Waste Connections has named Jason Craft executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Aug. 9. Craft will take on the role from Darrell Chambliss, who retired in July.
Craft, who has been with Waste Connections since 2003, currently serves as the regional vice president for the Southern region. He has also served as the senior vice president of operations and the Eastern region vice president, per his LinkedIn profile.
Chambliss, one of Waste Connections’ co-founders, had served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2003. He will stay on as a senior advisor, according to a securities filing.
Chambliss “has been the heartbeat of Waste Connections for 28 years,” said CEO Ron Mittelstaedt during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on July 24. “Our board of directors, our leadership team at every level and all of our 25,000 employees owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Darrell,” he said.
This leadership change is the most notable executive transition at Waste Connections since CEO Ron Mittelstaedt returned to his role as president and CEO in 2023. He had been CEO from the time the company was founded in 1997 until 2019, but temporarily transitioned to the role of executive chairman, citing family health matters. Worthing Jackman took on the CEO role from 2019 until 2023.
