Personnel Notes

Metso appoints president / CEO

Metso Corp., headquartered in Helsinki, has announced that Pekka Vauramo started his new position as president and CEO of the company Nov. 1, 2018. According to a company news release, Metso’s board of directors appointed Vauramo as its president and CEO in May.

Metso Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Eeva Sipilä served as the company’s interim CEO from February 2018, when previous CEO Nico Delvaux left Metso, until Vauramo began the role. Since the transition, Sipilä will continue to serve as Metso’s CFO.

Prior to joining Metso, Vauramo served as president and CEO of Finnair since 2013. He has also held management positions at Helsinki-based Cargotec from 2007 to 2013 and at Stockholm-based Sandvik from 1985 to 2007.

“I am familiar with Metso’s operating environment thanks to my long background in the industry, and therefore I find the opportunity to start leading Metso an attractive one,” Vauramo says in the company news release.

Mikael Lilius, who serves as chair of Metso’s board of directors, says Vauramo brings his competence and experience to the role.

“Pekka Vauramo has a proven track record in leading businesses facing competitive global markets,” Lilius says. “His experience is a good fit for Metso, which has achieved solid momentum this year with its new and goal-oriented organization and management team.”

GBB names new founder owner associate, president

Harvey Gershman and Steve Simmons are serving in new positions at Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB), McLean, Virginia, effective Jan. 1. Gershman serves as the company’s founder owner associate, and Simmons serves as president.

Gershman, who co-founded GBB in 1980, has led the firm as its president since its inception. As GBB founder owner associate, he continues to provide strategic guidance and business development assistance to the GBB ownership group and management team. He provides internal peer review, quality assurance and guidance to clients.

“Actively leading GBB for over 38 years and meeting so many passionate professionals in the industry has been incredibly fulfilling,” Gershman says. “In my new role, I look forward to mentoring both the senior management team and young industry professionals on the GBB team and to continue to do valuable work with our clients.”

Gershman has focused his career on helping communities and clients do better things with waste. He has become a recognized industry leader specializing in strategic guidance and infrastructure and assisting solid waste service / system managers and owners with the development of services. In 2013, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, presented Gershman with the Robert L. Lawrence Distinguished Service Award for his significant contribution to the solid waste management profession. He can be contacted at 703-573-5800 and at hgershman@ gbbinc.com.

Simmons, who served as senior vice president and part of the GBB ownership team, has transitioned to president of GBB. After first joining GBB as a principal associate in 2012, he became a member of the ownership group in 2016. As GBB president, he leads the firm’s senior management team, sets the long-term path for the company and leads client project teams. He has worked with engineering and consulting firms and energy companies throughout his 35-year career.

“I look forward to seeing GBB provide the same passion it has had over the years, steering it successfully through changes in the industry, keeping GBB a trusted leader and maintaining a strong and capable group of officers and consultants who are experts in the solid waste management industry,” Simmons says. “I look forward to assuring that GBB will continue to be the industry’s trusted source for actionable advice on solid waste and renewable energy trends, policies, programs, technology and infrastructure.”

Simmons can be reached at 703-573-5800 and ssimmons@gbbinc.com.

NRC announces 2018-2019 board of directors

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC), Lafayette, Colorado, has elected nine members to its board. The elections were during the 2018 Resource Recycling Conference in St. Louis.

The new and re-elected board members are:

• Richard Anthony, Zero Waste San Diego;
• Stephen Bantillo, NRC vice president, Recycling Certification Institute;
• Nina Butler, More Recycling;
• Susan Collins, Container Recycling Institute;
• Chantal Fryer, South Carolina Department of Commerce;
• Mary McClellan, Carolina Recycling Association;
• Fran McPoland, Paper Recycling Coalition;
• Lynn Rubinstein, Northeast Recycling Council; and
• William Turley, Construction & Demolition Recycling Association.

“I am so thrilled with the election of these candidates to carry on the great work that the NRC is doing,” says David Keeling, NRC board president.

Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations hires director of mobility

Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, Onalaska, Wisconsin, has appointed Bob Lafon as its director of mobility.

In his new role, Lafon is responsible for the development of Dynamic Life- cycle Innovations’ mobility program, including acquisition and resale of used smartphones and tablets, device repair and refurbishment, certified preowned device sales, device processing and white-label reverse logistics solutions.

According to Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, Lafon has more than 30 years of wireless industry experience. He has worked for one international and two national carriers, helping to build a 111-store premium retailer for a carrier and B2B and B2C sales channels for carriers and private companies.

“Even though I never considered working as an employee again, I had never before seen a culture like that of Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations,” Lafon says. “While I’m eager to bring my 30 years of experience to building a state-of-the-art, comprehensive mobility program for the company, joining the Dynamic family also has tremendous appeal, and I look forward to contributing to its culture in this role.”

Lafon is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator at wireless industry events and occasionally contributes articles to industry publications. He is the author of the upcoming book, Why Cold Calling Must Die. In addition, Lafon serves as chairman of the board for the Prepaid Expo & All Wireless Expo and is on the board for Junior Achievement of Butler County, Pennsylvania.

Casey Dingfelder, vice president of information technology asset disposition at Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, says, “The addition of someone with Bob Lafon’s broad-ranging industry experience, outstanding reputation and diverse skill set is a huge win for Dynamic and our team members. He also shares our core values, which makes him a perfect fit for our culture, this role and our company.”

In memoriam: Bill Zoller

William “Bill” Zoller, a regional sales manager at Weima America, Fort Mill, South Carolina, lost his battle with cancer Oct. 29, 2018, at the age of 62, according to a company news release. However, colleagues say the lessons he taught them continue to live on.

“There’s the technical salesman, the entertainment salesman,” says Jeremy Boggs, one of Zoller’s closest friends and colleagues. “That certainly wasn’t Bill. His approach was honesty; fight for the customer and make sure you’re working in their best interest, and that’s how I try to model myself.”

Boggs’ first encounter with Zoller was on the golf course. Growing up in Lenoir, North Carolina, Boggs went to school with Zoller’s son and worked on the golf course where Zoller spent much of his time.

“Bill was 21 years older than me,” Boggs says. “I worked on the golf course and I knew of Bill, but I didn’t know him personally other than he was always nice to us caddies.”

In 2007, Boggs joined the sales team at Weima America, where Zoller worked as a regional sales manager for more than 15 years.

“I didn’t know Bill worked there,” Boggs says.

“I got together with him, and it was a good friendship right from the beginning. He wrapped his arms around me, took me traveling, taught me how to deal with customers, helped me learn the equipment and to be honest.”

Boggs says it has been hard for him to process Zoller’s death. “I knew he was sick, but rather than make a big fuss of it, he didn’t really tell anyone,” he adds. ”For me and everyone else, it seemed quick. You see someone a few days prior to their death and you think everything is OK.”

Zoller worked up until the last days of his life.

“That’s really just a testament to how tough he was,” Boggs says. “The day before he was in the hospital, he was meeting with customers at Weima.”

According to Weima America, Zoller was like family to the people he worked with.

Boggs says he’ll continue to be the kind of salesman Zoller taught him to be.

“I try to model myself just like him,” he says. “That’s my approach with customers, with projects. When something goes wrong, don’t run and hide. That’s what he taught me.”