue executing against our growth strategy.”
During Casella’s Thursday earnings call, Coletta said that he had been balancing multiple job functions over the past year since the company reshuffled certain responsibilities. This happened after the retirement of Ed Johnson, former chief operating officer, in June 2022. Sean Steves was promoted to COO in July 2022.
Following Helgeson’s integration, Coletta said he would be especially focused on supporting multiple development projects and focusing on systems, among other areas.
“There's a lot going on there both from the integration of our acquisitions and also forward looking, and then I've been working deeply with the Resource Solutions team [and] landfill team to help provide value in their business units and partnering with Sean and his team as well on the operating front.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Casella’s Q3 earnings call.
